Daffy
Daffy Duck was rescued off a public park pond at the end of June 2019 (he’s a Pekin Duck which is a domesticated breed and shouldn’t be loose with wild ducks). We were contacted because he had a leg injury and was limping badly. He was very easy to catch because not only could he not get around easily, but an entire flock of male mallard ducks were in the process of jumping him when we got there. After examining him I was sure he had sprained his leg which is very common in ducks, especially during mating season. They just need time to heal away from other ducks and daily warm epsom salt baths which is what we did for the first 4 weeks, and his leg unfortunately never fully healed, though he manages to get around decently. He lives in a pen with our peacock, one other duck, and a few chickens so he's no longer picked on.
Lucy was found alone at a boat landing with no mama, no other ducklings or ducks in sight. The only other animals nearby were three alligators, so a good samaritan fortunately scooped her up before she became a snack. She took her home, fed her oatmeal and lettuce, and posted a picture on facebook looking for someone to take her.
Our family friend saw the post, shared it with us, and we agreed to pick up this baby the next day. She now lives with Daffy, Princess Buttercup, and the other birds in Petra’s pen. Though she is still a little skittish of us, she is eating and settling in well.
Unfortunately, this baby is very bow legged and having some trouble walking and swimming well. This often happens to ducklings who haven’t had proper nutrition and develop a niacin deficiency during infancy. She will have to have niacin added to the chick starter and we will also add nutritional yeast and green peas (both high in niacin) to her diet. There is also a possibility of niacin shots from the vet.
This baby was likely dumped off at the boat landing by someone who didn’t want to care for her. We do not know whether she was dumped there alone or dumped with other ducklings. If it is the latter, we do not know what happened to the other ducklings. What we do know however, is that if the nice lady had not rescued her, this baby definitely would have met her demise.
Lucy
