There was a youtube video that went around the vet school during the fall that was about a baby monkey and a pig and had a very catchy song. You can see it here, but be warned, if you watch it more than once, this video will be stuck in your head.
My husband coined a song to the same tune about my new wildlife case. “Baby duckies, baby duckies, swimming in a tub, baby duckies.”
Monday I was assigned my new wildlife case, a female mallard duck and her 9 ducklings. Apparently this little family was attacked by a goose and 2 babies were killed and the mom now has a broken femur (Bad Goose!). It is pretty much the most adorable thing ever.
Twice a day my partner Wade and I go down to the wildlife ward to care for the family. We change the water tubs, all the towels, the paper in the bottom of the run, and the food. We also weigh all the ducklings and the mom every morning, and give the mom a ton of medicine.
Overall, it’s pretty cool. We have named the ducklings Ferdinand, Filbert, Speedy, Lyle, Julia, Dolly, Arnold, and Lucy. They are very cute and “cheep” a lot. They all want to be huddled together all the time. If one gets separated from the group, it panics and runs in circles screaming… if you are imagining a cartoon, that’s really exactly what it looks like.
Mom is getting better. She had surgery to set her leg. Yesterday she actually started defending her ducklings. While that is unfortunate for us and our hands, it means she is feeling better – which is great! She will likely be in the hospital for 3-4 weeks, so I will likely pass the case off to the next on call shift Monday after next.
Then I am done with Wildlife Team! It has been a good experience and I learned a lot, but it is definitely not one I am planning to repeat There has been a lot of unnecessary nonsense involved, and I am ready to pass the torch.
Happy Friday!
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