Provide the ducks with water to bathe/float in & provide the chickens with dirt for dust bathing
The issue
The ducks at The Grounds have no access to water to bathe in. Ducks are aquatic birds, so they naturally have weak leg and thigh joints as they do not normally need to hold their body weight for extended periods of time. Where surface water is available, ducks will float for long periods, reducing pressure on their muscular and skeletal system. However, when water is denied, ducks must hold their entire body weight on their legs resulting in lameness, dislocated joints and broken bones. A study in 2008 compared water deprivation in ducks to sleep deprivation in humans. Humans without sleep and ducks without water show post-inhibitory rebound - that is, they compensate for what they have been deprived of. Ducks given access to water after a period of deprivation have been shown to overcompensate by spending excessive amounts of time on or in water. There is no excuse for the ducks not to be given access to water to float and bathe in and if the reasoning is because it is difficult with the other animals there, it is quite simple, don't keep ducks on the property.
Chickens love to take dust baths! They don't just love it though, it is a natural behavioral instinct. While humans shower in water, chickens clean themselves by taking a dust bath. They also do this to rid themselves of the parasites that tend to afflict them (mites, fleas, etc.), because instinct has taught them that the dust clogs the breathing pores of the parasites, and kills them off. It is vital to a chickens health and well being to have access to a dust bath. The animals at The Grounds only have access to concrete and some hay.
The neglect of the animals doesn't appear to be intentional, but rather a lack of understanding of the basic requirements necessary to keep the animals in good health. The other animals - the pig, the pony, and the parrot are also not receiving their basic needs and there is a concern for their health and well being too.
Please support this cause by signing this petition. If in doing so we can change the situation for these animals, it can only be for the better.
The issue
The ducks at The Grounds have no access to water to bathe in. Ducks are aquatic birds, so they naturally have weak leg and thigh joints as they do not normally need to hold their body weight for extended periods of time. Where surface water is available, ducks will float for long periods, reducing pressure on their muscular and skeletal system. However, when water is denied, ducks must hold their entire body weight on their legs resulting in lameness, dislocated joints and broken bones. A study in 2008 compared water deprivation in ducks to sleep deprivation in humans. Humans without sleep and ducks without water show post-inhibitory rebound - that is, they compensate for what they have been deprived of. Ducks given access to water after a period of deprivation have been shown to overcompensate by spending excessive amounts of time on or in water. There is no excuse for the ducks not to be given access to water to float and bathe in and if the reasoning is because it is difficult with the other animals there, it is quite simple, don't keep ducks on the property.
Chickens love to take dust baths! They don't just love it though, it is a natural behavioral instinct. While humans shower in water, chickens clean themselves by taking a dust bath. They also do this to rid themselves of the parasites that tend to afflict them (mites, fleas, etc.), because instinct has taught them that the dust clogs the breathing pores of the parasites, and kills them off. It is vital to a chickens health and well being to have access to a dust bath. The animals at The Grounds only have access to concrete and some hay.
The neglect of the animals doesn't appear to be intentional, but rather a lack of understanding of the basic requirements necessary to keep the animals in good health. The other animals - the pig, the pony, and the parrot are also not receiving their basic needs and there is a concern for their health and well being too.
Please support this cause by signing this petition. If in doing so we can change the situation for these animals, it can only be for the better.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 15 April 2015