Flopsy ducks out for walk

Flopsy looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck but can’t walk like a duck.

So a Manawatu¯ woman is trying to get the waterfowl moving. Traci Booth is a domestic cleaner by trade but a tinkerer by nature, with a soft spot for strays and animals with disabilities.

Her Palmerston North home is full of parts and projects, both in progress and complete.

A fish-tank housing a pair of one-eyed fish dominates her lounge, and the property is home to a dozen chooks, at least six cats, and two muscovy ducks, including Flopsy. The pectoral ligament across Flopsy’s chest was damaged when the duck was less than a day old, Booth said.

Because of this the duck can’t stand on its own.

‘‘She’s stuck, permanently doing the splits. But she’s otherwise healthy and happy, and is very sweet.’’

The duck can get around a little but it is difficult and slow. Too slow to avoid the other birds, which have rejected Flopsy and constantly peck and attack her. When Booth isn’t around, Flopsy has to stay in a cage for her own protection. So Booth cobbled together a duck walker that includes a netted dome to keep Flopsy safe.

The idea is that Flopsy sits in a sling between two wheeled boards with her legs stuck through two holes.

This supports Flopsy’s weight, and holds her legs underneath so she can walk around.

But every time Flopsy tries to move, she pushes herself right out of the sling. Craig Shepherd, who runs a bird rehabilitation sanctuary in Wellington, provided a walker he made for birds in his care.

But Flopsy pops out of that one too. So Booth is back to the drawing board, planning to marry the best of both designs.