A hoarder in the United States was recently reported for having over 160 ducks, geese, turkeys and chickens living on her property in appalling conditions. While the hoarder’s initial intentions were good, her neglect and mental health issues created an unsuitable and unsanitary environment for these animals.
The neglected birds were living in tight quarters both inside and outside. Although the owner could not take proper care of the animals she continued to order more chicks and ducklings online and through mail order.
Many of the animals were suffering from ‘bumble foot’, a condition that causes infections on the bottom of feet. They were also living inside a screened-in porch where a slurry of feces and spilled food covered the floor. Due to inadequate housing, several of the birds did not have access to proper shelter and had lost toes and combs to frostbite. The indoor quarters were worse than the outdoors. All the birds showed signs of nutritional deficiencies.
After a year of trying to convince the owner to give up the animals, the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and the Ulster County SPCA were able to obtain a seizure warrant to rescue the birds. All of the birds were treated for their health issues and provided veterinary care, nutritional supplements, quality food and daily vitamins in their water.
Many are now up for adoption, which you can inquire about here.
In the heartwarming video below, you can see the rescued ducks swimming for the first time in their lives. It’s fascinating to see their instinctual abilities ‘kick in’ as they quickly realize they are quite adept in the water.
Why didn’t they let the ducks just find their own way into the water instead of chasing them in?
According to their FAQ on Youtube there were a number of considerations. It is important to get the new ducks integrated into the flock swiftly because by the end of the day they would be sharing a coop to protect them from nocturnal predators, and so any issues needed to be observed and dealt with if certain ducks were being picked on, etc., so that they could separate them again if necessary.
The sanctuary also has limited staff and lots of other animals needing attention, so it was judicious for the safety of the new ducks to get them acclimated while staff members were present. Lastly, from many previous experiences they knew they would love the water once they were in. [Source]
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