As well as our 4 chickens we have a duck, known as Donald. He is a Muscovy duck, which are tree ducks and are not so keen on swimming. They are very big compared to the Mallard family and we don’t get any quacks from him.
Until recently Donald shared his life with another Muscovy duck known as Ethel , she died of old age and since then Donald has not been himself. He has become very sedentary and given up washing!
They used to bate the dogs, something they loved to do. They would walk up to the dog run and stare at Vickie and Bertie who would go mad running around, jumping up and down, barking and the ducks would just stand there watching.
Last year Mummy duck tried to start a nest in the Field next to our garden. She chose a patch mixed up in all the brambles and it took us a while to work out where she was going and block the fence. She was, to coin a phrase, a sitting duck out there.
Donald has moved in with the chicken, refusing to use his own house and happy instead to make a big mess of theirs. He will never come up to you but has never been aggressive in any way. He is always happy to be put to bed and enjoys the odd bit of bread.
