Happy ending at the animal shelter

Duck rescued and bathed after falling down a chimney

The - supposedly - ugly duckling became a white beauty again within a few days.(Bild: Tierschutzverein Tirol)

In Hall in Tyrol, a duck recently got into a chimney, fell down it and got stuck in a stove. Staff at the animal shelter rescued the animal and nursed it back to health and beauty. Now the duck is splashing around in its original pond again.

How the originally beautiful white mandarin duck ended up in the chimney of the two-storey house in Hall, only she knows. In fact, the animal fell two stories down the chimney pipe last week. The final destination was an old wood-burning stove, which was mainly used for cooking in the past.

Within a few days, the - supposedly - ugly duckling became a white beauty again.(Bild: Tierschutzverein Tirol)

Duck hid in the stove
Fortunately, nothing was cooked on it, not even the "chimney duck". Instead, the completely baffled residents of the house offered the animal several ways out of the oven. However, the duck remained in the stove out of fear.

The duck was completely black from the soot, but fortunately unharmed.

Nadine Eberharter vom Tierheim Mentlberg

So they contacted the Mentlberg animal shelter. Nadine Eberharter and Romana Rampl immediately made their way to Hall to the "chimney duck". By joining forces, they managed to get the bird out of its dungeon after all. "The duck was completely black from the soot, but fortunately unharmed," recalls Eberharter.

Nadine Eberharter (left) and Romana Rampl rescued the animal.(Bild: Tierschutzverein Tirol)

Baths for cleaning and beauty
At the wildlife station in Mentlberg, the mandarin duck's rehabilitation program included a cleansing bath. "Ducks clean themselves - especially when they are in the water. But that would have been too dangerous because the animal would have swallowed too much soot," said the zookeeper. The duck was therefore not allowed into the enclosure at first, but spent a night in quarantine.

After the first bath, a little white already flashed through the soot feathers again. In total, the animal keepers bathed the duck four times with a special product. Eberharter: "She wriggled a bit, but it went well." The - supposedly - ugly duckling became a white beauty again within a few days. "We didn't think the plumage would recover so quickly."

Released again in Hall
Two days ago, the residents of the house collected the duck and released it at a pond in Hall, where the animal had presumably been living. Perhaps it will quickly find a partner there to mate with. After this beauty treatment, the chances seem better than ever.