Operation Duckling Rescue

[falcongrrl]

Due to some home repairs we didn't get around to hiring out...a female muscovy duck got into our attic. And laid eggs. That have now hatched. Peep. Peep peep. Peep peep peep peep peep. Peep peep peep peep peep peep peep. Peep.

Our goal is to get them all out and to keep the mama from going back up there until the house can be repaired.

Yesterday we managed to get four ducklings and the mama out of the attic, but there are still at least one or two left in there that we can't seem to find. And there may be a nest with eggs. I'm exhausted after chasing ducks around yesterday. We had the mama and the ducklings in the dog's crate (the dog is very confused) but then Daniel was trying to reach in and feed and comfort them and the mama freaked out and flew out of the crate. He and Dave chased her around the back porch but she eventually got out through a hole in the screen...

...which leaves us with four muscovy ducklings on our back porch and two more in our attic and a damaged soffit that still needs to be repaired. Someone's scheduled to come out on Thursday morning to fix it. In the meantime, Operation Duckling Rescue continues. We think the mama is sufficiently freaked out not to return to the attic. If she goes back up there, then we have another complication. We're also worried about predators being drawn to the peeps and ending up in our attic - the last thing we need is a raccoon or cat up there.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this; it just seems noteworthy enough to go in my journal, for sure.

Daniel blames himself for the mother getting out. He's really taking responsibility for the ducklings now. Which is good and mature, I guess. I'm just afraid if any die he'll be devastated. That said, they seem pretty hardy, and they're drinking water. So far so good. As much as fostering four ducklings in the middle of suburbia can be considered good. :-D

eta: Five out of the attic now, and I still hear peeping up there.

Comments

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Wow. Is it Down the Rabbit Hole Day? This was rather surreal.

Good luck getting them all out.

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

*laugh* No, it's all true, I promise. That's the sad scary part. :-D

[onecrazymother.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! How exciting in so many ways. It might be comforting to recognize that wild animals having a bunch of babies at the same time often wind up with some of them not making it --- it's just the way nature works. Do you have a bird hospital near you? If that happened to me, I would check with The Raptor Trust( even though ducklings are decidedly not raptors). They operate a bird hospital and have some information (http://theraptortrust.org/the-birds/injured/) on short term care for orphaned birds. Surely you have somebody in your area who has the know-how to advise you or take over the operation. I once gave a snake someone had given me, that turned out to be beyond my ability to care for, to my college's zoology department. (They promised they were going to take care of it, and I knew and trusted them.)

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

I did tell Daniel just that - that it's early in the season and that often ducklings don't make it and are lost to predators. I just see him really taking ownership of their welfare. :-)

Our next-door-neighbor has fostered muscovy ducks before and I've also been poking at information online. It looks like it's a twelve-week process and then they can be released. I have a friend whose parents live on a bunch of land; I may check with her and see if I can release them there. If all five live, then I don't know that our neighborhood can take that much of an increase in the muscovy population.

At this point the stressful part is trying to get them all out of the attic and then getting our house repaired. Then we can figure out long-term what is best for the ducks themselves. Someone local said that we do have a bird rescue group here too, though since muscovy ducks are considered domestic, I'm not sure if they will help or not.

[ladyperegrine.livejournal.com]

Also, we don't want them to die in the attic because we're worried about smell/germs (in addition to just feeling bad for the little guys).

[winnett.livejournal.com]

Oh.... I'm in 'Awww' mode as well as 'Oh, I hope they all get out' mode. I hope that the mama comes back to her babies. Make sure they have good and water in their crate. Poor guys.

And poor you!

[illuviel.livejournal.com]

Wow. I should say something more astute, and offer assistance, but I have no idea what I could add beyond moral support. Go Team Duckling Rescue! (That said, if *you* can think of something iandmine can do for younyours, please let me know.)

Operation duckling rescue

[(Anonymous)]

Christi,

This is hysterical! Only you, my dear!! I was laughing and went and told Jessica and she just about freaked out. She is deathly afraid of all feathered creatures. Seems her grandmother had chickens that chased and pecked her as a child and she is seriously afraid. Won't even go near Lake Morton!! She said she doesn't know what she would do if she got ducks in the attic!! What a story. :-)

Thanks for sharing. Love you, Mom