[Balog]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16725051/from/ET/

Shot duck survives 2 days in refrigerator

Raises head when hunter’s wife opens door

Updated: 3:31 p.m. PT Jan 20, 2007
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Neither gunfire nor two days in a refrigerator could slay this duck.

When the wife of the hunter who shot it opened the refrigerator door, the duck lifted its head, giving her a scare.

The man’s wife “was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn’t been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her,” said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. “She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there.”

The 1-pound female ringneck ended up at Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since Tuesday for wounds to its wing and leg.

Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 percent chance of survival, but probably won’t ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.

He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times. And he said he understands how the hunter thought the duck was dead.

“This duck is very passive,” Hale said. “It’s not like trying to pick up a Muscovy at Lake Ella, where you put your life in your hands.”

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[razorburn]

Strangest story I've read here for a while. I'm not a duck hunter, but don't people usually gut and dress ducks before they put it away?

[kungfuhippie]

She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there.

If it were me I'd have freaked out, got the butcher knife and finished it off, my S.O. would be very mad if I shot it again and ruined the fridge:neener:

[GooseGestapo]

Is saw a clip on it this mornings news.

I've hunted and killed a lot of the Ringneck ducks as shown. (the duck was a ringneck hen). I hunt them on Lake Seminole, only about 50miles from where the duck was "saved"- Tallahassee,FL.

It is not unusual for ducks with broken wings to be stunned by the initial shock of blood loss after being shot. I've done it many times. The cold actually is a benifit. It slows down the metabolisim and minimizes blood loss.
I DO make a point of "wringing" their necks.

Actually, the hunter is now probably going to face prosecution on a Federal charge of not "dispatching" the duck properly. Federal law requires that all Federally protected wildlife be killed if still alive when taken and possession of a live bird is prohibited. CFR 50USC20.

In south Georgia and North Florida, most of the waterfowl cripples are picked off by the alligators, racoons, otters, ect.


One Lucky Duck !!!

[rustymaggot]

this guy needs to get a motion detector toy with a electric motor and hook it up to another duck for april fools day. scare the heck out of the wife again.

[TrapperReady]

Some birds just don't want to die (http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/story.html).

[El Tejon]

I'll bet the duck woke up in a fowl mood, and it was feeling down.:D :neener:

[Glockfan.45]

One Lucky Duck !!!

I'm sure the duck would disagree. Reminds me of a deer hunting trip I took once with an old friend up in Minnesota. We shot two whitetails and loaded them into the bed of his truck for the drive back home. When we arrived back at my home we walked to the back of the truck to unload my deer. We each grabbed a leg to drag it out and the damn thing kicked at us :eek: . Unsure of how to handle the situation (my buddy wasnt too crazy about the idea of shooting it again while in the back of the truck ;) ) we decided to just cowboy up grab it by the legs and yank it out regardless or if the deer wanted to go or not. A well placed slug finished the job. I am now a little more cautious about approaching downed game.

[uk roe hunter]

A few years ago i shot a rabbit and was getting in the car when my daughter wanted to look at the stuff we had shot. i showed her the rabbits by pouring them into the footwell in the car. one of the rabbits rolled onto it's feet and started trying to run away! it was quickly dispatched.

It has not happenned with deer becuase i touch thier eye when i get there and gralloch them straight away. they would have to be very tough to survive that.

steve

[sixgunner455]

When I was newer to bird hunting, I shot a couple of quail and "rung their necks". I put them in the bird pocket and continued hunting, adding a few more birds to the bag.

When I got home and went to breasting them out, I pulled out a dead bird and did the job. Then I opened the bag and the next one lifted its head and looked at me. Dispatched it and continued. The next couple were dead, the last one was also alive.

Kind of amazing, because the live ones had nearly the same gunshot trauma as the dead ones. Maybe I just wrung the dead ones' necks better!

[Len S]

The first time I took my wife phesant hunting she nailed a rooster at about 20 yd. It folded perfectly and my lab brought it to me. I stuck it in the back of my wifes vest. About 20 min later my wife starts yelling. The rooster woke up and started scratching and moving in her vest. She gave me the Costa Rican death stare, it can stop anything trust me, I told her she needed to shoot better. The stare got worse, I went to the other side of the treeline.

Len

[Kimber1911_06238]

that's why you have to teach the wife to grab it by the neck and swing it around til it stops flopping.

[MCgunner]

Ducks don't see the inside of my fridge until they're cut and wrapped and labeled.

[gezzer]

Zombie duck from h***!!!!!!!!!

['Card]

AFLAC!!!!

[EricTheBarbarian]

reminds me of the time a coon in the bed of my truck raised up and stared at me. Lucky it didnt tear me up carrying it to the truck. Nothing that cant be solved with a 2 ft pipe

[The Rifleman]

One day on my way to work.. Some one hit a goose along the road beside the machine shop where I worked. It was goose season and I went to get it for supper.

One of our truck drivers was a kind hearted old fellow and picked the goose up and was petting it. I told him to drop the goose and I would finish it off.

His response was don't you like geese.. I told him Yes with little potatoe's and onions.

He took the darn goose to a vet and paid to have it fixxed up.

What a waste...

No birds keep for more than a day - weither it be in a refridgerator or what have you.. So anyone that would put a duck in the refridgerator for two days without cleaning it would be considered a slob hunter in my book...

[qajaq59]

Come on.... Who puts a duck in the fridge with the feathers on it and the guts still in it? If the guy did that then the duck isn't the only "cluck" in that house.

[Full Clip]

Actually, kind of a sad story. While I enjoy hunting, I'm also an animal lover, and I really feel it's my responsibility to kill any game as quickly and painlessly as possible. I don't like the idea of any beast unnecessarily suffering because of such a screw-up, though they will happen from time to time. Also, my SO isn't a big hunting fan, and something like this would put her dead-set against it! I wouldn't want to have to get a divorce over a duck... :o

[45crittergitter]

How crazy is it to go to all that duck hunting trouble, shoot a duck, then take it to a vet to "save" it??? Those folks ought to get some therapy.