A staff member came to the clinic with a transfer carrier that was covered with a towel. I figured it was a dog or a cat per usual. When it made a loud honking noise, I was immediately expecting a dog with a severe respiratory issue that was struggling to breathe.

To my surprise, when the staff member put down the carrier and lifted the towel to give me a peek, a duck was standing inside looking at me quizzically.

I was relieved! The noise that I heard, while very scary to hear from a dog, was nothing more than a typical duck or goose noise.

It was relayed to me that the duck had been found in a box in the garage of a property that had been empty for at least a week.

The duck had been left to die.

When I took it out of the carrier for an exam, it was more than happy to oblige. It immediately stood up tall, extended its wings and flapped for a few moments, then proceeded to quack and walk around the clinic as if it was home.

The duck was thin and looked dirty as if it hadn’t been able to preen itself the way birds normally do to stay clean. It seemed to be in overall good health with no injuries and had a healthy appetite.

We set the duck up in a pen in our exotic animal room and provided it with a bath that it could enjoy and use to clean itself.

Sure enough, within no time, the duck was gleefully enjoying the bath!

In the end, this duck only stayed with us for a short period of time before it was rescued.