As we shared with you last week, we rescued three Pekin ducks from a terrible housing situation. We had them quarantined for a period of time and after deciding they did not carry any illnesses that would infect our ducks, we let them out into the property.
They are loving it. The ducks have not yet discovered the large pond the other ducks utilize. However, they have found the smaller “pond” that has been created by an overturned canopy. We still feed them at night and lock them in the coop to protect them from predators at night. They have also been introduced to our other ducks. At the moment neither groups of ducks are thrilled about the other, but I’m hoping that after some time they will start to like each other.
There is some sad news though, the smallest of the ducks the one with most of their back feathers missing, did not make it. She always had a hard time walking, and even though she was happier here she was unable to recover properly. A few days before she died she was more hunched and spent a lot of time laying down. Then last night, with the temperature reaching into the 30s the warmth of her companions was not enough to maintain her and she passed. We dug a hole on the property and buried her. Even though we didn’t have her long it is still sad to have an animal die in our care, especially one so fragile.
