Daisy’s Memorial
AMERICAN PEKIN DUCK
From: Vacaville, California
Rescued March 5, 2022
Crossed the Rainbow Bridge: Mar 5, 2024
Two years ago, we took in Daisy, a large Pekin duck. We had been looking for a solo Pekin female for Betty. We had rescued Betty from a neglectful situation in Grass Valley and he was the lone survivor of his flock. He stayed alive by huddling with 8 obese pigs who were also neglected.. and whom we subsequently rescued, as well.
Daisy came from a loving home, but her owners were worried about predators and were anxious to find her a more secure home. Daisy had previously been attacked and nearly killed by raccoons.
Her owners loved her and showed their love through feeding her. So Daisy was quite plump and came to the ranch with all sorts of duck treats.
Betty and Daisy hit it off immediately. Ironically, on the same day, Vince flew down to Los Angeles and picked up another solo female duck who was at a high kill shelter. We named that duck, Alle ( after Allen Lundgren, Betty White's husband).
Inadvertently, they became known as the BAD ducks... not that they were bad, but it was easier for us to identify the trio as the BAD ducks instead of Betty, Alle, and Daisy.
Through more exercise and a more proper diet, Daisy got to a better weight. Unfortunately, she was born with terrible knees. She became less and less mobile. We had an avian vet examine Daisy and the vet said she had never seen such bad knees on a duck.
We opted to give her pain medication and even bought her a duck chair for her to sit in. She loved her Minnie Mouse inflatable bath...either to swim in or to rest in when we filled it up with shavings.
It got to a point where she walked less and less and pretty much was immobile and relied on us to move her.
She was a very opinionated duck. And she would tell us when she wanted out of the water by quacking loudly. She would quack if we didn't put her in the right spot on land, too.
Sometimes, I misinterpreted her loud quacks as complaining instead of being happy. Just a few weeks ago, I took Daisy out of her pool and set her on the ground. To my astonishment, Daisy had used her wings and beak to propel her forward and back into the pool.
I questioned the only volunteer at the ranch, whether she had moved Daisy. She had not. Daisy moved herself!
The next time, I was alone at the ranch and the same thing happened... Daisy went back into the pool!
But just yesterday, on her 2 year anniversary of being with us...I mentioned to our volunteer Joan about letting Daisy free. Dr. K had just examined Honey and Maggie and I made an appointment for her to return in April for our annual Herd Health Day.
We had done so much for Daisy since she started to decline last Fall. I was worried about her quality of life and that perhaps April would be a good time to make the decision.
But apparently, Daisy made the decision herself this morning. After a brief swim in the pool and breakfast, she was found to passed away inside her aviary.
It is already a lot quieter without her loud quacks. We will miss her. I will miss taking her in at night and letting her flap her wings as if she was really flying.
Fly free Daisy!