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Author Topic: The duck, the rope and me  (Read 5725 times)

Offline Cindi

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The duck, the rope and me
« on: December 18, 2007, 10:38:43 am »
Something strange happened yesterday.  I was working in the chickenyard and I was watching one of the Muscovey drakes.  He had a piece of baling twine, which was made of polypropolene (I think that is what the plastic rope is made of that holds bales of hay together), sticking out of his mouth.  He was walking with it trailing behind him.  I went over to investigate.  It was down his throat.  Now having had experience with animals eating long stuff (which detail I will go into later), I thought I had best get it out.

Hmmm.  Pulled gently on the rope, nothing gave away, it was deep down his throat.  So, now I am feeling a little panicky.  What should I do, try to pull it out or cut it off and let it go through the body and out.  Probably some kind of death if I had left it to go through his digestive track, I didn't know.

I gently held this bird with one arm and held between my legs, and gently and every so very very slowly, pulled this rope back out through his mouth.  It took me about a good minute, because I did it so slowly.  It finally all came out.  Eeeks!!!!  You should have seen it.  I guess the (do they have gizzards like chickens?) rope had been partially all chewed up in the body by the body.  I have no clue what goes on inside.  But the part of the plastic rope that was about 6 inches inside the duck's body was all mangled up.  It was weird and hard to explain.  But I will try.  The 6 inches of rope that was intact that was in the mouth and obviously down the throat was normal, but there was a part of the beginning of the rope that was all rough and kind of like in a ball shape.  It was very distorted and chewed up looking.

I think that the rope was in the gizzard (if ducks have one).  In the gizzard are like rocky things or something that chew things up?  Something had made this rope all frayed up, I was astounded.  The duck is fine, I watched him for awhile and kept an eye out for any weird behaviour, so far so good.  Not to say that he is OK today, just no clue about what may or may not go on when something like this happens.

Even more reason to be extra clear of debris in the chickenyard.  The plastic rope must have been left over from years before when we had horses, it probably had fallen to the ground and never got picked up.

The ducks are very playful critters and they find the weirdest things to play with, I always try to keep their yard cleared of any kind of stuff, but they do find things for sure.

Some years ago we had a huge Rottwheiller that would eat socks.  Eeeks.......I can remember a few times I would have to go the rear end of this blasted dog and remove a sock that had gone through his digestive track.  Now that was not a pretty scene, nor did it smell very nice either.  Don't ask me how he would find socks, I think he would go into the kids bedrooms and tackle these stinky things, thinking they must have smelled good enough to eat.  Go figure that one.  Have a great and wonderful day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2007, 11:43:40 am »
I remember cutting the chicken gizzards open and emptying all the gravel out.  I'd guess that is what it was in the duck.  The gizzard churns and grinds all the gravel around and that pulverizes the food, and that is probably what happened to the rope.

I had a siberian husky that ate a golf ball.  It almost killed him.  Once the vet gave him a laxative he finally passed it.  He had 20 foot rubber bands chasing him that we would have to pull out. :shock:  It was funny, he would run around, then a rubber band would catch a stick and then he'd whirl around trying to figure out what was chasing him and why.  :-D

We had a puppy that ate some little christmas beads, and passed them through just like they went in..shiny red turds...

No processed socks, at least that we knew about....

Rick
Rick

Offline asprince

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2007, 07:26:03 pm »
Cindi,

TMI on the sock extraction and the dog! All I have to say is that you must LOVE that dog.

I would do the same for any of mine.

Steve
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Offline JP

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2007, 09:57:14 pm »
My chow is part goat, I could swear it. She likes to eat paper towels and other paper products, not that we let her, she's a thief! Her favorite thing to eat, I hate to say, is underwear, gross! Cindi, I don't envy what you went through with the dog with sock butt, no, I really don't.

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Offline Angi_H

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2007, 02:07:41 am »
Yes Ducks have gizzards that is way it was in a mangled mess. And it was Good on ya for removing it as it would have plugged him up and he would have slowly starved to death. Because all of that mess would have just plugged up the gizzard and then he would feel full and nothing would have been able to pass through. Glad you got it out. That is also why you feed them Grit and Oystershell for the Duck Hens. YOu should have seen the stuff I have seen taken out of Dog, Cat, Goat and pig Stomaches and intestional tract being a vet tech assisting with surgery. Not a very pritty sight at all. Sometimes they will start to Calcify tight in where they got stuck.


Angi

Offline Cindi

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2007, 09:57:06 am »
Dear friends, don't we have a wack of wacky animals eh?  I had a dog (so many, many years ago), that used to chew up our underwear and pant crotches too.  Can't count the number of pants that had gone by the wayside over those years, long, long ago.  Never could figure that one out, hee, hee.  Oh brother, what do they think eh?

Well, from the sounds of it, pulling that dumb rope out was a good thing.  I thought it would have gone right through like the dog and socks, but a little more understanding of what the gizzard does, it makes sense, and yes, I am a grateful woman.

Angi, you must have seen many, many strange sights, being in the vet field as you were.  You are fortunate that you have this background full of knowledge to assist you now with working with your many critters, yea!!!!

All the chickens and ducks have free feeding with oyster shell, but probably should get some grit to give them now and then, just for that extra nutritional stuff. 

They are funny, the other day the opening to the fence wasn't completely shut.  Guess I was in a hurry and didn't shut it correctly.  Well, many were those chickens having a field day in new and uncharted territory.  Wintertime I am not out the back as much and they don't get that extra free range like when I am out there.  I quite often let them loose of their fenced area and they have a great time.  They are very easy to put away when required, I just call them and they obey (hee, hee).  Especially if I have a bread bag in my hand and I shake it, they come running as fast as they can, some even attempting a fly thing to get there faster, it is funny and anyone visiting gets a kick out of how they obey me, hee, hee.  Have a wonderful and greatest of days.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2007, 09:55:56 pm »
Back in the days on the farm, my youth, we had a calf swallow a bit of hemp rope.  The rope managed to hang to gether all the way through the calf.  It didn't all come out the same day--that was one long potty call, took nearly a week.  No, we didn't try to pull it out, the vet said pulling on it at that point might do the calf more harm than good.
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Offline Burl

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2007, 01:43:38 am »
I've heard of dental floss before  -  But what's this , GUT FLOSS !   Oh well , glad to hear it all came out well in the end .

                               ---BURL--- the gizzard wizard
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I do like "Dad" the most .   ---Burl---

Offline Cindi

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2007, 10:26:35 am »
Brian, hee, hee.  Now don't the cows have four stomachs or something like that, that would be a lot of gut to get tangled up in for sure, the rope going from place to place.  Hmmm..have a wonderful and greatest of days.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Angi_H

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Re: The duck, the rope and me
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2007, 02:16:23 am »
Yes Cows have a 4 chambered stomach

Angi

 

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