2015 Current Cast of Characters
ducks and clucks
As of June 27, 2015, our current cast of characters includes a motley crew of misfit rescued ducks and one special-needs goose. All of them came to us from different circumstances. Here are their rescue stories.
Frankie was one of two ducklings bought by college students in a feed store. After a day, the kids realized they couldn’t care for ducks, so they planned to release them to a park, which would have been a death sentence. Frankie is a buff orpington duck and his estimated hatch date is March 1, 2015.
Lionel Ernest is a little saxony bantam-like duck who came to us from PAWS in Lynnwood, WA with a severely infected foot. He was dumped at Country Village in Bothel, WA where he was injured after flying into a glass window. We’ve had him since May 2012 and he was fully-grown then, so he’s probably at least 5-years-old. He has a permanent limp from his foot injury.
Ruby Tuesday is a rescued magpie duck. She was found abandoned on the side of the road in Carnation, WA and brought to us in Seattle in December 2012. She was fully grown but likely young, so we estimate she was born in the spring of 2012 and is probably about 3-years-old.
Lulu and Beaker were bought at a feed store and placed in a box on a girl’s porch as a gimmick to ask her to a school dance. After the dance, no one wanted the ducklings or all the work of caring for them and keeping them safe for their long lives. So they came here in spring 2015. Their estimated hatch date is March 19, 2015. Lulu is a rouen duck and Beaker is a pekin duck.
We adopted Petunia Peach from another rescue group in January 2006. She was fully-grown so we estimate her hatch date to be in spring of 2004. That makes her over 11-years-old now. She is a muscovy duck. She was adopted with her friend Phoebe Kay who passed away in fall 2008 of egg yolk peritonitis, an all too common ailment of ducks bred to lay too many eggs.
Benny Greenjeans was dumped at Daybreak, UT where he developed an infected foot injury. He was captured and surrendered to a local veterinarian for treatment. He is a cayuga duck. We adopted him from the veterinarian’s office in January 2015. He has a slight limp from his foot injury.
Penny Pumpkin, aka Juliet, is a rescued embden goose. She was originally dumped at Decker Lake in Salt Lake City, UT then moved to Wheeler Farm park. Overpopulation there forced her to be moved to a sanctuary pond in Orem, UT in 2013. There she was shot in February 2015 by an unknown shooter six times, in an attack that killed over a dozen ducks, geese and coots. Juliet is permanently handicapped from her pellet gun wounds and requires extra protection and care for the rest of her life.
Chester Sugarmont was dumped at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City, UT in the summer of 2014 with at least 6 other domestic ducks. By fall, he was starving. As a dumped domestic pekin duck, Chester couldn’t fly to find good food, and bread handouts from people left him suffering from malnutrition. Starving and covered in louse, he was unable to stand or walk. We simply reached down and picked him and brought him home. With a vet visit, good food and delousing, he recovered in a matter of weeks.
Teddy Crispin was surrendered to our Seattle veterinarian in early 2014. He had a severe leg infection that was left untreated and went systemic, leaving him severely septic. His white blood count was the highest we’ve ever seen in a living duck at 115 (a normal WBC is between 8-13). He was too weak to stand on his own and his infected leg was quite painful. We originally took in Teddy as a foster, but after 4 months of antibiotics to clear up his infection, we decided he should stay. He needed another round of antibiotics when his infection returned, but since then he has been healthy. He’ll always have a limp from the damage done to his untreated leg.
Wheeler and Hopper were dumped as 3-4 week old rouen ducklings at Wheeler Farm park in Salt Lake City, UT. We estimate their hatch date to be April 23, 2015. They would not have survived the night as they were alone, had not yet grown any feathers and were following people and dogs. Raising and releasing domestic ducks at parks or in the wild is both illegal and cruel. Domestic ducks have none of the instincts of wild ducks and are too fat to fly. They cannot avoid predators or find suitable food and water like wild ducks can. Never raise and release domestic ducks.
Little Quack came to us in June 2015 after being found with only one foot at a pond in Herriman, UT. He is a call duck mix. He was being looked after by a family, but they noticed he was having increasing difficulty competing for food and avoiding conflicts with only one foot. We don’t have snapping turtles here, so it’s likely he lost his foot through some other trauma like a fishing line injury.
Lenora Bea came to us from the Seattle Animal Shelter in November 2012. She is a muscovy duck. She was found as a stray and surrendered to the animal shelter. She was fully grown when found, so we estimate her hatch date to be spring of 2011 or earlier. That makes her at least 4-years-old.
Miles is a rescued rouen duck who was treated by South Sound Critter Care in Washington before coming to stay with us in January 2012. He was a dumped duck who developed a severe leg infection before his rescue. After several months of antibiotics his infection was gone, but he is left with a very severe limp from his leg bone being eaten away by infection. He was fully grown when rescued so we estimate his hatch date to be spring 2011 or earlier. That makes him at least 4-years-old.
Danny girl came to us from PAWS in Lynnwood, WA in December 2011. She had eaten a large slug of metal and was dying of lead poisoning and infection. She is an indian runner duck with a hatch date of spring 2011 or earlier. That makes her at least 4-years-old. She is permanently handicapped from her metal poisoning but gets along okay with special care and feeding.
O’Malley Jr. is a rescued mallard duck who was found in an alley as a days-old baby duckling. She came into our care at the same time as Wheeler and Hopper and has bonded with those buddies as well as the other Lulu. When her hormones kicked in after she grew up, she “wilded up” and released herself back to the wild. We will miss her but we’re happy she gets to live the life she was meant to live, in the wild.
Zoe is the companion duck to Frankie. She was one of two ducklings bought by college students in a feed store. After a day, the kids realized they couldn’t care for ducks, so they planned to release them to a park, which would have been a death sentence. Zoe is a super pekin duck and her estimated hatch date is March 1, 2015.
