Walking in the pasture earlier this week I noticed that Alpha was not with her flock of Runner Ducks. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie – and Poppy are a tight circle of “friends”. They forage together, they bathe together, they rest together… they are just always together. Except this one morning, when Alpha wasn’t there.
As soon as I noticed that she was missing, I went to look for her. She wasn’t hard to find. She was sitting by herself in the duck house. I reached in to pick her up – maybe she was sitting on an egg. No egg.
She had some brown spots under her feathers – when I parted her feathers to inspect her skin I almost lost my cookies. She had some scratches on her back (probably from Charlie mounting her), and the flies had deposited their eggs, now active larvae, in the scratches.
I tucked my Alpha under my arm and carried her to the water pump. I filled bucket after bucket of water and dunked and scrubbed that duck until the water ran free of maggots.
I set up a healing pen for her near the house and brought Bravo up for company. Every day for several days, I washed Alpha in soapy water, applied wound spray, antimicrobial vet gel and dressing powder.
Every morning I removed her bedding and gave her fresh, clean shavings. And THIS morning, Alpha was clear of bugs – her wounds are dry – and she ate her breakfast!!
I think we made it. I expect her to make a complete recovery and I plan to return Alpha and Bravo to the pasture this weekend.
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to you herds.” Proverbs 27:23
Alpha’s story is about how we treat each other. Think of “TEA for 2”.
T: Time and attention given to my animals allows me to know their personalities, their routines and even the unique cadence and pitches of their individual voices. Take TIME to invest in authentic relationships and valued friendship.
E: EXPLORE. Exploring an impression that “something is off” is a natural caregiving response when you love someone. Reach out with a tender heart when things are really not “fine” with someone you care about.
A: ACT. Assessing the need and Acting on it without hesitation is our calling as followers of Christ to “bear with one another”, “to carry each other’s burdens”, to be generous, humble, kind and loving.
For 2: God’s Spirit is in you and with you. Allow His love and grace to flow freely as you are making yourself available to someone He loves.
“Let is not become weary of doing good…Therefore as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Gal. 6:9-10
