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30 Jan 13 at 11 am

The hardest part of letting an animal into your life is losing them. Their lives are so short in comparison to our own. The duty of being their parent or owner, however you see it, is to make their journey through life as enjoyable as possible. Monty was born on the 31st of May 2012 and died on the 26th of January 2013 from a suspected hormonal seizure. I can only say it wasn’t long enough. He was passed on to us with his sisters Bea and Alice at eight hours old, Monty at only 6 hours. We were told he needed help to get out of his egg, then that his mother did not think he would live and rejected him. For the early part of his ducklinghood he remained half the size of his sisters, and we were praised for keeping him alive. His weight started to snowball and soon we had the most handsome, gentlemanly drake we had yet the pleasure of meeting. I thought it only appropriate his final photograph on the blog was one with Alice. If I have ever seen romance between two ducks it was these two. Despite Alice’s sight problems we knew he would look after her, he would always herd her where she needed to be. The girls were so quiet after his death and are still not their usual selves. Out of the six siblings Monty, Bea and Alice left behind, three then passed away. We are certain he would not have lived without us, and we would probably not have met him or his siblings without the also untimely death of Angelina, who was also the smallest of her own clutch. My partner joked as he drove us to the crematorium that I should stop asking for the runts. Holding Monty in my arms I answered through tears that it was worth it. It is. Again, I thank you all for enjoying his life with us. Thank you.

whatducksdo.tumblr.com

The hardest part of letting an animal into your life is losing them. Their lives are so short in comparison to our own. The duty of being their parent or owner, however you see it, is to make their journey through life as enjoyable as possible. Monty was born on the 31st of May 2012 and died on the 26th of January 2013 from a suspected hormonal seizure. I can only say it wasn’t long enough. He was passed on to us with his sisters Bea and Alice at eight hours old, Monty at only 6 hours. We were told he needed help to get out of his egg, then that his mother did not think he would live and rejected him. For the early part of his ducklinghood he remained half the size of his sisters, and we were praised for keeping him alive. His weight started to snowball and soon we had the most handsome, gentlemanly drake we had yet the pleasure of meeting. I thought it only appropriate his final photograph on the blog was one with Alice. If I have ever seen romance between two ducks it was these two. Despite Alice’s sight problems we knew he would look after her, he would always herd her where she needed to be. The girls were so quiet after his death and are still not their usual selves. Out of the six siblings Monty, Bea and Alice left behind, three then passed away. We are certain he would not have lived without us, and we would probably not have met him or his siblings without the also untimely death of Angelina, who was also the smallest of her own clutch. My partner joked as he drove us to the crematorium that I should stop asking for the runts. Holding Monty in my arms I answered through tears that it was worth it. It is. Again, I thank you all for enjoying his life with us. Thank you.whatducksdo.tumblr.com
 12
16 Jan 13 at 3 pm

Uh-oh! We have some competition. Look at these two fluffing their heads up! Edwin seems to fluff his crest up to make himself taller and Monty fluffs the back of his neck to make himself bigger. Monty wanted to include Edwin when he was a duckling but as he grew older and started to show off with his flying skills (as larger breeds the others can do “assisted jumps” but nothing like Edwin’s 20-foot-soars) the girls started to take an interest in this tiny pilot. Monty is not impressed and shoos him off. 

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

 19
14 Jan 13 at 3 pm

Edwin puffed up in the garden. We clipped his wings with help from a brilliant video on YouTube. He sat and watched it with us which we feel did calm him. You can see the beautiful green shine coming through on his head feathers :) We also now have a Facebook page!

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

Edwin puffed up in the garden. We clipped his wings with help from a brilliant video on YouTube. He sat and watched it with us which we feel did calm him. You can see the beautiful green shine coming through on his head feathers :) We also now have a Facebook page!whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 15
14 Jan 13 at 9 am

Edwin looks up at the sky. His head has darkened and flecks of green is coming through. Also he no longer has a speckled tummy, it’s turned into a beautiful, smooth rusty colour. Under his tail (where he’s growing two curlies) he has a buzzy grey area only about an inch and a half wide.

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

Edwin looks up at the sky. His head has darkened and flecks of green is coming through. Also he no longer has a speckled tummy, it’s turned into a beautiful, smooth rusty colour. Under his tail (where he’s growing two curlies) he has a buzzy grey area only about an inch and a half wide.whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 13
13 Jan 13 at 10 pm

Firstly, apologies for the delay on updates and I hope all our followers had a wonderful holiday and New Year! On the 3rd of December Alice came in and sat with us in the lounge in her nappy. She hadn’t worn one before but once it was on she didn’t mind it at all. Because she has trouble cleaning herself due to her eyesight and it’s very cold, we sometimes take her in for a lukewarm bath and let her dry herself indoors before she goes back out. This includes mealworms and lots of cuddles. This is a photo of her sat across her peopledaddy’s shoulders, she sat there whilst we watched TV and fell asleep whilst Edwin sat on his lap. She and Edwin get on very well but her greetings can sometimes alarm as she’s so much bigger!

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

Firstly, apologies for the delay on updates and I hope all our followers had a wonderful holiday and New Year! On the 3rd of December Alice came in and sat with us in the lounge in her nappy. She hadn’t worn one before but once it was on she didn’t mind it at all. Because she has trouble cleaning herself due to her eyesight and it’s very cold, we sometimes take her in for a lukewarm bath and let her dry herself indoors before she goes back out. This includes mealworms and lots of cuddles. This is a photo of her sat across her peopledaddy’s shoulders, she sat there whilst we watched TV and fell asleep whilst Edwin sat on his lap. She and Edwin get on very well but her greetings can sometimes alarm as she’s so much bigger!whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 13
07 Nov 12 at 12 pm

This is Edwin now! She’s nearly finished growing her adult feathers through, her wings themselves and the spaces around them are the last places to develop. She still has baby fluff on the back of her head and a few bits on her back. 

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

This is Edwin now! She’s nearly finished growing her adult feathers through, her wings themselves and the spaces around them are the last places to develop. She still has baby fluff on the back of her head and a few bits on her back. whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 19
14 Oct 12 at 11 am

So the bigger girls, Jemima and Lilly, standing on the edge of the old pool and letting the water out (note the muddy bit beside the pool!) was getting silly. They were letting it out so quick within a couple of days the taller ducks were just walking across the bottom. Meet the new paddling pool! The fact we can actually see them diving underwater really is incredible in person :) Especially when we normally only see them swaggering around on land.  Here’s bossy Bea showing off :)

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

 30
14 Oct 12 at 3 am

Edwin now weighs 311 grams! She’s got a full tummy of feathers, lots of adult tail feathers and her crop is starting to show some beautiful gingery colours as you can see here :) She’s also getting some dark “roots” around her beak so her head will probably be quite dark :)

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

Edwin now weighs 311 grams! She’s got a full tummy of feathers, lots of adult tail feathers and her crop is starting to show some beautiful gingery colours as you can see here :) She’s also getting some dark “roots” around her beak so her head will probably be quite dark :)whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 29
14 Oct 12 at 2 am

Edwin is shown the new paddling pool. She’s very responsive to hand gestures. 

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

Edwin is shown the new paddling pool. She’s very responsive to hand gestures. whatducksdo.tumblr.com 
 12
13 Oct 12 at 11 pm

Oscar gets some tickles from the peopledaddy and Edwin hops onto the step to say hello :) Oscar doesn’t mind, he sniffs her bum every now and then.

whatducksdo.tumblr.com 

(Source: whatducksdo.tumblr.com )

Oscar gets some tickles from the peopledaddy and Edwin hops onto the step to say hello :) Oscar doesn’t mind, he sniffs her bum every now and then.whatducksdo.tumblr.com