When we left for the supermarket this afternoon, there was a duck egg sitting in the puddle. Only partially hardened, it was leathery and soft. Only one of our ducks is laying at the moment and I couldn’t see her. I knew that she had laid this morning, because I’ve been watching her clutch and counting.
I wondered how it had gotten there, in the water, far from her regular nest. Maybe one of my young ducks had started laying? I split it open and fed it to the dog and we went out.
We got home to find our laying duck in the middle of the driveway, waddling awkwardly and bleeding from her cloaca. A quick glance and I thought she was egg bound – which I also thought was weird, because I knew she had laid an egg this morning.
Catching a duck is never as easy as you think it will be, even when the duck is sick and moving awkwardly. As I tried to herd her into a corner, I kept checking on her bleeding. Unfortunately, it wasn’t looking like she was egg bound, instead it was looking like a prolapsed cloaca. I chased her around for 25 minutes, with her bleeding worsening before giving up, doing some googling and getting Nathan to help.
Once we’d caught her, we checked her out. She was definitely prolapsed.
There are ways you can ‘cure’ a prolapse, but they’re not always going to work. Every time they lay another egg, the prolapse is likely to return. Therefore, the cures involve stopping them laying for a time.
A starvation diet (just enough wheat to keep them alive) and a dark box, for upwards of 2 weeks is recommended.
I don’t think that a dark box for anywhere up to 2 months is the way a duck wants to live. I can’t imagine it would be healthy for her either.
The most common recommendation however, is a humane death and that’s what we chose.
When we started breeding poultry, we knew that we would have to kill some. We are realistic about this. Our young roosters are destined for the table, as are all our young ducks. I’ve even got the duck I want for Christmas earmarked already.
I held her and Nathan got the hatchet and the job was done. I got covered in blood, again. The kids watched from the bedroom window inside.
The slaughter is only gut wrenching until the duck is dead and then it’s just like processing meat. I skun her (I was too low on energy for plucking), gutted her out and that was that.
It was a bit weird to find the mother chook coming over to show her 4 week old babies what I was doing. They all came around the corner of the fence, looked at me, she clucked at them vigorously and them took them away.
It certainly wasn’t how I’d planned on spending my evening, gutting a duck and getting bloody, but that’s life with animals destined for the pot.
But, it looks like I know what we’re having for dinner tomorrow night.
Slow cooked duck.
I can’t wait.
I’m coming for dinner!
Hehehe. I’m just about to put her in the slow cooker now.
What are you having with the duck?
I like roasted veg. Shall I bring dessert?
Roasted veg for sure I think – I was waiting to see what the weather was up to, but it’s cold. Good day for slow cooked duck.
Good for you. Self sufficiency means you need a very pragmatic view of the poultry/animals you raise. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your dinner tomorrow 😉
It does mean I have to. It was harder than I thought it would be however, because I have in my head that all the babies will get eaten, but the older girls, not so much. I had to reconcile myself with that. And she was half way through laying another clutch of eggs for more babies. Stupid prolapse.
I was reading the link and they said one of the causes could be internal parasites. Put some garlic in their water just in case. x
I think it was more likely to be the egg overstimulation myself, but more garlic can’t hurt, so I’ll throw some in the bath today.
I couldn’t do it but I appreciate that you did, for the sake of the duck and I would certainly eat duck. Hope you enjoy your yummy yummy roast.
I grew up with it, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it myself when we had to do the chook a few months back. But we did and here we are. Honestly, it’s okay once they’re dead, it’s just processing meat then and not so bad. But still.
I really appreciate the philosophy behind self-sufficiency and raising your own meat products. It’s definitely better than feeding more money into the gaping mouths of factory farms rife with cruelty. I love that you’re giving these animals good, healthy lives. I’d love to have a crack at running a farm of sorts one day but don’t know that I’d manage – I fear that I’d develop emotional attachments to my animals far too strongly.
The cloacal prolapse sounds nasty, poor duck. A humane death does indeed sound preferable to a starvation diet in a box for months!
It’s not too bad actually, you baby them, but as they get older, you distance yourself before the killing. I didn’t have a chance to do this with this particular duck, because she was one of the breeders, not one for eating. So it was a shame to have to kill her.
In the future, I’d love to have enough room for a cow and a calf (milk and meat), a few sheep and the ducks, plus a huge veg garden, to hopefully get ourselves as self sufficient as possible.
Am so glad I’m not a duck…but if I were, I’d want to live with you V.
Happy healthy life, yep, I’d want to live here if I was a duck. Thanks 🙂
Quacking in heaven xo RIP dinner
It was better this way, anything else would have been cruel.
Good on you, it was the most humane thing for her.
What your mum said…garlic in the water/mash and apple cider vinegar in the water – these help flush out any parasitic nasties, just in case.
Yep, I’m going to do that. I didn’t know about the cider vinegar, so thanks, I’ll add some of that too. I think personally, it was the egg overstimulation – 2 eggs in one day is bad, but garlic is never ever bad for them!
Practical can still be kind hearted and you prove that. Enjoy.
It’s what I strive for.
🙁 R.I.P. poor thing My goodness my daughter is reading this over my shoulder and wanted me to say to you that you did the best possible for the duck and it is sad and she thinks your wonderful and now wants me to get little ducklings ,chooks etc… we have 3 green tree frogs and 1 dog (to me thats more then enough) We also used to have a blue tongue lizzaed geez! watch out world my daughter wants to be a vet and to look after all sick/injured animals:-) god i love her xxx
Ducks and chooks are the best thing I ever got! A supply of free range meat and eggs = best thing ever.
Your daughter sounds awesome.
Good for you. I’m not sure I could do it. I think that the way you’re living is wonderful. If only my garden were a bit bigger!
How is your garden going by the way?
Covered in snow at the moment!! My father-in-law has ordered seeds for next year though, so we’re looking forward to spring.
You know what’s sad? Animals that spend their whole lives in a cage. This is sad, but not SAD in the same way. Animals and people depend on each other, don’t they? I hope you had a nice dinner and that you are ok now. 🙂
Yes, animals in cages make me want to cry. The poor poor things. Having to kill her wasn’t something I wanted to do, but a good life and humane death is always preferable to caged life.
Just pleased relative who has just been diagnosed with eds and has a nasty prolapse hasn’t the same fate!
Poor duck but lucky you. I just love duck.
Lost my blogging mojo so only commenting at present.
Yes, luckily care for humans is better! But also, because we know what’s going on and can understand surgery to make it better – for a duck, surgery would just be lots of pain for no reason.
I adore duck too. It was delicious.
poor mother duck..
She wasn’t really a mother anymore – she had left the babies to fend for themselves a few weeks ago and was laying a new clutch.
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