Slight Setback

Oh, my. On Monday, the ducks' five-week birthday, I went out to the shed to feed them. All three ducks were present and quacky, but I found a trail of blood everywhere. Daisy, at least I think it's Daisy, had cut the webbing on her foot. And web wounds bleed copiously, like head wounds. My friend Carol came over and helped me clean and bandage Daisy's foot. I'm sorry I don't have a photo to show you what a beautiful bandaging job Carol did. But I didn't know how Daisy's foot would heal all bandaged up, so I decided to take her to the vet. I put her into a cat carrier without too much fuss, seat-belted her into the car, and off we went. Pretty soon Daisy started quacking. I had noticed that the ducks quack back and forth to each other when they can't see each other, to keep in touch. I felt I should be Daisy's fellow duck, so I started singing, mostly animal-themed songs. She especially liked "Old MacDonald" and "This Old Man." Whenever I stopped singing, she began to quack, so I kept singing. It's a 45-minute drive to the vet.

The vet had never treated a duck, but she was game. We discussed options, and decided on doing nothing except cleaning the wound twice a day and giving her an antibiotic.

Singing and quacking, we made it back home.

The wound seems to be healing well. Thank you, John, for being an excellent duck holder. I imagine that Daisy has some impressive stories to tell Maisie and Eggatha, and has probably gained some status. She's a brave, sweet duck. She deserves it.

New Apartment!

The girls are now four weeks old and have moved into their own apartment. Since they're not cowering in a corner, I think they're pleased with it. A thick carpet of wood shavings covers the cement floor of a small shed with a sturdy door. A heat lamp compensates for chilly early spring nights. Check out the nifty watering station I constructed. The green tub collects most (some) of the water they love to fling about. A screen keeps them from splashing in the overflow. A plastic tub for water fits into the screen and stays stable. So far it's working great.

It's such a pleasure to open the shed door and see calm, contented ducks with plenty of room to roam. Wait till their outside pen is finished--they'll be so excited!

Three Weeks and Counting

Once again a warm day coincided with the ducks' birthday (three weeks old on Monday), and we had another outing to the garden. Their birthday present was thawed corn kernels. It's so much fun to find new things they love. Nobody shows enthusiasm like a duck.

They're still a little leery of the big outdoors. If I leave them in the garden to go muck out their pen, they're waiting by the gate when I return, or huddling beside a hay bale, looking reproachful. I think they need a roof to feel more secure, so I put my plastic greenhouse up for them to shelter in while they're there. One thing is clear: they're outgrowing the room they're in! I've been noticing new tail feathers for a while, and yesterday I realized they're getting beautiful brown and mahogany feathers on the backs of their wings. (You have to look closely.) Not only that, I detect a "quack" now and then among their good morning chirps. Their voices are changing! My son John remarked, "Before you know it, they'll be smoking and putting heavy metal posters up in their room."

I stopped by Tractor Supply yesterday and noticed that they had baby ducklings for sale. I was surprised by the pang of nostalgia I felt for my babies!

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