Message
From The President
Roberta's Surgery
Roberta will be heading to Ocean State Veterinary Specialists in R.I. for her leg operation on Monday August 31st. Her surgery will be performed by Dr. Brown. After speaking with many vets, we feel very confident that Dr. Brown is the best choice for our dear Berty.
Dr. Brown has advised us of a number of joint therapies to help Berty during her recovery and we will be sharing those details in next month's newsletter when we have all of the relevant information at hand.
Berty's surgery will include the opening and flushing out of her leg, the insertion of antibiotic beads and the insertion of a port, which will enable us to continue flushing out the infection for the coming week. Afterwards, the beads and port will be removed and her leg will be closed up.
Berty has been prescribed new antibiotics as well as drug therapies to protect her stomach and intestinal linings. She will also be on medication for pain management to ensure her ultimate comfort . We will describe these therapies in further detail as well in next month's issue.
Roberta's surgery is estimated to cost between $900 -$1200 leaving us desperately in need of your continued donations. Please, if you can make a donation, every little bit helps.
To make a Donation for Roberta, please click here: Donation
Or you can mail your Donation check to:
Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary17 Barker RoadLebanon CT 06249
6:32
p.m., August 31, 2009: We are sorry to say that Berty was euthanized
during surgery today upon discovering an extensive & inoperable cancer
tumor in her leg...
Egor's E. Coli
Despite our full pens, we couldn't turn our backs on young Egor. Only a few months old, we rescued this Pilgrim gander from death's door.
Egor's mother & father were abandoned when their human family moved away and left them behind to fend for themselves. The parent geese walked up the street to a pond and hatched out 5 goslings there.
Egor lost one of his sisters to a predatory attack before he became very ill. We safely captured him and his two surviving sisters, leaving his mother, father and one brother behind for later rescue when we have more room at our sanctuary.
Egor came to us very lethargic and with limberneck. Limberneck is when the neck muscles are too weak to sustain their own weight or the weight of the bird's head. The result is a head and neck that remains tucked into the body.
Limberneck is very serious because, among other things, it can by caused by botulism, lead poisoning and West Nile Virus.
Egor's
neck is entirely folded in on itself
A number of expensive tests had to be performed quickly to determine the best coarse of action. This included multiple blood tests, fecal exams and x-rays. In the end it turned out to be E. Coli that was poisoning this poor little fellow.
Information received later confirmed that the lake Egor was taken from has had a recent outbreak of E. Coli near one of its beaches due to human fecal matter in the water. Dirty diapers from infants and children not using the porta-potties is the root cause of this serious issue.
This is a clear example of humans causing an outbreak of disease that affected the health of domestic animals & local wildlife.
Egor is currently on Clavamox (antibiotic). He is eating, drinking and enjoying baths in his kiddie pool. His energy has much improved since his arrival, and he is beginning to hold his head up higher again. We have very high hopes for him.
Egor's neck begins to
gain strength as he
responds to medication
Harmony & Melody, Sister Geese
Egor's two sisters are also in our sanctuary. Because we have an approved family waiting for two Pilgrim hens, we captured them at the same time we rescued Egor.
While trying to manage Roberta and Egor's special care, we also had to address Harmony's torn webbing, which extended from toe to ankle on her left foot. Because the webbing tore right along her toe, there was not enough webbing on the one side to stitch it back together. Instead, under our vet's guidance, we opted to surgically remove that triangle of webbing from Harmony's foot in order to avoid the loose flap from catching or tearing further in the future. Her surgery was quick and she made a rapid recovery.
Harmony & Melody both came to us with coccidea and cecal worms and both girls have been on special medications to rid them of these parasites. Once they have completed their treatment regimen, new fecal exams will be performed. When we are sure they are parasite free, they will join Lewey the gander who was adopted from us earlier this spring.
Coyotes... Closer than you think...
We recently received this email and wanted to share it with other families. This is not the first time we have heard of coyotes bursting into a yard in broad daylight while family members were nearby, and this is true even of families who have large dogs.
Fox and coyotes frequently do their hunting in backyards, often without families even knowing they are there. Predators are patient and they will wait for just the right opportunity to move in on your flock.
This is a good reminder about chaperoning flock members when they are out of their enclosures. It is vital that you are directly with your ducks and geese. You only need to step away for a moment to invite trouble. In this case, the family was only ten feet away from their ducks and the coyote was fearless of them.
The coyotes that have come to visit Majestic have proven just as fearless and are not run off easily, even when chased.
Dear Majestic,
Last Saturday I let everybody out for some grazing time in the yard, which they just love to do. I figured it was okay because I had been out all morning cleaning houses and paddocks and working with the horses.
My friend and I went and sat by the pool to have lunch and Dolly (my chicken) started squawking, so we jumped up and opened the pool gate and what is right on the other side but a COYOTE chasing my ducks! He was right on them, so we ran right at him. At first he didn’t give up, but finally he veered off and ran away.
Thank goodness the ducks were all okay, but I was so freaked out. Dolly is my watch chicken and I am so glad she made a ruckus, surprisingly the ducks were pretty quiet. I am just grateful that I was there and it was a good ending.
As this family and others learned, ducks commonly react to predators by remaining silent in an effort to remain hidden from them. Geese will sometimes utilize this same tactic.
We occasionally hear from families who mistakenly believe that they have no predators where they live and that their backyards are completely safe. When we ask them why they believe this, they reply, "Because we've never seen any and we have a dog." We try to explain that they don't need to see a predator for it to be there (or to travel through) and that most dogs are not 100% effective against predators, and those few that are tend to also be a threat to waterfowl.
Please remember, nature has designed these predators to be fast and stealthy. They are waiting for the opportunity to take your feathered friends away from you, so please be wary and protect them well.