Farewell, Sweet Little Peep-Duck

 One of our peep-ducks passed away this morning.😢 She was about 5 years old.

We referred to her as a "peep-duck" because she was raised with ducks. She was one of two Barred Rock chicks that joined us at the same time as several ducklings toward the beginning of the pandemic. Since they were all raised together, the chicks preferred to be near the ducks and occasionally had odd duck-like behavior.

The chicks and ducks would snuggle together in their warm bedding. The odd assortment of birds became a family, always together, as close as best friends, brothers and sisters.

Above is one of the peep-ducks after we moved them outside. It was hard to tell the two chicks apart.

Later, the only way I could tell them apart was by their preference for how closely they hung to the ducks. One peep-duck stays with the ducks at all times, even bedding down in a pile on the floor of the coop with them at night. Meanwhile, the other peep-duck began hanging out with the chickens, and chose to sleep on the roost at night. The peep-duck who preferred to sleep with the chickens on the roost is the one that passed away. 

Based on her symptoms, I'm pretty sure she had kidney failure. Unfortunately, some chickens end up with internal problems that no amount of care seems to help, and this was the case with her. 

Toward the end, I moved her into a big tote that had pine bedding in it, so she would be safe and comfortable. I kept her away from the others as well, in case her illness was contagious. I put food and water in the bin with her, changing it out several times a day. We offered her every kind of food and medicine we could think of that normally helps our hens get better when they are sick (see an article of ideas here). The bin had big holes drilled in the sides so she could see out. I'd set it near the chicken pen so she could see the others and feel comforted by their sounds. Then, at night, I'd pick up her bin and move her inside the house where it's warmer and safe from predators. Despite all our efforts, we still lost the sweet girl.

Rest in peace, our little peep-duck.🩷