Talkative. Chatty. Funny. Goofy. Protector. This is Frederick (aka Freddie).
Rescue
Protecting his love. This is how we met Freddie in November 2018. Freddie was found with his partner, Ruby, in Sportsman Park in Yakima. They were filthy, Freddie was obviously injured and Ruby was not walking. We found out about them through social media, and luckily a good samaritan was able to remove them from the park. Although Freddie and Ruby were no longer in the park, the rescuers did not have a safe and secure place to keep them. As such, I arrived in Yakima shortly after midnight and transferred them to their new home at Noble Animal Sanctuary.
Recovery and loss of a love
Recovery took a few months. Freddie had some pretty serious scabs on his neck and wings. Both of them had bumblefoot on each foot. Bumblefoot is an infection in the bottom of the foot. It is painful; the infection can get into the bone if not treated. Ruby’s bumblefoot was much worse than Freddie’s. X-rays showed the three toes on her bad foot were completely separated from her leg and had been that way for some time. They both went on pain meds and antibiotics and we got the infection under control.
Ruby and Freddie had a happy life at Noble Animal Sanctuary. Ruby’s foot was a constant battle and she was on and off pain meds and antibiotics. X-rays showed her bones were healing but after a year and a half, we started to lose our battle as the infection spread to her leg bones. After an aggressive round of antibiotics with no improvement, Ruby had surgery to remove the infection and necrotic tissue. Ruby died a couple of days later. Freddie was with her until the end.
Chickens are great friends
I drove to pick up Freddie who was with Ruby at WSU and bring him back to Noble. It was a hard drive. We all loved Ruby. Freddie and I had driven up with Ruby but now we carried her in our hearts. Freddie’s friendships with Tito, Sally, and Florence blossomed back at Noble. About 8 months later, Freddie came to live with me and his chicken friends at Tumbleweed. I had set up an area for Freddie to live but that only lasted 1 day. Freddie let me know the day after he arrived that he would move into the coop and live with his chicken friends. So he did.
Good times and foot surgery
Freddie enjoys life. He loves to swim, eat, talk, play in the mud, and spend time with his bestie, Sally Sue. He plays in the sprinkler, loves to go for walks, and foraging in the yard. After a year of living with us, he started to show signs of discomfort. I (and our vet) had been keeping watch on a slow-growing growth on the bottom of his foot for over a year. It was time for the growth to be removed. Freddie underwent successful surgery to remove the growth and after 2 weeks of recovery at WSU, Freddie came home. We continued bandage changes every other day for 2.5 weeks until the bottom of his foot was completely healed. During this time Tito and Sally Sue were by his side as he was coop bound to make sure his foot stayed dry (which is hard for a duck) and clean.
A year has gone by since Freddie’s foot surgery. Although he loves his chicken friends we are eager for Freddie to have some duck friends. He loves to talk and although we all have an idea of what he is saying, he needs friends who speak his language.