Penny the duck has been sickly for most of her life. She has been constantly poked and probed, tested and tested some more. I have shared her stories on my personal page, but was urged to start a page for her since there are so many who could use the inspiration Penny gives us all. Penny is a duckling. She was born shortly before March 31st 2017 and was an impulse buy from a Tractor Suppl
y Store. She was brought to my home when the family who bought Penny and her 3 siblings realized they weren't cut out to care for 4 ducks. I was also not prepared....I quickly grew to love these ducks as much as any other animal in my care and am constantly learning more about these precious creatures. Originally Penny was doing fine, until she was about 4 weeks old and she stopped walking. She was taken to the vet where she was diagnosed with what seemed to be a soft tissue injury. After a few days on anti-inflammatory meds, the injury didn't seem to be improving, so my vet suggested changing to a stronger medication. After consulting with people who knew ducks a lot more than i did, (and a veterinarian friend) it was determined that she was likely suffering from a Niacin deficiency. Fast forward a month, Penny still hasn't improved. A CBC (complete blood count) was drawn to get a baseline and that's when it was discovered that her WBC's were so high, that the situation went from urgent to life threatening. Last Thursday, 06/08/17, a repeat CBC was drawn and her WBC's were even more elevated. The high end of normal is around 25,000, Penny's level was 232,000. We don't know how all this will turn out, but, we are doing everything we can for this little duck. At this point, Penny has a wheelchair, a scooter and a hammock in her crate. She is separated from her siblings because they pick on her and she receives aquatic therapy 10-20 times a day. She is most definitely a pampered duck, but also a very loved duck. Say a prayer for Penny and follow her page for more updates!
