INCOMING: Lionel the little buff duck
This little buff duck came to us this evening from PAWS, a great wildlife rescue organization in Lynnwood, WA. His name is Lionel. He was dumped at a place called Country Village and he has a foot injury. He isn’t a wild duck, so PAWS couldn’t rehabilitate him for re-release to the wild. He doesn’t belong in the wild because he’s a domestic duck. So he came to us.
Lionel is unfortunately very skittish and really scared, but he is safe and warm and will get some veterinary care for his foot injury tomorrow morning.
I always hate to see new little ducks come in who are so scared and sad, but I am hopeful that Lionel will feel better and make friends with our other gimpy ducks once he has some medication.
For now he is kept separate from our other ducks until the vet clears him as healthy and free from parasites. I was going to keep him in the house, but he is so skittish and afraid of people I decided to keep him near the other ducks. So Lionel is set up in an enclosed soft crate in a pen with Petunia, Olivia and Cindy Buttons. I wanted to put him near Lucky and Miles since he speaks the same language, but ducks are like little dinosaurs when newbies arrive, and Lucky went ballistic over the new guy. Lionel doesn’t have the energy to deal with aggressive, cranky ducks, so he’ll stay in a peaceful pen for now until he feels better.
In other news, Danny girl’s test results came back and she is completely free of lead and infection. In December when she arrived, her blood lead count was .36 and a normal reading is .02-.04. She was very near death. Now her lead count is back down to .02 and her blood count also shows no infection. I wanted to be sure because she still stumbles pretty badly. But this is as good as she will get for now, which is just fine. She can get around good enough to feed herself and swim, and she is enjoying her life, so we are happy with her progress and glad to know that this is her new “normal.”
Lionel goes to the vet in the morning and as soon as we know more we’ll post an update here or on the Facebook page.
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff and the flock
Very good news for Danny Girl!
Hope all’s well for little Lionel!
Aw… He has such a sweet face, I want to kiss him on the head. I hope he feels a little more sure of himself soon. Poor guy.
Aww, poor Lionel, he looks so heartbreakingly sad! But I’m sure with your know-how and TLC, he’ll be frolicking about with the other ducks in no time.
All the best to Danny girl. Good to read she’s doing better.
Thank you for all you do to help these animals. Your unending well of love and compassion is an inspiration to all of us.
What a fortunate little guy to come into your care! Very thoughtful to set Lionel up where he is the most comfortable. Mental stress is so hard, especially when he’s not feeling well. Hoping the calm attitudes of the other ducks help him feel more relaxed!
What a handsome fellow and lucky duck to find you.
Many healing vibes and successful intergration with the Flapper Flock. (I know he’s gone, but his legacy lives on