I lost three precious ducks

freshprincess87

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On Tuesday the 10th May 2022, my worst nightmare happened. For the past 6 months, my partner and I had been caring for three ducks. One was a bit older, a junior named Mr Patito. The other two were only a few days old when they came. My partner became a wildlife carer (only birds) in 2021, and prior to that we have had (still have) other birds in the house as pet family, mostly lovebirds, but also diamond doves, and a few other medium sized species of parrots. But this post is in honour of the ducks who took over my life for the past 6 months in the most positive way until they were taken from me this week so suddenly.

Mr Patito was a pacific black duck who was found at the local airport with a neck problem/injury. He was a junior and his neck problem was solved eventually and he mostly lived in the garage with the pigeons that my partner cares for and rehabilitates. He also had a playpen in the backyard that he loved being in as it was large so he could bathe and eat and enjoy his life there. Little did I know this playpen would not protect him or the ducklings. A few months ago he was brought into the house at night time instead of the garage as I was heard a loud bang when I was putting the others to bed and I went to check and his cage had fallen down, likely because he was trying to get out. He was happier in the house, and still enjoyed the daytime in the backyard.

Princess duckling was a grey teal duckling who was found at someones house. She apparently knocked on their door and marched right inside to look for food. The wildlife organisation notified my partner and he went and brought her here at 10:30 at night on october 31st 2021. Halloween. We fed her a bit of corn and put her to bed. The next morning I told him to ask the local pet shop what to feed her since shes still so young and they recommended which starter pellets to give her and this helped her grow and become a special big girl. Actually, a small big girl, because she is a smaller duck species. She loved sleeping on my partner's shoulder, and on my slippers and leg. She loved her starter food, and peas, and corn and broccoli.

Enano, was an Australian wood duckling, who came two weeks after Princess. She was extremely small. Someone had her for 6 days and only gave her grass and it was amazing that she was still alive. She didn't really know how to eat though so sh would chase Princess duckling around thinking it's her mummy. Princess wasn't too happy about that, but eventually Enano just copied her and learned how to eat and survived and grew up to be a big tall girl. She had a small head, and big body, and she was quite clumsy and adorable. She fiercely protected Princess. They became best friends, despite being two different species and probably not understanding each other's sounds. but Princess still loved us humans a lot, and Enano was more alert and still retained some wildness to her, but followed Princess everywhere nonetheless.

They stayed in the house all the time and loved baths. The lounge room was their territory. A few weeks ago we took Princess to the vet to see why she was sneezing quite often. the vet listened to her heart beat and said she didn't have any respiratory conditions and that we should consider her environment. We decided maybe she needed more fresh air. After all, Mr Patito spent lots of days outside in his playpen and he was ok. So they had their own playpen and they spent a few hours outside. Not too long, as its quite cold here in Tasmania, Australia. They had to get acclimated to the temperature after being indoors most of their lives.

This tuesday 10th of May. I was a bit hesitant to put the two ducklings outside. Sure, it was a sunny day and a tad warmer. But Princess had a bath and wasn't sneezing as much. After she was dry, they were put outside. It was roughly midday I think. I went outside to do groceries and when I got home I really wish I had changed my chain of events. I should have gone outside to check to them. Maybe they would still be here. I asked my partner if they topped up their food etc, he said yes. I decided to put my groceries away and prepare some items for the next day's dinner. My partner also has a plover bird that lives in the backyard but is still young so she sleeps in a pen as well but roams around during the day. I thought I had her scream but I wasn't sure. A few minutes later I heard banging in the backyard. I went to open the back door and saw this monster dog there and screamed and my partner came straight away and found all three ducks DEAD. Enano had her head ripped from her body. I was in shock. My partner chased the dog away and found where he lived and banged on the door of the owners and screamed at them telling them he will call the police as their dog killed our ducks. The local council are the ones who came and seized the dog whom is now in custody marked as "not to be released" while the investigation is being conducted. The same day I saw that the playpens were still zipped up. The nxt day when we had to clean up the bloodied feathered mess, my partner found that the dog had made a hole and got to them. They were trapped. I TRAPPED MY BABIES AND THEY ENDED UP MURDERED.

How could such a cruel thing happen to such innocent little ducks? How? I am riddled with guilt. I didn't even want to put them outside. Fresh air ended up killing them all. Why didn't I go outside first to check them? Why didnt they come inside the house sooner? Why all this on tuesday? Why? I let them down. They loved us and I let them down. Princess and Enano were only 6 months old. They had their whole lives ahead of them. Mr Patito was a junior and didn't deserve this trauma.

People keep telling me it's not my fault. But it is. I don't know if Princess and Enano wanted to be outside. They loved exploring the lounge room and our slippers. I thought it would help the sneezing. Mr Patito liked being outside but he should have been inside that day.

The house feels so empty and quiet. I've suffered from anxiety and depression the last two years to the point where I've had to get medical exemptions from my study requirements and it's now just exasperated. I can't eat properly, I can't sleep properly. People don't seem to understand the pain. I raised them almost from birth. I watched them grow up. Then I saw their dead faces after being murdered. My precious Enano and her head stolen from her body. IT'S CRUEL. It's been 4 days and I can't move past this. We've lost birds before, but it was from sickness. Not murder.

I tried to attach their photos at the end of this post. I haven't posted on this website since 2016/2017. I was also a Tailfeathers Network member and posted there regularly, but I hadn't posted there since 2019. I was actually looking for it and was redirected to ParrotForums.

I'm sorry that my post is long. I feel so helpless. Everyday feels meaningless. I let my babies get murdered. I thought they were safe in their playpens but it ended up trapping them and getting them murdered. I'm so broken inside. I just cry most of the day. I have to hold back tears when cleaning up the other birds here. They don't know what's happened. Only the diamond doves seem to know as they slept in the lounge where the ducklings slept and Enano would chatter most of the night. Now they coo a bit more because they don't hear the chattering duckie. I can't stand the sound of a train honking anymore because Enano would reply the train. I guess she thought it was another duck. Princess talked like a cricket when she was a baby, and as she grew up her voice slowly changed and her junior sound became "chh chh chh". Her species also develops a crimson coloured eye as an adult. Now I'll never see her develop this.

The first photo is Princess the grey teal, on top of the couch.
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Here is Enano, the Australian Wood duck, on top of a container.
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And Mr Patito, pacific black duck
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LaManuka

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Oh freshprincess, what an absolute nightmare of a thing to happen. I’m so terribly sorry for your losses, and for your precious ducklings to have been lost in such an awful way. I have never lost a feather baby in this manner, but I did lose my Lilly the lorikeet, my little "heart and soul" bird, back in January when I thought I was doing the right thing for her with her various health issues, so I think I have some understanding of how much this hurts you. My Lilly was only very young too and I still cry for her every day. It just hurts all the more to know that awful things like this can happen when we are trying to give them the best quality of life possible, only for those lives to be snatched away in the cruelest of circumstances. But this is most definitely NOT your fault, and I know that those precious babies of yours would not want you to blame yourself for this. I also know that just being a part of a community like this, where we understand how strong the bonds are that we have with our feathered charges and how very much we love them, will be of enormous help to you too - it certainly has been for me.

Sending much love, strength and many feathered hugs to you and your partner, freshprincess. My heart goes out to you and you have my every sympathy for your loss and for the pain this horrible event has caused you and your sweet babies.

Godspeed to the Rainbow Bridge Mr Patito, Princess and Enano, until we all meet again. 🙏💔
 

CosiGirl

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Freshprincess,

I am so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for you. While I am quite a way’s away from where you are geographically, please know that you are not alone. I admire your courage for expressing your grief. Putting our feelings down in words is not an easy thing to do. You are working through a truly heartbreaking and traumatic event. Your pain is real and justified. I know I am not the only one on here who will be grieved for you when hearing this news.

I have severe OCD, which is an anxiety disorder. While I have never experienced the event that you have, I have had traumatic experiences that have left me feeling hopeless. I felt stuck in an unending playback loop of anxiety, extreme fear, confusion, exhaustion etc. All of this to reiterate that you are not alone, dear one. And as LaManuka said, this is not your fault.

You and your partner and your flock are in my prayers and thoughts. May healing and peace come swiftly to you all. God bless your little babies: Mr. Patito, Enano, and Princess 🙏🏻💔
 
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freshprincess87

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Thank you for the reply LaManuka. I scrolled down the bereavement thread and read about Lilly Pilly and I can also understand the heart break you feel too. No one understands the pain like other people who have raised an animal as their baby. It's how I felt about the ducks. I was so worried about the house itself and them swallowing something and having an accident, but the real danger was outside and not inside. I did so much for them and I loved doing it. I even cut my hair shorter because it was falling too much and I didnt want them to find it on the carpet when they were wandering around. I stopped using lemon cleaners when I learned that they cant have citrus. I'd started using lemon based cleaners in 2016 when we first got lovebirds at home to be more natural for them. Before that I just used any chemicals at home and didn't care. Having birds changed me, and then having ducklings changed me even more. To save their lives and watch hem grow up was the most amazing thing. But for them to be murdered was the worst thing ever.

My partner keeps checking for notifications from WIRES wildlife organisation for any ducklings who need help but never receives any. Probably because the wild ducks aren't breeding. I keep looking at ads for ducks, but it's not the same. Because it won't be those three. They were unique. And I failed them.

I still refer to Princess and Enano as ducklings because to me they were babies even when they grew big. 6 months old is still a baby for me. Technically they were teenagers though. Princess was starting to show signs of hormones developing. And Mr Patito was a Junior but maybe almost an adult. Enano was so tiny and then afterwards she was turned out to be bigger and taller than Princess who remained smaller. My babies. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. The other birds kind of just live their life now in their room and chatter amongst each other all day. The ducklings were the ones with me in the lounge all day long.

It hurts so bad because I don't think it was their time. They weren't supposed to go on tuesday. I feel deep down it wasn't their time and it's making me go crazy when I replay the afternoon over and over in my head, when I know i shouldn't but cannot help myself because it wasn't their time.

I am so mad at the dog that got inside and murdered my babies, and even more madder at the reckless owners who did not contain their large dog. I want justice, if only for poor Enano who lost her head from this cruel act of violence, but for all of them because they weren't supposed to go so soon. They were so friendly. and KIND. so so KIND. Princess unintentionally helped Enano survive and taught Mr Patito to eat vegetables in his final days because he only ever ate duck pellets or worms prior to that. Mr Patito was a loner but also happy. They had to be supervised if all three were outside roaming the lounge room. Enano and Princess were bonded to each other so Enano would especially protect Princess if Mr Patito wanted to annoy her. Most of the time he just wanted her to move so he could have a bath.

A week before Princess came, my partner was trying to help a baby pacific black duck too. He was as tiny as Enano. That one died two days before Princess came. I'm not sure what happened, but possibly he didn't know how to eat and we still didn't know how to care for him either. I remember my partner putting him with Mr Patito, as he was already here in the garage by that time, but Mr Patito didn't help him. Probably because of his own neck issues and being a junior. I was so worried Princess wouldn't make it too and going to the pet store to check what to give her saved her life and helped her grow up and same with Enano. But now they lost their lives. I hope they are with the first pacific baby now. And not suffering. And I hope they forgive me. Because I will never forgive myself.

I keep wondering if they were crying out for help and I didn't hear anything. Or if they remained silent with the hope that the dog would leave them alone but it didn't. Only the plover bird yelled, but it was too late by then and she is lucky to be alive. She is scared to roam outside now. She's probably traumatised and saw what happened and must have hidden somewhere. My partner opens her little pen every morning and she doesn't want to go outside. She probably feels safer in the garage with the cooing pigeons. She misses Mr Patito because she spent lots of time with him. She would just guard his pen and watch what he was doing inside it while walking around herself looking for food.

This is a photo of the original pacific baby who passed two days before princess came
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and my princess as a baby, i lost my precious baby, my beautiful baby, who learned to fly so elegantly
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and princess and enano together having a nap when they were babies - enano would fly erratically but she was so joyful to watch flying - princess learned to fly first so enano would have to jump everywhere to follow princess until she learned to fly
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its hurts most to see their baby photos. I failed them. I was supposed to protect them and I failed and a monster murdered them.

I'm sorry to any moderators if I have used any inappropriate language. I'm really just so broken inside.
 

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freshprincess87

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Freshprincess,

I am so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for you. While I am quite a way’s away from where you are geographically, please know that you are not alone. I admire your courage for expressing your grief. Putting our feelings down in words is not an easy thing to do. You are working through a truly heartbreaking and traumatic event. Your pain is real and justified. I know I am not the only one on here who will be grieved for you when hearing this news.

I have severe OCD, which is an anxiety disorder. While I have never experienced the event that you have, I have had traumatic experiences that have left me feeling hopeless. I felt stuck in an unending playback loop of anxiety, extreme fear, confusion, exhaustion etc. All of this to reiterate that you are not alone, dear one. And as LaManuka said, this is not your fault.

You and your partner and your flock are in my prayers and thoughts. May healing and peace come swiftly to you all. God bless your little babies: Mr. Patito, Enano, and Princess 🙏🏻💔
Thank you cosigirl for your reply. I was writing my other reply when you posted yours.

Thank you for also sharing your own experiences. I think we have a lot in common because I also suffer from OCD. It took over my life the last two years to the point where I couldn't study anymore and couldn't even consider looking for a job either. It's the major problem of my mental issues, but also battling severe depression, which has now just gotten worse this week. I feel so numb now. I only just started getting psychological treatment about a month and a half ago after being on a waiting list for over 6 months, and battling with it on my own for nearly two years before going to my Doctor to seek help in 2021, only to be put on waiting lists until recently.

I am starting to think that the world is a cruel place. It's hard to have the motivation to keep going when cruel things happen like this. And there are so many cruel things happening worldwide.

I don't want to let myself smile at all. It feels disrespectful to the ducklings. Yesterday I put some episodes of the TV show, Friends, on the tv, just to try to get myself to eat a little bit. I remembered that two characters on the show had a chicken and a duck. But I don't want to laugh after what happened to my babies. Due to the OCD I was already struggling with food the last two years, but somehow I managed but probably by reinforcing my compulsions. The ducklings brought me so much joy and sometimes I would just forget that I was struggling because I was always with them watching them, supervising them, changing their water and food bowls ever so often.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. It really means a lot. I can't talk to immediate family because they don't understand my grief. Only my brother has been able to text me the right words and one or two friends. Well I actually only have two friends anyway, albeit geographically they are far from me, but they have been respectful and not put down my grief. My partner hasn't spoken to his family either because they don't understand either.

Thank you, and LaManuka for your kind words.
 

BirdyBee

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Oh I am so sorry! I don't even know what to say😢 this made me shed some tears, and I'm not an emotional person, it's just this story is so sad, I don't think any post has ever made my eyes water.

Thank you for sharing their story. And thank you for rescuing for them.

I know you think it was your fault, but it wasn't intentional. If you intentionally wanted them to die, yes, but I know you didn't. I blame myself for my show budgie, Grumpy's, death, even though people tell me it wasn't my fault. I didn't intend his death, but sadly, when you lose someone, you always try to blame yourself, especially if it was your pet, even if there was nothing you could do about it.

I can't even begin to imagine what this feels like for you.

Rest in peace Princess, Enano, and Mr Patito. You guys are missed..
 

Chrissiejingles

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I am so very sorry for your loss.
My beloved Amazon died in similar, horrific circumstances two and a half years ago.
I tortured myself, I still do. He, and the nature of his death, is still the first thing I think about when I wake in the morning. The guilt and regret causes such pain, and it is so hard to get those thoughts out of one's head.
I found that writing all my memories of him helped. I still find that looking at his photo's is painful, so I had an oil painting done of him.
I miss him everyday, as you will. However your pain will lessen. Life is fragile, and we can't foresee accidents. You may think it was your fault, but it wasn't. You weren't to know that the dog would get into your garden. You had your little ducklings best interests at heart. You cared about them and loved them.
My thoughts are with you at this sad time. Take one day at a time...
 

Terry57

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I am so sorry for your terrible loss of your babies. You took them in & loved them - what your precious babies took with them is your love.
The what if's are always so hard, and I think that most of us have carried that with us.
Those what ifs still occasionally pop up in my mind when I think of my Phoe, although since it has been 3 years & now I can remember who he was and the funny and loving things he used to do. I realized that Phoe would not want me to carry that pain of what if with me, and I have slowly been able to let some of it go.
I pray your heart heals soon so you can enjoy again how they lived, rather than how they passed.
Sending prayers to you, I am so very sorry.
 

saxguy64

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I'm so sorry for your loss. Words can't express the true nature of what we feel when things like this happen. Please just know that you're among friends who truly understand. Obviously, we're parrot people here, and some folks don't have experience with what would more likely be considered livestock than pets or family members. But, they're still birds, and have intelligence, and personality, and form loving bonds just as our parrots do.

Okay, I have no personal experience with ducks. I do have my chickens though. They're not livestock, they're very much members of our family. They all have names, they get picked up and petted and loved on individually every day. We started with just four, bought as tiny day old chicks. OMG they were so sweet. When they were full grown and laying the most beautiful eggs, one night we had a bad rain storm. Their coop is close to our bedroom window, so if anything happens, we can hear them sounding the chickie alarm calls. That rainy night, it was so loud that we couldn't hear anything but the wind and water bashing against the side of the house. A raccoon got into the coop, and like your babies, they were trapped with that brutal, miserable killer. It killed three of our four. Two left almost unrecognizable in the mud, and the third dragged out to the far side of the field, also missing her head. Racoons, if you don't know, don't kill for food. They do it for sport, because it's fun.

So for some reason, the most passive of the flock was spared, our baby Waffle. Now, chickens don't do well as single birds, so we "borrowed" another one from a friend to keep her from being alone. She became Renita, the rental chicken. Of course... More followed, all raised from day old babies. Now there's 12 all together, and yes, we know each and every one by name and personality. I adore them. Never thought I'd say that about a bunch of chickens, but they're our babies. They're family.

We understand. 💔
 
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freshprincess87

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Thank you everyone for your replies. And thank you for sharing your stories as well.

PippTheBananaBirb, I'm sorry for Grumpy's death. My mum also said something similar, about intent. And that's true. I absolutely did not want this for them. I was already worried about Princess and her sneezing in the house. They didn't deserve this though. And I can't help but think that if the events of that day went differently, even just a few minutes before, that they might still be here. A week ago they were still here. My last video of them was a week ago last sunday. Princess kept flying to my head when I was talking to my mum on the phone for mother's day. My mum said she can't understand how the dog got in and did this so quickly. We've put Mr Patito outside many times before, over 50 times and nothing ever happened. I thought it was safe from predators. The other two had been outside maybe 10 times only I think. We kept getting butcherbirds coming to the big tree in our yard a summer or two ago so my partner fixed everything so that wild birds that come to eat were protected because the butcherbirds killed too many wild baby sparrows and finches. Why did this dog get out of it's house and murder my babies? It's cruel.

Chrissiejingles I'm sorry about your amazon. I can't understand how these cruel things happen in the world. It's heartbreaking. Thank you for sharing what you did to grieve. Nothing seems to help me much, it's been 5 days. I keep saying to myself a week ago they were still here. In two days, I'll be saying a week ago they were murdered. I don't know how to go on. I find it hard to look at their photos and videos too. I can't cook. I'm not really cleaning the house much and mostly just clean up the other birds cages only and the kitchen sink and that's it. The days became so long when the ducklings all came but in a positive way. The were the last to go to bed at night. About 8:30 pm as they would have their vegetable dinner after the other birds went to bed. Now the days feel so long in a negative way. The oil painting sounds nice. On Friday I had to go out in order to vote early (have a federal election in Australia next week) and get a few necessities that I didn't have like bread and to go and pay the rent. I saw in a gift shop window some nice little duck gifts. they were little ducks holding a bucket of water. That same day my partner went outside as well and got a photo frame with a duck and it's duckling on it from another gift shop elsewhere. And he made a small shrine in the backyard in the spot where they were murdered. It happened right under our clothes line. Actually, it was their clothes line. We washed their blankets every day and hung them outside right there. The blankets were hanging that same afternoon on tuesday too.

Terry57, thank you for your kind words. Everyone here, including yourself seems to know the right things to say. Because you all understand the pain. I wish I could push past this pain. I just want them back so badly. I cry at random times. Sometimes I'm not crying but still feel the pain. I find I cry the most when I'm putting the other birds to bed. Because that was dinner time for the ducklings. They would be in their indoor playpen jumping around. Well Enano would be jumping around wanting to get out, and Princess would do this thing where she shakes her head and tries to open the pen because she wants to go out. I would always go to them and slightly open it and give Princess a rub so she'd feel happy and wag her tail and I'd tell her not too long, your dinner is coming really soon and you still have your pellets there to eat and water. We only ever put them in the indoor pen when cleaning up the other birds as I couldn't supervise them while cleaning the others. And when they went to bed too. They willingly went to their pen after their dinner as they would be tired. So I find myself crying because after the others are in bed I have nothing to do anymore. Mr Patito preferred to go to bed earlier though with the other birds. I think he got used to an earlier bedtime in the garage. But as I was blanketing the diamond doves and ringneck doves, he could sense I was there and would quack (softly). He only made loud quacks sometimes. Enano was the louder one, and sounded like a train honking. Princess was so soft spoken.

Saxguy64, I'm sorry about your chickens too. What you described that happened to them, sounds extremely similar. Being trapped, and one poor innocent one losing it's head. It's horrific! It's cruel! When I think about it all I honestly feel like punching something. I've punched the couch, the mattress. I've called the dog a brutal killer too. As with their owners whom I believe live. in a rundown property and I don't know how they have been allowed to have a dog in the first place. My partner loves all animals, but I admit I'm the opposite, I'm selective, and I've never really liked dogs and cats. But nothing will change what happened and I'm struggling to cope with that. I did not know that about racoons. I don't know if dogs attack smaller animals for fun and sport or for food or if they think it's a toy. But they weren't toys. The were precious lives and their lives were stolen by this monster. And I also shed a tear reading about what happened to your chickens. I understand that they, as with ducks are considered livestock, and not parrots. It's actually why I went to the tailfeathers network website first, as I was a regular poster there up until 2019 and they had areas on the website for all kinds of feathered animals. When I was redirected here, I remembered I already had an account and had posted here many years ago too about my lovebirds. And I noticed that while its labeled a parrotforum, it seems to have areas for all animals. I'm still trying to navigate the website so if I make any mistakes I apologise. As with your chickens, the ducks were family. While they were wild ducklings who were supposed to be rehabilitated and released eventually, I dont think they would have been released. They loved it here. and they followed us everywhere even when they grew up. They were curious. And they had everything they needed here, food, shelter, water, space to fly. It's probably our fault for letting them imprint on us. But it was the first time that we raised ducklings. I really love that you love your chickens and know their individual personalities. I've personally never had chickens. I'd never had animals at all because I wasn't allowed when living with my parents. In our current rental pets aren't allowed, but this refers to dogs and cats only. The landlord said birds are fine and is aware that my partner is a wildlife bird rehabilitator and carer. He did get in trouble for feeding pigeons in the yard though as another neighbour complained about them and has had to stop that, but he still rehabilitates some in the garage that are brought to him. Some of the neighbours, who also rent from the same landlord even have pet budgies as I've heard them chattering.
 
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freshprincess87

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Yesterday morning, before I made my post on this website, I thought I had a sign from the ducklings. It was about 10:30 am I think, which is the time they are let out of their indoor pen and start flying around before they settle down. At that time yesterday, I saw the leaves of a plant in the house moving a bit. For the rest of the day I did not see that happen. And it's been very windy here. The window's aren't open either. I wondered to myself if it was them. I had been waiting for a sign all week from them. I've been asking them to forgive me and let me know they are ok.

One of our lovebirds, Kiara, died from liver issues in 2018. And the day after, I was walking outside and I thought I heard her. She was a masked lovebird, and she learned how to imitate the sounds of a peach faced lovebird. And when I was walking outside I thought I heard her version of the peachfaced lovebird chirp. For me, it was her letting me know that she is ok. So I have been waiting all week for the ducklings but didn't hear anything. I kept wondering why. I was thinking it's because their souls havent passed yet. With Kiara, I remember, we took her to be cremated on the thursday. And I didn't think about this until now, but I wonder if she was cremated on the friday and thats why I heard her. I am wondering, we also decided to cremate the ducklings. Especially since Enano's body was displaced and it didn't feel right to bury her and her head seperately. I am wondering to myself if their cremation happened yesterday. But I don't know. They are supposed to be cremated altogether, the three of them. We requested that, because they lost their lives together. And My partner thought he heard Mr Patito's quack yesterday evening. In the backyard. He came inside crying because he thought he heard him, and I told him it is him letting you know that he's ok. I haven't heard any sounds from them though.

I'm not sure how I feel about cremation to be honest. I guess I have mixed feelings. My partner was the one who decided to cremate Kiara in 2018 and her urn is here in the lounge room. I didn't want to say anything so I let it be. He was initially saying he will bury the ducklings in the backyard, in one of the plants. He had to hold off for a day because the local council said they were coming back the next day to take blood samples. But that night I was the one who said maybe cremation is more humane especially after what happened to Enano. The council didn't end up coming for the blood samples though and said they had enough evidence for their investigation, so we were able to take the ducklings to the vet and register them to be cremated. The council only came that afternoon to prepare my partner's statement. The man was nice. He knew my partner and while he doesn't agree with everything my partner does (this man was the one who had to come and warn him about feeding pigeons), he said in this case of the ducklings, he was on our side and wanted justice too but could not answer what would happen as of yet.
 

HeatherG

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Apr 25, 2020
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I’m so sorry to read about your ducks. How sad to lose three that you had raised from little ducklings! Ducks are nice birds and they surely didn’t deserve that fate. But there was no way you could expect a roaming dog to attack them either. That was wrong and should not have happened.

I hope you get some satisfaction from the council or the dog’s owner. I think cremation was a kind way to manage this after your birds were so sadly hurt. I hope that you can remember that your ducks had a good life when they were with you.
 
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freshprincess87

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I’m so sorry to read about your ducks. How sad to lose three that you had raised from little ducklings! Ducks are nice birds and they surely didn’t deserve that fate. But there was no way you could expect a roaming dog to attack them either. That was wrong and should not have happened.

I hope you get some satisfaction from the council or the dog’s owner. I think cremation was a kind way to manage this after your birds were so sadly hurt. I hope that you can remember that your ducks had a good life when they were with you.
Thank you HeatherG. They didn't deserve that fate. I also hope that cremation was better for them too. It will be the council who decides what happens next. I don't know the owner's but they live on the next street over so their dog shouldn't have been anywhere near us. My partner said they aren't the type of people who should have dogs though.
 

HeatherG

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A big dog shouldn’t be off leash in a suburban or family area. What if you’d had a child playing with your ducks?

That was a very dangerous situation to have a large mean dog running loose. I’m sure it was awful for you to find that and I am so sorry. I have always liked ducks. I took care of a duck that I could carry around like a cat. They are funny little bird people.

I wish things were different and I hope you can remember that you took very good care of them for most of their short lives.
 
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freshprincess87

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A big dog shouldn’t be off leash in a suburban or family area. What if you’d had a child playing with your ducks?

That was a very dangerous situation to have a large mean dog running loose. I’m sure it was awful for you to find that and I am so sorry. I have always liked ducks. I took care of a duck that I could carry around like a cat. They are funny little bird people.

I wish things were different and I hope you can remember that you took very good care of them for most of their short lives.Th
Thank you HeatherG. That is very true. Most times when I am outside I see dogs on leashes with their owners. It isn't very often that I see them without one. Even smaller species. Sometimes I see some running up to a gate and barking at people. I am seeing more and more issues with postmen and postwomen unable to deliver parcels due to unrestrained dogs. Last year in my local area a dog attacked a seven year old girl who ended up needing surgery from the attack. This was around the corner. Apparently the dog even knew the girl. I hope that the local council declares this dog that hurt my babies as dangerous. And I hope it's owners are punished. I have to fight for justice for my babies. I have been constantly researching ways to honour my babies and I don't know what to do. I feel helpless. My partner has been trying to make a shrine for them outside. He spent most of the morning outside drilling stuff and banging things. I don't think he wanted to be in the house. It's a constant reminder that they arent here. I stayed inside but it hurts. The wild and ever changing weather prevents me from going outside so I stay inside. But I miss them terribly. I used to rush every morning to eat my breakfast and clean up and let them out of their houses. Now I just wait a bit. Because they got their first food and water inside their houses first so that they would eat and have full bellies to start their day outside of their house. I have signed petitions to end duck hunting in my state. Only three states ban this behaviour in Australia. But Tasmania, where I am, still allows it. It's currently duck hunting season right now until June and I feel so terrible for the wild ones out there. I hope they are safe. I wish I could find the biological mothers of my babies and tell them I am so sorry. That I did my best and made a horrible mistake by letting them get fresh air.

That sounds beautiful how you could carry your duck that you cared for. I appreciate hearing things like this from you and other members. Ours didn't like being handled too much but they still followed us everywhere. They didn't like being held when being taken to their playpen. But Princess didn't mind getting rubs on her belly. She would say "chh chh chh" if I rubbed her. If she didnt want any rubs she would walk away so I would know. Enano didn't like rubs at all and would run away. She retained more wildness to her. But she knew us and would make gestures or noise when she wanted something like a food or water top up or to let us know she wants to be out of her little house. I keep trying to find videos and information about them online. It's hard though. Especially for princess. Her species, the grey teal, doesn't seem to have much information online. It makes me sad because she came first. I've read many articles about ducklings being rescued all over the world. They keep ending up on roads and people are stopping and trying to help them and reunite them with their mothers. I hope those ducklings have long and safe and happy lives in honour of my babies who lost theirs too soon.
 
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freshprincess87

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It has officially been a week. At this exact moment a week ago, my babies lost their lives. I find it hard to cope. 3:00 in the afternoon was lunch time for all of us. I would usually eat very quickly before they finished eating and started flying around. I've never been much of a lunch eater and usually just pinch a bit of bread and get a bubble tea from outside to keep me going until dinner time later at night. But sometimes if I did feel more hungry and got some lunch from outside, they were very curious as to what we were eating. But they were smart and didn't come to our bowls. But sometimes they flew around. I would have to be careful and cover up the food incase they pooped on it. It didn't bother me. I could just get rid of the food, no drama. Poop usually dropped elsewhere on the carpet anyway. I remember them standing on the container next to my partner while he was eating and they would lean over and try to see what he was eating. Sometimes they would just go to the floor and eat their own food. They should have been in the house. Not outside. I'm sorry my babies. Please forgive me. My days have no meaning without you. I still haven't eaten lunch since last week. I can only manage a bit of breakfast in the morning and then a bit of dinner at night. I don't feel right enjoying food with what happened to them. Tuesdays will never be the same for me again. It used to be thursdays because kiara passed on a thursday in 2018. She waited for me to finish a university exam and to get back home so I could see her one more time. But she was already ill. It was different. My babies were healthy.

Their ashes were supposed to be returned to us today and they still haven't arrived. The vet clinic called to say they were there so my partner went but only their plaque for the urn was there, not them. I rang again and they said they don't know why but that they should be returned today. We haven't cremated anyway since our lovebird kiara in 2018. And back then they did the cremations locally at that vet clinic I think. Now they get sent away elsewhere to another suburb an hour away. We've always felt like we are on our own when it comes to looking after all the birds. There i no specialised avian vet here. The nearest is 4 hours away and thats a stressful trip for the bird. Only one or two locally are familiar with birds, but not certified avian vets. Sometimes they have helped us though. I kept reading about cremation and religious beliefs and animals etc yesterday. I was wondering if cremation was right for them. I was worried. I guess they would have been buried in a plant though if it weren't for poor enano having her head ripped off. I didn't feel ok burying enano with the way her body was. We've lost a few diamond doves over the years and they were buried in a special plant. I hope cremation has put my babies at peace. I hope they are not suffering. And I hope they forgive me.

EDIT: the vet just rang. Our babies arrived there. A exactly the time frame that they lost their lives last week, they arrived at the vet clinic now at the same time. My partner went to pick them up. I don't know how the rest of the afternoon will go. I just hope they are at peace now. I miss them terribly. I love them terribly.
 
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freshprincess87

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I feel broken. Three large beautiful babies have become a small bag of dust. How do my big babies fit into this velvet bag? They should be here. Kiara was in a small bag too but she was a small bird. I cried holding the bag. The plover bird outside was shouting a lot at around the time they came. 30 minutes ago. I think she remembers this happened a week ago at this time. She's traumatised. She likely witnessed the whole thing happening but managed to hide. She is wandering the backyard though again during the day as the wild birds are around so she sees them. The lounge room feels so empty without them. I hope they are at peace and I hope we did the right thing in cremating them to have that peace and an end to any suffering. They were put into the same urn as kiara and their plaque is hanging over the urn too, with kiara's plaque. I miss them so so much. I don't know how all of a sudden this is reality. Them not here.
 
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freshprincess87

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The local council made a decision about their investigation and I am even more devastated. I admit, at first, I wanted the dog euthanised for what he did to my babies. I felt that once it's tasted blood (it had my babies blood all over its mouth!) it won't forget, and no amount of training will take that away and he will do it again. One neighbour that my partner spoke to actually said the same thing, that it will not forget and should be euthanised, and she also has a small dog but she has proper housing for her dog and its mostly in the house too. However, at the very least, I didn't want that dog to be returned to those same owners. They live in a bad area surrounded by bad people and are likely bad people themselves. But that's what will happen. The council has declared the dog as dangerous, which means it can be released but under very strict conditions. It won't be released until the owners comply with the strict conditions. The owners will have to put up signs saying they have a dangerous dog at their house and they have to build a proper childproof enclosure in their backyard. All the same stuff that I read on the council's website. The website mentions things like the dog has to be on a leash if out in public and with a muzzle. My partner asked why they cannot give the dog to someone else because those owners have failed to restrain their dog many times, it just hasn't been reported. It's been seen out on the street a few times but I think this was a few years ago. They said the dog is a therapy dog for one of the owners, apparently its a father and daughter who live in that house and its a therapy dog for the father but he can't look after the dog so the daughter looks after it. But she didn't last tuesday! When my partner went to knock on their door to tell them what happened, the woman just said it's not her dog and she was asleep! So clearly she's not looking after it. How can these people have a dog?! And claim it's their therapy dog when they don't even know when it is roaming the streets!?

I'm even more heartbroken. I thought justice would come for my babies, and it hasn't come at all. They died for nothing. I failed them and I also feel failed by the local council and failed by the state of Tasmania. They claim to be all about the wilderness and protecting the wild, but here they are returning a dangerous dog to its neglectful owner's so he can just repeat the same actions. That's not protecting the local wildlife at all. He will surely find a way out of the enclosure they build him and will do it again. A few months ago a seven year old girl was attacked by a dog that she knew a few streets over, she survived the injuries and the local council still euthanised that dog. Yet this other much larger dog murdered three precious important ducks and decapitated one of them and is not even being re-homed and is being returned to commit the same crime eventually. If the dog is found roaming again or does the same thing he will be removed from those owners. That's not enough. What has to happen for justice to be served? Does the dog have to kill again? It's not fair. My partner said some people down the street have pet chickens. And I've seen people with pet rabbits in their yards too. They won't be safe! Those owners get their murdering animal back while I'm still stuck grieving and not even getting justice for my babies. My life will never be the same because of those people and their animal. The worst part was when the person from the council called my partner in the morning (it was a different person than the man from last week), she was like please keep doing what you do and help rehabilitate birds because it's a nice thing to do but just make sure they have a proper secure place outside, as if to say we didn't already have a secure place for them. It is secure! That dog was trespassing! and big enough to jump over fences and make a hole in my babies house to murder them so quickly! My partner called the man from last week and told him that and he said she likely didn't mean it in that way, but that he will ask her to call again. I don't know what for.

I want to find a way to get justice for my babies and I feel so helpless. What can I do for them? To get justice in my own way? There aren't even places locally to volunteer to help birds, because all animal rescues down here are mostly for dogs and cats, and I can't be around those species, never really could anyway but now even more so than ever. I don't know if the local newspaper would want to even know about this. The australian federal election is this Saturday so all people care about right now is that. I told my partner maybe after the election is over he could contact one or two of the political parties that have mentioned animals as their priority. I don't know what they could really do though. I would want the council's decision reversed. I just want justice. Just when I thought I was slowly accepting everything, this outcome has just put me back to square one. I need to do something for them to get their justice and I don't know what.
 

HeatherG

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I’m not understanding how this can be a “therapy dog”. A trained assistance dog would not attack like that; it would have been weeded out from the training program at the beginning. If it’s an emotional assistance dog, I wonder how someone can be assisted by a violent animal.

I know there have been tightening of rules related to emotional assistance dogs. I wonder if this animal has ever been registered as such or trained at all. I know there is a process to register a pet as an emotional assistance animal if your dr or therapist really believes it’s a stabilizing influence. I wonder if they did that. You can’t just “say it”, the animal must be registered and I would think as such BEFORE the duck killing incident.
 

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