Mr Flapper Duck

You can click on the photo to see a larger view and to see a second x-ray view.

Flapper had an x-ray tonight, and he is scheduled for an endoscopy this Friday. He has had trouble with his plumbing since before he had his big operation in August 2008. It’s a chronic issue for him. But now after this new x-ray I am wondering if he also has some arthritis forming in his knees. He has had trouble walking lately, and I thought it was pain from his belly. But if it’s arthritis pain instead, that would make me feel much better about his overall health. I’d much rather know he has a little arthritis than to think his belly is so sore he can hardly walk. I don’t know for sure yet, but that’s my hunch. We’ll see what the vet experts say on Friday. I’m hoping he just needs a little clean-up to his plumbing and then we can treat his slight arthritis… but that’s all just my conjecture right now.

When Flapper was brought back after his x-ray, the vet tech said “This is the most amazing, wonderful animal ever!” She raved about how expressive and affectionate he is. I love it when people meet Flapper and see that about him. It’s especially easy to see if he’s tired and ready for a nap, like he was tonight. Also as Flapper has gotten older, he has become more calm and trusting of me. He likes riding in his carrier in the car, and doesn’t seem to mind going places. He doesn’t make any of the stressed out noises, and he doesn’t pant like a stressed out bird. He just trusts that what we’re doing must be fun, and that there’s probably treats for him when we’re done. (I finally realized about a year ago that he doesn’t want to see out the window while we drive. There are too many scary, dangerous things to look at! But he is super comfortable in his closed carrier and he has loved riding in the car ever since I switched him to that.)

Flapper really is quite a special guy, especially to me.

Flapper’s plumbing looks better tonight and his anti-inflammatories are finally helping his latest flare up. We’ll keep you posted on what the doctors say on Friday.

It’s been a lazy weekend around here. Flapper and Chewy have been napping…

…and watching the birds go by. What kind of bird was it, Chewy?
“Just a crow. Not a hawk.”

Petunia and O’Malley have enjoyed hunting for bugs, even though it has been way too rainy.

Olivia is an expert bug hunter.

Racquel is too.

But both of them would prefer a little less rain.

“Blech, rain.” I know, Racquel. Keep preening and maybe the rain will stop soon.

Chewy is also an expert bug hunter, and he especially enjoys looking for bugs in mud puddles. So the rain is okay by him.

Flapper prefers to sit and preen…

…and wait for the bugs to come to him.

We hope you had a good Fowlentine’s Day. Flapper got some granola treats and some extra lap time. O’Malley skipped the granola but enjoyed his lap time, too.

In other news, Flapper unfortunately still isn’t feeling great. He has had trouble now and then since his surgery back in August 2008. He improved for a few days and seemed good yesterday, but today he is in pain. We hope we can get him comfortable again and hope he doesn’t need surgery. There really aren’t many duck surgeons out there, so we’d like to avoid that at all costs. Hopefully he can just have clean-up with an endoscope and not full surgery. We’ll keep you posted. I really, really hate seeing him uncomfortable.

This is what Flapper looks like on Google Earth.

Flapper got his french fries tonight, and as you can see, he is a french fry monster. He LOVES french fries very, very much. He only gets a few of them, broken into little pieces, every once in a while. They are his favorite thing ever.

And you can also see they make him a little bonkers.

He seems to be feeling a bit better, which I’m very happy about.

French fries all around!

“How do I look, doc?”

Flapper went to the vet today for a check-up. Since his surgery in August 2008, he has scar tissue build up over time, and sometimes that scar tissue gets irritating to him.

Today he had a quarter-sized piece of scar tissue removed from just inside and outside his vent. Ouch! I knew it was there but was afraid to pull it off. That spot is still sore, but having the scar tissue removed made him much more comfortable, which is great.

Flapper’s plumbing is different since his surgery, and it can leave him with irritated skin all the time. Today he got a shot of lupron to calm down his hormones. He also has anti-inflammatories and pain medication (if he needs it).

“I do not want a shot. Let’s talk about this more first.”

He is going to come in the house for a bath in a few minutes. Then we can put some antibiotic cream on his vent and see if he needs any pain medication. If we can keep his vent from getting irritated by keeping it covered with diaper-rash cream, he might not have scar tissue build up so much and he might be more comfortable long-term. So that’s what we’re going to try.

Flapper also had blood work done, just to make sure he’s doing well overall. We’ll get those results back on Tuesday. He weighs 2.92kg or 6.44lbs today, which is a little bit less than a year ago, but just fine.

He is always really good at the vet, and he’s really easy to take out and about. He doesn’t mind riding in the car a bit and he trusts me to make sure no one hurts him.

In short, he’s a sweetheart. And he’s doing just fine.

Flapper fell asleep watching TV tonight inside the house with me.

He is having a little trouble with his vent again, unfortunately. Hopefully he will just need some anti-inflammatories and pain medication for a bit. It has happened a few times before in the past 2 years since he had his big operation.

His operation in August 2008 got rid of a granuloma tumor but it left him with some re-worked plumbing that sometimes gives him trouble. Today he got stopped up and couldn’t poop! Poor guy.

Tomorrow at 3:30pm he’ll go to the vet. Until then, he’s been hanging out and watching TV with me.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Flapper? Why don’t you show everyone your impressive “donkey honk” move?

“Okay. Are you ready belly?”

“Haaaaaarumph!”
Good one, Flapper! I am impressed.

Flapper makes that “donkey honk” move when he is trying to get my attention away from the other boys. I think it’s such a funny move. Once he has my attention he will either make a “bwah” sound and rub his belly or he will preen behind one wing and fluff up his head feathers. Sometimes I can get four or five “wing thingies” out of him, when he’s really trying to impress me. Right now both he and Chewy are trying to impress me and Petunia, since we’re the only girls around. Petunia is happy with just O’Malley though, and O’Malley gets very angry when the boys hit on his girlfriend. So mostly they just try to impress me and my shoes. Today I saw Chewy make the “donkey honk” move himself for the first time, but I didn’t catch it on camera. It’s such a silly move, but I guess it impresses the ladies.

Here’s a collection of all of Flapper’s “donkey honks” through the years.

April 2009.

July 2008.

February 2008. Look, there’s Eddie!

October 2007.

January 2007. Awww, we miss those kids who’ve passed away.

July 2006.

I’m still impressed after all these years, Flapper.

Spring must be right around the corner if Flapper and Chewy are honking to impress the ladies. Stay tuned, and keep honkin’.