Morning Exercises and Trouble in Paradise

So I think I'm going to instigate daily free ranges in the morning with my lovely ladies (as I've grown to call them in my mind). Today's workout consisted of foraging for tender greens, mosquito hunting, and pea training. 

What is pea training you ask? 

In order for you to understand, I need to explain the relationship I have with my ladies. They're terrified of me. Plain and simple. So I did some research and discovered that I can tempt my ducklings by holding out a handful of peas for them to come eat.

As you can see, they're eating from of the palm of my hand.

This hilarity continued for half an hour or so, and by then it was time for me to start getting ready for class. I gathered up the duckling that I've started calling Ole Striped Eyes (she's the one eating out of my hand in the above picture) and began to carry her to their kennel home. That was when I noticed that something wasn't quite right with her head: she had some kind of lump in her ear. Yes, ducks have ears.

After fidgeting with it for a few minutes, I decided it did was not a chunk of feed stuck in her ear, but some kind of local swelling. 

(WARNING: Graphic image, viewer discretion is advised.) 

(Not really)

Ruh Roh Raggy...

I rushed to my computer and pulled up the handy dandy google button on the internet machine and started searching for duck ear maladies. After hours of cross examining chicken forums (because duck forums apparently don't exist, or if they do then I cannot find them), I finally happened upon a woman who had a duck with the exact same problems that Ole Striped Eyes has. Turns out it's some kind of ear infection, and the lady treated it by squirting the ear canal down with warm, distilled water and vinegar. I followed suit, and added some tetracycline powder to their water for good measure because the lady said it spread to her other ducks as well, which I cannot be having. 

This now makes it impossible for me to market my ducks as "organic," but honestly, if this helps her get better and keeps the others healthy, I don't even care. 

More updates on OSE's condition to follow.