"ducky"

[indigowulf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv6pkGkT8xw

My video caption explains it all. (kid safe)

[indigowulf]

The darndest thing happened right after I brought Ducky home. Our 25 pound ball of lazy cat, who cant be bothered to hunt, went out and got an earthworm, jumped back in the window and layed it down in front of the cat carrier where I made Duckys nest. He kinda made that spitty face like "that was gross". Then he looked in the carrier for Ducky, who was sitting on my lap at the time. When he saw him, he jumped into my lap and sniffed him, then jumped back down.

So strange, he clearly got the worm for the bird. He made it clear that he knew what he was doing and did it on purpose.

[indigowulf]

Next morning feather preening- he's a happy boy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU2Y--rohkc

Id just post the vids but that doesnt seem to work here.

[jojo]

Ducky is so cute. He seems to be much relieved at being rescued. I'm glad he seems to be doing well

[Ryuukokoro]

Are you going to bring the poor dear to a wildlife rehabilitation center?

[PonyMama]

I actually wonder that too, but very cute

[indigowulf]

The only ones in this area are open 12 hours a day. That would mean 12 hours of being alone and not fed. At this point in time, I have 24 hours a day free to care for him. He wakes me up at 6 AM hungry, and doesnt go to sleep until around 10 PM. He eats every hour. Theres simply no way a 12 hour facility can keep him alive. He would have 4 hours a day awake, scared, hungry, and alone. Thats assuming that the workers are staffed enough to be able to give him hourly care when they are open.

Im in a very "wild" area, you'd think they would have more care for things like this because there are more cases in places like where I live, but it's almost like the abundance of wildlife makes individual creatures less valuable We dont even have an ASPCA within hundreds of miles, although we are the 2nd largest city in the state, and we are 5 animals per human (if you include livestock) in our county.

I had to call the local sherrif to check on someone who illegally had a wallaby, which they were keeping outside in a doghouse in the snow. I know it was at least 3 days before they came and got it, because I passed it on my way to work every day. Theres just not as much concern or resources dedicated to animals here, because they have the "plenty of fish in the sea" attitude towards them.

One year, we were informed by the park rangers at a local tourist location, that even if you have a deer hunting tag, you are not permitted to eat a deer you struck with your vehicle. So, after one of our neighbors hit a deer (happened sevral times a year in our area) he called the sherrif to ask what he was supposed to do. They said "drag it in the woods and let it die, so the crows can eat it." He threw his hunting tag on it and said "call me Mr. Crow" Seems stupid to tell people to go shoot another healthy animal instead of using the one who died in an accident.

anyway, Im starting to rant. Sorry! Short answer, no, I have more time to care for him, so he will stay with me.

[indigowulf]

New vid of ducky- he's looking so much older already!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ebdF6f8ahQ

[Neocridders]

I love this so much <3 So much cute.

[indigowulf]

Today was a very educational day outside! He watched carefully as I extracted a worm from its hole, then tried a few things of his own. (First day ever trying to get his own food outside!) He picked some dirt, picked a grass blade that was pale from lack of sun (we were hunting under a stepping stone I turned over) and pecked a rolly polly that he spit out. The biggest learning experience for pecking was a tiny white slug. He learned that slugs are gooey and hard to wipe off your beak.

He also got a lesson from local birds. They kept giving him the "danger from the ground" call. Granted, it was because I was with him. I however, showed him the cats resting in the shade and repeated the call, so he would know cats were "ground danger". He seemed to respond well and understand it.

Im looking forward to the day a large bird passes overhead, so I can give him "danger from the sky" warning. He is maturing fast!

[Neocridders]

How do you give him those calls? Do you record them from other birds?

[indigowulf]

When I got him, I researched robins a lot. I am a pretty good whistler- Ive whistled elk off mountains lol (and then had to run and hide!!) but I started teaching him the calls off a website that has robin calls and thier meaning.

Had a great learning experience today- roommates ferret got in my room and started poking around on the floor. Ducky is mostly staying on top of one of my shelves, so he was in no danger, but I pulled up the website and repeatedly played the "danger on the ground" call. He stood up and paid attention to everything the ferret did.

When I finally got ahold of the ferret and picked her up to take her out of my room, picking her up made her get closer to Ducky. His reaction was perfect- he screamed "danger!" twice and then flew to the far side of the room, as far away as he could get.

He now knows that cats, dogs, ferrets (weasels) and some other birds are danger. It was the best flight Ive seen him do so far, he's getting better at that every day. Between feedings, Im leaving tiny cut-up bits of food in front of him, and he is now starting to pick at them and eat a couple on his own. I try to get him as close to wild robins as I can on our daily outings, so he can listen to them in person and see them around.

All in all, he will hopefully be ready to go free at the end of the month!

[Neocridders]

Ok, neo is going to ask because she is unsure. Is Ducky a robin? At first I thought he was a duck, from his name, but then I saw the video a few days ago, and he didn't really look like a duck... but maybe he's something I've never seen before.

>.> But you are saying he is listening to robin calls, so maybe he's a robin?

Hehe. But that's so cool. I think it's so cool that you are doing all you can to help this guy out. It's really awesome that you're doing so much, like giving him calls to know what to do. And he actually understands them now. Wow.

[indigowulf]

Yes, hes a robin heh. I mention in the notes of the video- a friend of mine got him from a neighbor of hers- appearantly he was being harassed by dogs, the neighbor took him and put him in a box, protecting him from both dogs and the flock of children saying "ooooh, can i pet him?". That lady has a job, so passed him to my friend, who is a stay at home mother.

However, she is going in for a historectomy, (i spelled the wrong) and asked me to take him. By this time, nobody even knows for sure where he came from, the dogs were carrying him around, so theres no chance of finding his nest or parents or returning him and seeing if parents come for him. He was already in human captivity a couple days by the time he made his way to me, or Id have never taken him out of his environment.

But anyway, back to the name. Friends 3 year old boy was stressed because I was taking "his" bird and I was trying to talk with him and let him know it would be ok. I asked him what it's name was. He said "Duck". When I asked why, he said "bird was all wet" Im assuming he means from the dog slobber. I found 3 year old logic amusing. I also remember the movie Land Before Time, where the character Ducky calls himself a "big mouth" and that certainly fits this little guy!

[indigowulf]

wow... we had an ADVENTURE this morning. About 6 AM I took him outside for his daily bug-hunt. Theres some mountain chickadee living under the eves of my neighbors garage, attached to my side fence. They were feeding thier young. I guess he got jelouse.

He flew off my hand, up on top of my roof! and watched them for a while. Then, he flew over onto the fence, and got as close to thier nest as he could. I was worried he'd be attacked. One male kept scolding him from on top of the garage. At one point, however, the female came and sat next to him on the fence. Just for a moment, then flew back to her babies.

Once he realized he wasnt going to get any handouts or socializing from them, he came back to me. We went inside for breakfast, and he kept making his sweet baby peeps at me for almost half an hour- I think he was saying thank you.

Oh, and when I hold a spoon full of water in front of him, he will now dip his beak in and tip it back, like a big boy!