Mr Flapper Duck

Unfortunately, Phoebe Kay passed away this morning unexpectedly.

Basically she had a yolk inside her without a shell that did not pass through her system. This caused an infection which caused her kidneys to shut down. The technical explanation is “Yolk coelomitis causing amiloydoisis resulting in kidney failure.” The yolk was probably the last egg of her last batch… which means her problems first started around 3-weeks-ago. By the time I realized she was sick, it was too late to help her. She passed away in my arms this morning before the results of her blood tests from yesterday’s vet visit were back. She had started baytril antibiotics yesterday but it was too little too late.

The unfortunate thing was, I might have noticed she had an infection sooner if she wasn’t sharing a pen with Flapper these days. She and Flapper shared a space after Kozmo passed away. And after Flapper’s surgery, Flapper had been drinking a lot of water. Lately their entire pool was empty in the morning a few times, which scared and shocked me. It’s a sign of kidney trouble when ducks drink that much water. I actually had Flapper’s blood tested TWICE to see if his kidneys were functioning well — once 2-days after his surgery and the 2nd time at his follow-up. The results were fine both times. What I realize now is that Phoebe must have been drinking all that water to try to fight off her infection and the resulting kidney problems. She looked so normal and healthy that I never even THOUGHT to test HER kidneys. It just never occurred to me. Update: Actually I was wrong to suspect that. Flapper drank an entire 10-gallon baby pool last night by himself. It’s definitely still him and his post-surgery issues. His 2nd follow-up at the vet is scheduled for tomorrow at 11am.

She declined so fast that we may not have been able to help her even if we’d realized she wasn’t feeling well. But it’s such a shock that she’s gone. All the time I was focused on Flapper’s recovery, Phoebe was slipping away unnoticed.

Phoebe Kay, Flapper and Kozmo shared a pen for a few years together. Now both Phoebe and Kozmo are gone, and Flapper is alone for the first night in over 4-years.

Phoebe Kay was always such a sweet, quiet girl… and she was the only duck here who got along with everyone. Every single duck who passed through here liked Phoebe, and she liked them all too.

She loved to splash in the pool and she had the boys wrapped around her little webbed feet.

She was the center of attention much of the time, yet her star quality never went to her head.

She was a super-serious bug hunter and would do almost anything for worms.

Gosh, Phoebe. I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you weren’t feeling well sooner, girl.

You were such a quiet, sweet girl and such a bright light in Flapper’s life. I know he’s going to miss you dearly, and I am going to miss you, too.

Rest in peace, Phoebe Kay.

Birth: (unknown/rescued)
Adoption: January 22, 2006
Death: August 30, 2008

Frank? Don’t scare us like that again, okay buddy? I know it’s fun to fly, but we’re going to tape one of your wings so you keep that youthful exuberance in the yard from now on.

Frank is home safe after his night out on the town, and he doesn’t seem to mind having one of his wings taped. Unfortunately, we found out today that Frank’s blood results from his follow-up vet visit show he still has a pretty serious infection from when he was shot with a bb gun before he was rescued last month. It’s a pretty big bummer because his leg LOOKS so much better, so we thought he WAS better. Also, the antibiotic was really expensive and supposed to work wonders. He must have been really suffering with that bb in his leg before he was rescued. Hopefully the new antibiotic will help get his blood count back under control. Thankfully, his leg DOES work better, the swelling is gone, and he doesn’t even limp anymore. So that’s good news. He’ll need one more blood test in 7-10 days to ensure the new antibiotic kills the infection, but he still should be able to go to his forever home before that.

I’m so glad we found him and got him home this morning after his neighborhood flight, especially with his white blood cell count so elevated. He has agreed not to scare us again, and even if he gets wanderlust for flying free, his wing is taped.

Frank? You’re grounded. Indefinitely.

Flapper gave me special permission to post about a dog on his site. Normally he is not a big dog fan, and thinks dogs are stinky and eat poo. But in this case, he made an exception.

This is Yogi. Yogi dog is a 5-year-old poodle/pom mix who was surrendered to a vet clinic. Yogi is looking for a great forever home. His owners wanted him euthanized because he bit the female owner. But frankly, we think the owner deserved it. And if anyone is going to be euthanized, perhaps it should be the cranky old bat who got herself bit. Oops! Did we say that out loud?

Anyway, back to sweet Yogi dog… Yogi has shown absolutely no signs of aggression, seems indifferent to cats, is well-behaved and walks nicely on a leash. Heck, Yogi even does tricks for treats. (I’ll bet the old bat who threw Yogi away doesn’t even do that.) Yogi’s only problem is that he’s a little scared and disoriented, and doesn’t really want to be stuck at a vet clinic forever. He’s current on all of his vaccinations and looking for a loving long-term home.

UPDATE: Yogi was adopted! Yogi found a great forever home on Sunday, August 31st., through someone who knew him through a coworker of the clinic he was at. We wish him all the best with his new wonderful human companion.

Note: The views and opinions expressed on MrFlapper.com are not endorsed by Alpine View and don’t represent their views. We take sole responsibility for calling Yogi’s previous owner a cranky old whackjob.

Good Frank, originally uploaded by tifotter.

Frank went to the vet this morning and was a very good boy. They took some blood for a CBC (complete blood count) and that will show tomorrow afternoon if his infection is all gone. I think it’s gone and he’s good to go to his new home this weekend.

Good boy, Frank.

“My leg is okay, but I like to keep it tucked anyway.”

Frank goes to the vet in the morning for a check-up on his leg. Frank was shot with a bb gun before being rescued from a public park.

Now he has been on anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and is doing really well. I’m not sure how much he limps, but it’s not much. He looks pretty darn good and hopefully the vet agrees in the morning.

“Pleeeeease!”

I can’t eat in the yard anymore unless I bring treats for Frank.

“Nom nom… thanks!”

“Hee hee hee.”

Frank will be ready for his forever home this weekend, but I’m going to miss having him around to laugh at my jokes. It’s been great having you here, Frank.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to the Kozmo Kirby Memorial Fund. Frank’s vet bills came to over $400 and they were all covered by your donations. (His antibiotic shots alone were over $200… all covered by your donations.) Frank literally didn’t get vet care before he got to us, because there was no one to pay for his care. Because of you, Frank can walk again and has a great chance at a normal life in his new forever home.

Juno, originally uploaded by tifotter.

Juno is in her last week here at Flapper’s house. She heads to her forever home next weekend. After being here for a month, as of today, I still have not decided what kind of duck she is. She is pretty tiny, but is she small-enough to be a call duck? Is she still growing? I just can’t tell. Either way, she’s a cutey pie.

In other news, we filmed a video at the house today. It went well. It is not related to the ducks and we can’t reveal what it’s for, yet. But when we can share, we’ll post a link. For now here’s a still shot from the video shoot, with the secret star blocked out in blue.

UPDATE: Scratch that first part. I just heard Juno quack. My bet is she is a call duck. Or part-call. Here is a photo of a rescued duck from our friend. This duck is half call, half mallard.

I think she looks very Juno-esque, don’t you? Half mallard, half call. That is my best guess.