O’Malley went to the vet this morning. It turns out he just has feather cysts, not lipomas. This is good news! But he did not enjoy having the cysts lanced at all. After some valium he was at least easier to handle.
He probably got the 4-5 cysts by landing on his keel while jumping off the deck, right when feathers were growing in… so they grew inward instead of outward. Now I get to clean the cysts twice a day myself for about a week until they heal – Merry Christmas to me!
Hopefully the cysts won’t return again. If they do, the vet will do a little skin surgery on him to prevent the feathers from growing wrong in the future.
O’Malley weighs 5.94kg or 13.09lbs, which is about a half-pound less than he weighed a year ago. This is a good weight for him.
Blurry O’Malley at the Vet
Chewy, O’Malley and Simon, Oh My!
“How is Chewy doing?”
You’re very sweet to ask, Olivia.
“Yeah how is he?”
Well, fuzzy butt… he is doing better.
“I thought so. He still doesn’t want to snuggle though.”
That is true, Racquel. I’m afraid he won’t ever be a chicken-snuggler.
“Me neither.”
Awww… well I guess I’ll have to snuggle with Racquel myself then.
“Just save time to snuggle with me, okay?”
You got it, my Flappy Buster.
So how are you, Chewy?
“Me? I’m good.”
“I had to go back to the vet.”
“My number was 33.4 before, but now it’s down to 22.”
“Theby menthb I’b gooble.”
What?
“THAT MEANS I’M GOOD!”
Oh! Yes, it does.
“I just need to get all these HUMAN COOTIES off of me!”
Ha ha good luck, Chewy.
Chewy’s blood work does show he is improving. He will need to do 10 more days of antibiotics and have another blood check to ensure he is all better. But he is definitely feeling good and eating well and acting much more like himself. It’s great to see him improve with simple antibiotics.
In other news, Simon wants everyone to know that he hates my singing.
“Please. Stop.”
Simon really can’t stand singing. He is eating a little better, but not good enough. We can’t decide if it is because something is really wrong with him, or if he just doesn’t like any of his 13 diet foods. Tonight he ate really well, because I gave him crappy Friskies wet food. That will cause rashes in him, but right now it’s more important that he eats well. He may start new medication tomorrow to see if we can continue to improve his appetite and get him eating better.
Lastly, O’Malley will be heading to the vet this Thursday morning.
“What? No way. Why?”
Sorry, O’Malley. But we need to have you checked out.
Remember nearly a year ago when O’Malley went to the vet for a fatty bump on his neck? Well now a year later he has several fatty growths on his chest. We think they are benign lipomas, which are literally fat tumors. They can be genetic or from bad breeding or other reasons. They generally aren’t life-threatening but they can get infected. As long as they don’t cause him discomfort, the vet will probably leave them alone. IF that’s what they are. But we need to confirm what they are and have them checked out. I have to say I’m a slight bit irritated that I caught this a year ago and then didn’t do anything more to follow up. Now O’Malley has a whole mess of these on his chest. I’m hopeful that it’s still not serious though, and thankfully he’s happy and active and eating normally. My status on this matter is “hopefully irritated.”
We’re happy Chewy is feeling better, hopeful that Simon will start eating more and hopeful that O’Malley’s growths aren’t serious. Olivia and Racquel are both doing well, and we’re happy for that, too.
And you, Petunia…
“Who, me?”
Yes, you. I didn’t want you to feel left out. So I want you to know you’re adorable and I love you and I’m happy that you’re healthy.
“Aww, thanks. Let’s celebrate with Cheerios.”
Good idea, Toony.
Happy Holidays, everyone.
A Cold Snap
“Well hello there. I am in the people tub tonight. We have a cold snap in Seattle so I am staying indoors.”
“Me and Chewy are warming up in the tub. It is cold water but it is sure warmer than outside.”
“Yeah, it’s cold outside! Meep meep coming through!”
“Okay I’m done.”
Then I’ll carry you back to your nesting spot, Chewy.
“Aaah. Now I have the whole tub to myself.”
“One last snack before bed time.”
Are you all tucked in, Racquel and Olivia?
“Yep. Roger that. We’re good. Good night.”
Goodnight, ladies.
Hey you two… none of that frisky business in the house, you hear?
“Awww fine. I’ll find some other trouble to get into.”
“How about this, Mom?”
No! O’Malley there is NO perching in the house, buster. You get down right now. I think it’s time for bed, young man. Good night everyone.
There’s a cold snap in Seattle for the next few days, and the ducks and rescued chickens are sleeping in the dining room tonight and tomorrow night. We bring them in when the temperatures drop below 25-degrees Fahrenheit. Flapper is funny in the house. He is close to the TV and can hear the TiVo sound effects. When he hears the TiVo go “boop bop” he says “quack quack” back to it. So all evening I hear “boop bop” when I change channels, followed by “quack quack.”
“Boop bop.”
“Quack quack.”
Stay warm, everyone. Brrrr!
Well Hello There
Hi Petunia. How’re you today?
“Well, hello there. Do you by chance have any treats?”
I do. I brought you some Cheerios.
“Excellent. Let me just get my…”
“ZOINKS! I will take that Cheerio!”
Uh oh, that’s not a good idea, Olivia. I have some more for you.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?! Oh, you’d better RUN!”
Whoa, look out everyone. Petunia is NOT happy.
“What’s going on? Did Olivia steal another Cheerio?”
Yep, I’m afraid so, Turk.
“I don’t know if that’s brave or stupid.”
Good point. You have a little something there on your snout.
“Hey, Turk. You look very pretty with that feather on your beak.”
He does have a feather stuck on his caruncle, doesn’t he.
“Hee hee he totally does.”
“Come back, Turk. We’re just kidding.”
He’ll be back. I put some Cheerios over there for him so he didn’t have to face the wrath of Petunia.
“I think Olivia is pretty funny.”
Oh yeah, Chewy? Well you’d better not get any ideas from her. You try and stay on Petunia’s good side, okay?
“Good thinking. Okay.”
All the ducks, including the foster ducks and even the foster chickens, are doing well.
Racquel L’Oreal is growing some new feathers.
“Put me down!”
“That’s better. Now get me some peas.”
She is a feisty little muppet. She does not like Cheerios, but she does expect treats, either corn or peas. Some mornings she sings until I let her out of her pen, and she greets me with a song when I get home from work.
Rex has turned into a lap duck. He never chases or bites anymore, and he loves to sit and listen to stories. Both Rex and Turk are molting their horrible old feathers right now, and starting to get beautiful new ones. They still have a few weeks of molting before they’ll be all dressed up in new feathers, and I can’t wait to see what they look like.
Petunia and O’Malley are both doing well, and finishing up their molt. O’Malley is very, very cranky when he molts, so I try to steer clear of him except when he wants to cuddle.
Chewy is sweet as a button, as always. Well, except when he’s chasing Petunia. He even likes to hang out with the chickens.
And Flapper is the light of my life, as always.
He likes Cheerios, too. But he prefers to eat them right off the spoon with a little rice milk or almond milk. I will have to get a video of him eating his Cheerios sometime soon.
Life is good in the yard right now, and that is always great for me. After such a busy season, it’s nice to have a few calm days, even if we still have a few rescues to place in permanent homes.
Simon has the right idea. He is enjoying the last few weeks of nice weather before the Seattle rains come to town.
“Okay enough chit chat. Now where were those Cheerios?”
Oh yes, Petunia. I’m sorry. Let’s get back to giving you some treats.
Have a good week, everyone!
what should we do today?
“Hi. What should we do today?”
Hi, buster. Well, we could clean your pool.
“Mmmm, maybe. What else can we do?”
Let’s see… we could mow the lawn and clean up your pen a little bit. Does that sound good?
“Hmm… that might be okay. What else?”
Well, we could just sit here and snuggle for a while.
“Oh! I like that idea! Good thinking.”
Snuggling is always a great idea, Flapper.
“I’m pretty good at it, too.”
Flapper had a busy day of snuggling and then when he was done, O’Malley decided it was a good idea, too.
O’Malley is molting right now, so he’s a little cranky. But he still loves to give hugs.
And he is an expert snuggler.
Hope your day was as productive as ours.
Muscovy Madness
In the fall when muscovies molt, they become a little kookie. A bit crazy. Full on wacky. The two rescued boys Turk & Rex are still here, growing new feathers so they can be placed in a sanctuary or a forever home. They don’t get along, and they don’t get along with O’Malley either. So three muscovy drake ducks molting at the same time is quite a sight. Have a look:
That’s O’Malley on the left. Turk on the right. And Rex facing both of the pens.
We hope to find Turk & Rex a great forever home as soon as they have their new feathers fully grown (probably another month). Until then, we’ll put up with all three boys threatening each other, constantly. My guess at a translation would be, “Oh no you di-int!”
Oy.
Birthday Boy
Oooooooh, Malley?
“Yes?”
Do you know what last week was?
“Hmmm… let me think.”
“Can I get a hint?”
Sure. Okay… it rhymes with Earth Day.
“It’s my birthday!”
Yay! That’s right, buster.
“Ha ha, I almost forgot.”
Me too, O’Malley. Happy Birthday my boy.
“Yeah Happy Birthday you big, biting, cranky pterodactyl.”
Ha ha, that’s my line, Flapper.
“In honor of your birthday, I request 20 minutes of silence so I can nap. I mean so I can honor your birthday.”
Good idea, Petunia. And sweet dreams.
I love you, Malley. Happy 4th Birthday buddy.
“Thanks, Mom.”
XOXOX
Bitey Dinosaur
O’Malley demonstrates how all imprinted muscovy drakes can be quite a handful at times.
The audio got a little out of sync with the video and the video lags behind.
just a weekend
Hi Flappy.
“Hi, Mom.”
You’re looking very sweet today.
You too, Malley.
“Thanks.”
We just had a normal weekend around here. A little too busy, but always plenty of time for the feathered family. Everyone is doing pretty well. We’re going to get way too busy to update the blog much for a few weeks, but we’ll check in when we can.
XOXOX
