September Update
Everything is going well here at Ducks and Clucks.
Danny girl is doing well. She loves hanging out with her boys in the aviary each day, but her favorite thing is eating dinner in the evenings. She squeals like a little piglet when she gets her evening duck chow.
Her favorite guy is Lester, who is doing well too. Lessie is done molting, and his new feathers are beautiful. He flies a little too well for me to carry him across the yard, and nearly flies out of my hands every day.
Miles, Lucky and Lionel are their usual comical selves, and keep us all entertained with their constant goofy antics.
The silly human has been busy trying to start a company, and having fun along the way with all new experiences.
The scovies are molting right now. It looks like a pillow exploded in the aviary. Ramona, who you may remember has aggressive lymphoma, is still doing well on steroids. We’re happy she has been able to stay comfortable and happy for so long after her diagnosis. Hopefully she’ll have even more time with us.
Ramona is the only one who keeps Cindy Buttons in line, so it’s great that she still has some strength. Cindy has become a treat stealer and a duck stomper. She chases the ducks and picks on them, except for Ramona. The Ramona Monster doesn’t put up with that crap, and dishes it right back to Cindy, which is pretty fun to watch as long as they don’t hurt each other.
O’Malley looks pretty silly without his head crest, but it should grow back in very soon.
Carol still pecks me every morning to pet her face and feathers. She really loves the attention and affection now, which really surprises me since she was such a terror when she first arrived here.
The rest of the flock is doing great, too… including the furball.
He is chock full of expressions but this is one of my favorites. He was grooming his belly and nearly fell asleep. He is quite a goof, and still looks pretty good for an old guy of 16+ years.
That’s about it for this update of ducks and clucks. It’s been a good, peaceful month and we’ll take all of those that we can get.
SPECIAL NOTE: This time of year, through the end of November, is often a very active time for raccoons in the Northwest. Take EXTRA care to keep your flocks safe and do not underestimate raccoons. They can attack any time of day or night, can reach through chicken wire, easily climb over fences and even turn locks and doorknobs. Double check that your flock is secure, and stay safe out there!
Goodbye Janet
Janet passed away in my arms at 11:20pm on Thursday, September 6, 2012 after a fast-moving illness that didn’t respond to treatment. She was a rescued hen who came to us in July 2010.
Janet actually wasn’t our chicken, she was Olly Astro’s chicken. When we agreed to take in Olly Astro, we arrived at the vet to find Olly had a friend. (Homeless chickens always have friends so you should never trust them to show up anywhere alone.)
We didn’t want to separate these two friends, so we brought them both home to join Olivia, our only other hen at the time.
From the moment Janet arrived, she was a little bit of a weirdo, in the best way. She just really knew how to be herself and not care what anyone else thought about it. She went her own way and did her own thing, and enjoyed every minute of it. She was kind of a laid back hippie chick.
I always tell the new rescues to pick their own names, and then usually at night their name comes to me. When Janet’s name came to me, I talked to her the next morning and said “that’s kind of an odd name for a chicken. Why don’t you sleep on it one more night.” I thought it was a dumb name. But sure enough, the next day I woke up and it still seemed like her name was Janet, so I let her keep the name.
Each hen has their own distinct voice, and Janet’s cluck had a rhythm to it that reminded me of the song “I Gotta Be Me” by Sammy Davis, Jr. She’d say “guuh guhga ga guuuuuh” all the time to me, and I’d sing “I gotta be meeeeee” back to her, which I’m sure my neighbors appreciated. It was such an odd song but it sure seemed to fit Janet’s personality, and she sang it all the time.
Janet was well-liked in the yard, by all the ducks and clucks. Here Carol preens her face for her, which is pretty amazing if you know Carol.
Jan Jan didn’t sit on my lap much or peck at me to pet her face or hound me for treats, she just did her own thing and was a good, good chicken.
Of all the chickens, Janet had the most beautiful feathers. They were just the richest, thickest, furriest-looking feathers of anyone in the yard, which was kind of surprising since Janet had her share of health problems in her life.
Janet was always in the aviary when I needed her to be, was nearly always kind to all the other hens and rescues, and was basically an easy-going hen who enjoyed life to the fullest.
Because she did have some health problems, she learned to trust me pretty well over the past two years. I had to wash off her backside at least once a week, and she learned pretty quickly that while it was scary, it would make her more comfortable and keep her happy.
Her trust in me was very helpful over the past week as her health faded fast. She was having neurological problems and balance problems and tremors or seizures, but because she felt safe, she didn’t really seem to mind. That made my life so much easier to know that she was comfortable and care free, even in her illness.
She took well to her make-shift hospital bed and was calm and peaceful even while losing her ability to balance and move.
In the past week we spent hours together, just talking and snoozing. I helped keep her head from spasming by holding it for her so she could eat and drink better. All the while trying to treat her and find a solution with the vets to help her improve.
She perked up briefly after a morning visit to the vet yesterday to get some fluids, but by evening I could tell she was on her way out. I let her be alone in her crate for a while but she called out to me a few times, so I placed her on my chest and she rested peacefully for a while. Then her breathing started to shift and change, and I just knew she didn’t have much more time here. At her very last breath, she woke up for one moment and flapped her wings once as she left her body and was… gone.
It’s never easy to say goodbye to a feathered kid, but honestly, it’s definitely easier when they make it easy on me. And Janet did that very well. She didn’t fuss and she wasn’t stressed out. She wasn’t scared and she didn’t fight any treatment. She was just Janet, the happy-go-lucky, laid back hen.
I am definitely going to miss her in the yard. Not everyone is as easygoing as Janet was, so her calm demeanor and peaceful attitude will definitely be missed. But apparently it was her time to go, and I wish her safe travels to whatever’s next, and thank her for all her wonderful time here with us.
Rest in peace, Jan Jan. I love you.
Baby ducky to the sanctuary
Today we took the ferry to Vashon Island to drop off the baby duckling at his new forever sanctuary.
The baby duckling is a very lucky duck.
He gets to live at Baahaus with George, Cowboy (center, with the white chest behind the Canada goose) and all the other awesome animals that have been saved by Baahaus.
We got to see Benson and Reggie, who are both doing great. They look a little scruffy right now because they are getting ready to molt, but they are as goofy and silly as ever.
I even got to hold Fabio, the most fabulous fluffy rooster ever. You may remember that we rescued him last year and treated him for a bad infection before taking him to Baahaus. They say he is still the sweetest little guy, and still affectionate and friendly.
The baby duck will live in an area near Fabio, with several other ducks. He was so happy to be near other ducks again and settled right in like he was meant to be there.
On the way home, we stopped at the new Veggie Grill that just opened in Seattle. It is all vegan and all delicious!
Then we came home and cuddled with Simon for a while before doing some work.
It’s great that Baahaus was able to take in this little ducky and keep him safe. If you’d like to help support their great work, consider mailing them a donation.
http://www.baahaus.org/support.html
Drama in the Hen House
Carol is trying to nest these days, but Olly Astro and Cindy Buttons just can’t leave her be. Cindy isn’t laying eggs right now, and Olly Astro is spayed, so neither of them have any business being all up in Carol’s business. They just can’t help themselves. Take a look at the video.
Good luck, Carol. Good luck.
Sad News
Sad News: Ramona has high-grade lymphoma. That means aggressive cancer of the lymphatic system. That explains why she had a lesion in her throat as well as down by her vent. She will be able to be treated for a bit with steroids until she decides she’s in too much pain or too tired to fight any longer.
She won’t suffer.
Rethinking the Intelligence of Chickens
For anyone who doesn’t think chickens or other birds are intelligent or emotional, I present to you, Carol… the chicken who is ruining my life.
Carol came to us from the Seattle Animal Shelter after being found as a stray. Sometimes when she gets on my last nerve I tell her I can kind of understand how she ended up in a shelter, but then I apologize. Carol is just… being Carol.
She screeches at dawn to be let out of her pen, so I bought her a new fancy coop I could put in the aviary with an automatic door so she could let HERSELF out into the safe aviary and not be at risk of danger from hawks or raccoons in the early morning.
This wasn’t enough for Carol. She did not think the 850sq foot aviary was big enough for her early morning routine. So she’d let herself out of the fancy new coop and then screech at the aviary door at dawn.
I have neighbors. Nice neighbors that I like very much. So for the past year or so I have been up at dawn every day. Thankfully in Seattle this is very late in the winter, so I don’t have to worry about it. But from May to October I am up at 6am or earlier… every day, without fail.
I get up, grab some blankets and go lay on the lawn to sleep there so Carol can forage in safety without screeching. This worked for months and months, but now Carol trusts me and has decided that we are BFFs and as her BFF I should groom her face and pet her.
So instead of getting to sleep on the lawn in the early morning, I get pecked in the head or arms until I pet Carol’s face.
Peck peck, pet pet pet. Peck peck peck, pet pet. Oh have you fallen asleep again? Peck peck… pet pet pet.
I’m pretty sure she’s the smarter one between the two of us. Clearly I am trainable though, so there’s hope for me still.
Ramona’s Surgery
Ramona’s surgery went well, but the prognosis isn’t great. The vet removed the mass and sent it for biopsy so we’ll know what we’re dealing with. But he discovered more masses he wasn’t able to remove.
Regardless, for now, Ramona is back home and very happy to be here. She’s a very brave little duck and feisty, so she’s stable for now.
We’ll have to wait and see just what the biopsy says before we can share more. That will likely be on Friday or Saturday.
Good thoughts for Ramona Monster
Ramona had been nesting in early July. This photo was taken on July 13th when she was sitting on a clutch of eggs and hoping to hatch them. We don’t let eggs hatch here, but she doesn’t know that, so she keeps trying.
By July 22nd she had given up on the eggs and seemed happy to be back to the aviary, hanging out with O’Malley and Petunia.
Just three days ago, she seemed her normal self, but something was already wrong. I picked her up Friday afternoon and noticed she had a prolapse. That’s where part of the inside tissue gets stuck outside of the vent. It’s very uncomfortable and I could tell it had been like that for a few days at least. Ramona is not friendly so she wasn’t fond of me picking her up. It seemed like she knew I was trying to help though.
I made her a vet appointment for today, and this morning she stood next to me, as if she was asking for help. I know she must be feeling bad if she is coming to me for help, so I am very worried.
At the vet, they discovered her prolapse is actually a mass, a tumor. It’s over 2″ long and over an inch in diameter. She also has some pus in her throat which may be an unrelated infection that just came up because her system is worn down from the tumor.
She was started on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories today so she will be ready for surgery on Tuesday. Once the tumor is removed it’ll be sent for a biopsy and we’ll know more. Keep your fingers crossed that the infection isn’t too far along and that she can rebound. We also hope the tumor is benign. Someone asked “what caused the tumor?” There’s no way to tell. She’s a young rescue still… maybe 2-3 years old. She lives in the same pen, aviary and yard as O’Malley and Petunia, and eats the same food, treats and shares water. O’Malley will be 7-years-old in September and Petunia is a little older than that. They’re both healthy, so it’s tough to say why Ramona ended up with a tumor.
I mentioned a few days ago that Ramona was being a nice kid right now. That should have been a warning sign to me that something was wrong with her, but I just thought it was her transition into molting. I should know that a good attitude is not normal for the Ramona Monster. Please keep her in your thoughts this weekend and next week. We’ll update when we know more.
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff and the flock
Goodbye Pidgey! Stay safe!
Today we took Pidgey back to her park to release her back with her friends. She was a little shy at first, and not quite sure about leaving her carrier. So I stayed with her and threw some pigeon food around her so her friends would come to her. This helped her and she finally stepped out of her carrier and rejoined her flock.
Here’s a little video of her rejoining her friends.
I stayed with her and her friends for a while to make sure she would fly off with them when they left.
But she wasn’t sure. They flew off, and she watched them land on power lines, tree branches and other areas of the park. She stayed behind for a moment and looked at me, then finally took flight and did a great big circle around the park before landing on a tree branch. She flies really well and really seemed to enjoy her first flight in a few days.
We will check back in on her tomorrow to see that she’s still doing well. After that, I’m not sure I’d recognize her much longer, but we’ll see.
It’s great to see her come such a long way in such a short time, especially after she looked and felt this terrible just three days ago.
Hopefully she will stick close to her friends and spend the next day or two sharing her big story with them. “I looked up and BAM! Right into the windshield. After that, I don’t know what happened. I was in a dark square place and then moving in a car I think and then a weird lady was talking baby talk to me. I ate some seeds and hung out for a few days and then she brought me back here.”
Stay safe, Pidgey. Enjoy your freedom and your friends.
Special thanks to everyone who helped with Pidgey’s veterinary bill. It really helps! She’s back with her flock where she belongs because of you.
Quacks and clucks,
Tiff and the flock
Fundage for Pidgey
NOTE: We could use some help with Pidgey’s veterinary bill, so if you would like to donate to help Pidgey, visit our donate page here: https://ducksandclucks.com/blog/donate/
After the baby crow on Saturday, we got an email on Sunday about an injured pigeon.
This kid maybe got hit by a car or hit a window? The people who found her said she didn’t fly off or move out of the way of trouble for several minutes, so they easily picked her up and then I took her in.
You can tell how bad she was feeling. Birds in shock get all fluffed up and miserable looking like this.
It’s hard to tell if they’re going to make it at that point, but Pidgey made it over night and looked a little better in the morning.
Then Pidgey started eating really well after we got her some real pigeon food, and we took her to the vet today to make sure she didn’t have any broken bones or parasites or vision problems or other trauma.
Pidgey is a little thin and was dehydrated, so she got some sub-q fluids and will stay another day or so to eat some more food.
Pidgey is already getting agitated tonight, which means she’s nearly ready to go. It’s hard to say what caused her to feel so bad, but she’s feeling great now thankfully.
Pidgey will be re-released back to the park she was found in, and hopefully near some other pigeons. It’s a really happy ending to a short story. We wish they were all this easy.
NOTE: We could use some help with Pidgey’s veterinary bill, so if you would like to donate to help Pidgey, visit our donate page here: https://ducksandclucks.com/blog/donate/
Thanks and quacks,
Tiff and the flock
