How Minna became a house duck. Again.

Minna started out life as a house duck, along with Maggie, but several years ago the parental units had decided that they had had enough and the ducks were exiled to the backyard and the newly built duck coop. They lived outdoors successfully enough for the last several years, and the majority of our little flock lives out there still, in The Duck Coop: The Sequel (we recently built a second, larger, nicer one.) Two of our ducks, however, have made a return to the house - Gracie and Minna. 

Gracie is able to spend her days outdoors where she drives the boys insane by remaining sequestered in the duck run where the boys are unable to reach her. This is especially hard on the boys during the spring time when hormones are running high among the young drakes, but for Gracie's comfort and safety she needs to be left alone and not jumped on multiple times a day. Or hour, as the case may be. 

Minna is another story. We noticed a year or so ago that she was having trouble moving around and would often end up sitting in one place for the majority of the day. A trip to the vet revealed that she has nerve damage and can't get around easily, leaving her at the mercy of the weather, the other ducks, and the chickens. So it was decided that for her comfort and safety she would rejoin us in the house. The years have not been so kind to her and she is starting to show her age, as she is now a little over 13 years old and currently both her knees are dislocated, in addition to her nerve damage. 

She now spends much of her day resting on a dog bed covered in puppy pads, going outside in the duck run for short periods of time, eating her meals in the bathroom using a feeding platform to allow her to be at standing height without putting pressure on her knees, getting treats like blueberries and peas (some of her favorites) and taking a daily bath in the bathtub to keep her clean and happy. I would let her spend more time driving the young drakes crazy with Gracie, but the vet recommended she spend her time on mostly soft surfaces so that she doesn't develop the equivalent of bed sores, which would shorten her life. And before you ask, the vet has already stated that she would not recommend putting Minna to sleep at this point and I can't bear the thought of letting her go before she may be ready. 

Minna (on her feeding platform) and Gracie, enjoying some duck chow

In addition to making her a feeding platform out of fabric and PVC pipes, I have also made a wheelchair in much the same way, with the addition of wheels and a handle, so that when the weather finally turns nice I can take her out for little walks in the neighborhood to let her nibble at plants and enjoy the sunshine. And fear not for our reputation: the neighbors already know we're crazy.

Scout can't resist getting in the picture with Minna's new wheels