The One With the Ducks

Every summer we raise Mallard ducklings. They are the perfect temporary pet. We order them in the spring. They come to us as fluffy little puff balls and leave as beautiful creatures who fly high in the sky and journey hundreds of miles.

Our ducks have given us countless hours of entertainment. When the ducklings are little our dog, Lego becomes their mother. She takes it upon herself to make sure they are safely huddled together under her watchful eye. She worries over them and even gives them a bath!

It is such a wonder to watch them transform from soft, downy covered babies to beautiful feathered birds.

As they grow, they learn to eat cracked corn out of our hands. They are a wild animal, yet they become somewhat tame. If we are calm, they will let us pick them up and hold them and stroke their beautiful feathers.

They become so used to humans around them, that they become lonely if aren't nearby. One morning I was home alone and didn't go outside for a few hours. I heard quacking at the front door and peeked out to see that the ducks had taken it upon themselves to come visiting!

This year we adopted our own sort of "duck call". When the ducks were free ranging in our yard we would yell out, "Duck, duck!". They would answer back with a quack and come waddling in our direction. Now that they have have answered the "call of the wild" and moved themselves far away to the pond in our yard, we can still shout out to them and hear them answer back from the water.

Soon these ducks will fly away to a warmer location. They may come back to this spot next year, but they will never be tame again. We look forward to next spring when we can raise a new batch of babies!