goldfinch

the official common name is, lesser goldfinch (Spinus psaltria is the latin), but i don't think there's anything lesser about them.  they're beautiful, sprightly little birds and i love the cheerful chatter they make when they come into the gardens to eat the ripening sunflower seeds.

this lovely lady got a little too near the netting at the top of the trellises in the kitchen garden while foraging sunflower seeds this morning. she wasn't injured, just a little spooked.

 

the other side of the road

on a quiet stretch of road
through gently rolling hills
somewhere between here and family
the memory of an afternoon
years ago
coming or going
pulling to the side of the road
where a coyote
shot to death
had been hung on the barbed wire fence
i lifted its body from the barbs
and carried it to the other side of the road
placed it in a low spot
pulled some dried grasses over it
and asked forgiveness

happy birthday, mama!

wishing you a wonderful day.  love you very muchly and i've got a big birthday hug waiting for you...

brownie's booties

runner ducks, as the name implies, are very active ducks.  they spend most of the day, literally running around as a flock, foraging for greens and insects and the occasional frog or toad.  because they are so active and they're traveling over some fairly rough and uneven terrain it's not uncommon to have at least one of them with a slight limp from a strain or something rough or sharp they may have stepped on.  usually the limp is nothing serious and is gone after an afternoon siesta or an overnight rest.  if the limp seems persistent or pronounced i catch the afflicted duck and have a look at their feet and treat them if necessary.  early this spring a few of the ducks were limping from a condition commonly known as bumblefoot.  bumblefoot is basically when a callous or corn on the bottom of a duck's foot (it's common in chickens too) becomes infected, usually through a break in the skin, and forms a painful round sore which if not treated (often surgically) the infection can sometimes spread to the organs and cause death.  surgery involves cleaning the wound, cutting into the center of it with a scalpel or razor blade, squeezing out the infected core and then bandaging the foot.  i opted for the non-surgical route.  i made a salve of honey, coconut oil, garlic, turmeric, and finely powdered epsom salt.  every night when i was getting the ducks ready for bed i'd catch the bumbly ducks (most evenings staal would help me by holding the duck while i cleaned and dressed feet although i also got pretty good at doing it one-handed when i needed to), clean their feet, apply the salve and bandage them.  we did this for a few weeks and all of the ducks recovered nicely without having to resort to the blade.  during this time i found an etsy shop ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/PartyFowl ) that makes shoes (and other accesories for ducks, geese and chickens).  i ordered a few of the duck shoes but because they are made to order and made by hand it took quite a while to receive them and by the time they arrived the ducks were well and didn't need them. 

neoprene closed-toe duck shoes made by PartyFowl

brownie was a little limpy tuesday evening so yesterday morning i had a look at her feet.  her heels were a little cracky, nothing serious, but obviously uncomfortable enough to cause a slight limp so, while staal held her for me, i washed her feet in warm water with epsom salt and tea tree oil, applied a little vitamin E oil and put the shoes on her.  brownie is our smallest duck and they were a little big on her even though i ordered the size recommended for runner ducks.  they fit well enough to allow her rear toe to go through the hole in the back without any trouble and the velcro closures at the ankle and top of the foot kept the shoes from slipping off.  she was able to run and forage with the others all day and didn't seem uncomfortable. 

the shoes are very well made and easy to clean.  they're made out of neoprene, the same material used to make wetsuits, so they're perfect for ducks.  they're a great addition to our first aid kit and make dealing with foot ailments a lot easier for me and the ducks.
i'll be keeping an eye on brownie's feet to make sure nothing serious develops and i've got her little booties ready if she needs them.

feathers

the ducklings have been very busy making feathers.  except for the black duckling, who is still a little behind, they've got fully feathered bellies...

spot

i've been playing doctor with one of the ducks for the last few weeks.  spot started having a lot of trouble breathing about 3 weeks ago.  a couple of weeks before i noticed spot's breathing difficulties many of the ducks had been coming back from foraging with foxtails in their nostrils.  i was able to remove all the foxtails i saw but they move very quickly and it's quite possible spot had one that worked its way in and out of sight before she made it back to camp.  she was in pretty bad shape at one point, not able to keep up with the rest of the flock and working so hard to get air into her lungs that her chest had a deep depression in the center and her whole body would heave with each inhalation.  she couldn't quack and would cough occasionally. 
i've had an interest in herbal and holistic healing since i was in high school and it's grown stronger over the last several years.  i think it's best to give the body the support it needs to heal itself.  i believe that for myself and for my animals. 
mullein and sage are two plants that are good for lung/respiratory ailments and garlic is a potent natural antibiotic.  i grow lots of sage and garlic in the gardens and mullein grows wild on our property and in many places nearby along the road.  i made a strong tea of sage and mullein leaves each night to add to the feed and drinking water pans each morning.  unlike many chemical drugs, having the tea in the communal feed and water was not a danger to the healthy members of the flock, it was just more good food.

drinking pans with mullein and sage tea, including the chopped leaves from the brew, spot standing rear left

i also mixed up a concoction of honey, coconut oil, crushed fresh garlic, powdered dried sage, and turmeric powder and gave that to spot orally with a needleless syringe twice a day.

needleless syringe with honey, coconut oil, garlic, sage and turmeric

spot seemed to know i was trying to help her.  she didn't fight when i would pick her up to give her the medicine and she would even leave the rest of the flock occasionally to come see me during the day, she'd walk over to me and bow and give me a look and then she'd go back and join the rest of the ducks again.  
she's shown great improvement.  a few days into the beginning of the treatment she started coughing quite regularly which i took to be a sign that her lungs were clearing.  she got her quack back with the coughing.  lately her breathing is hardly noticeable, she's eating well and her activity is normal.  i got her down to one dose by syringe per day for a few days after she seemed to be stable in her improvement.  she's never refused the medicine but i noticed with the last couple of doses she has spit most of it out so i've taken that as her way of telling me that she doesn't need anymore right now and i've stopped giving it to her.  i'll be keeping a close eye on her, especially during the intense heat we'll be having over the next week or so.  i think she's got a little more healing to do but i feel like she's going to be just fine.

spot's namesake is the black spot on her neck peeking out from under my thumb

duckling growth

the ducklings are just a few days shy of being 4 weeks old and they've changed considerably from the round little fluffballs they were when they hatched.  the black duckling is quite a bit smaller than the other two but i think it started out a bit smaller and it's also far more active than the others so may be burning energy running around instead of putting it all into growth.  they all look to be quite healthy and harpo is still doing a great job caring for them.
here's a look at how they've been growing...
 

black duckling on day one, still a bit wet from the hatch

fluffy, safe, and warm 2-3 days after hatch

5 days old exploring a bit but staying close to each other and to mama

1 week old and practicing good runner duck posture

not quite as tall as mama

at 2 weeks they've lost much of their roundness...necks and bills noticeably lengthened

by 3 weeks old body and head shape look a lot like the adults and they are much more aware of their surroundings...keeping an eye on a passing turkey vulture

about 3 1/2 weeks (2 days ago) a few tail feathers starting to emerge

a few hours ago

can't wait to see how they look in the morning.