Wednesday 29 June 2011

The Ugly Duckling


Okay, she's not really ugly... in fact, she's downright precious.

On my way back home, I found a baby duckling floating in the river, alone, sick, tired, and half drown. So naturally, I scooped her up and took her home with me. Poor little thing was shaking and frightened. She couldn't be more than 2 weeks old.

When we got home, I found that all she could do was roll her head back until she flopped on her back, then couldn't right herself back up. So I pulled out my trusty med kit, cleaned her up, and started her on some antibiotics.

Because she couldn't even sit without falling over, I made a makeshift nest out of towels for her so she would have support.

I never really expected her to survive that first night. She neither ate nor drank the entire day or that night. The following morning, after a lot of prodding, she finally took her first drink of water. Several hours later, she actually started to eat a little. What a relief.

After several days, she has improved immensely! She is still weak and not very steady on her feet, but then again, she is still a babe.

Okay, here's the hard part... I needed a name for her, so I decided to call her Fluffy, as she really is just a little ball of fluff at the moment. But I know that with a name like Fluffy, she'll probably grow up to be evil reincarnated - well, wouldn't you, if your parents name you Fluffy?

Anyway, I think I've found a home for her, but I'll keep her for a bit longer so she can finish up her meds and I can be sure that she is back to full health.

I'll try and do an update when she is at her new home.