A Plate Full of Confused Duck

                                                                  

 

 

            Contrary to the title, this story does have a happy ending. It began with a phone call from my mower man extraordinaire, Tyler Adams. He wanted to know if I would like to have another duck.  

            Tyler had been helping his neighbor lady live-trap groundhogs around her house. The only thing they captured, however, was a fuzzy yellow duckling. Why an obviously domestic youngster was lost and alone is anybody's guess, but as it was just a few weeks after Easter, he may have been abandoned. Sadly, this is the plight of many cute Easter bunnies, chicks, and ducklings, as they age and lose their appeal.

            Tyler brought the duck to our hospital, and before he left mentioned how the little bird followed him everywhere. This is called "imprinting," a phenomenon observed in some animals. It has to do with species identity, and the security of having a mother. Evidently, the duckling thought Tyler was his mom, although that first day spent with us, he followed everyone around- all ankles must look the same to a baby duck. Oh, I forgot to mention, before Tyler exited our parking lot, he and the duck shared the same name.

            I already had two ducks at home, but I like to keep three. Ducks are great for teaching Border Collies how to herd, as they allow the handler to be closer to the dog and "flock" than sheep allow, and the dog can be more easily controlled as the commands of "come-bye" and "away to me" are taught. Three ducks tend to stick together better than two, and are less frustrating for the learning dog.

            Sadly, I've always had trouble keeping a third duck. The last third duck I had succumbed to a fox, the one before him to a red-tailed hawk. Because Tyler won over so many hearts in our office during his short visit, I needed to keep him safe. That meant living in our garage - the chicken pen in the barn was not raccoon-proof.

            Still, he had a pretty active social life. He'd follow me to the barn to do chores, and even helped Bonnie with her gardening. Tyler also had a presence on Facebook -sporting a red rubber nose on his bill for "Red Nose Day" to battle child poverty.

            Tyler made a return visit to the office the day of his photo shoot. Some of our assistants thought he looked a little grubby from living in his cardboard box, necessitating a bath. So into the tub he went, and immediately demonstrated why no human should ever take a bath with a duck. He required a second bath. He also confirmed something unfathomable. For a duck, he wasn't a very good swimmer.

            After way too many stinky weeks in our garage,  my friend Doug Noel, from Forest, made an emergency visit to secure the chicken pen. Thank you, Doug! Although Tyler enjoyed the extra room and exercise the pen provided, he suddenly seemed lonely.

            Fortunately, at about this same time, our former office assistant, Meghann Myers, inquired if I would like a trio of Columbian Wyandotte bantam chickens. Clearly, I can't say " no"  to poultry, so Tyler finally had some friends with feathers. They seem to be getting along well, although I imagine he sees himself now  as just a big, socially awkward chicken.

             Late one morning, not long after Tyler arrived, I was summoned to the waiting room by a receptionist. "A Becky Thomas is here and she has something for you."

            I wondered if Mrs. Thomas was the "neighbor lady." And what she had for me was a beautiful painted plate depicting two Border Collies and a lamb. What made the plate even more special was that it came from Machynlleth, Wales, my ancestral hometown. Apparently, if you do something nice for nice people and a duck, the rewards can be great indeed.

            Frequently I am asked, "What kind of pet should I get for my child?" After getting to know Tyler, and really learning how much fun these kind and gentle birds can be, I would highly recommend a duck, or better yet, ducks - to hopefully ward off some of Tyler's identity issues.

            Ducks, like other poultry, can harbor Salmonella. Make sure young children are supervised, and wash their hands frequently and thoroughly. And for goodness sake, keep the ducks out of the bathtub!

By Dr. John Jones