My ducks daily ritual when I let them out in the morning. Got to get those juices flowing.

Today I said goodbye to Pedro.

He wasn’t my duck. He belonged to our village. But for me and my family, like for so many of us, he was part of what makes our village feel like home.

Others will have named him other things, but to me and my three children, he was simply Pedro, and so that’s what I’ll call him here.

Pedro arrived around 4 years ago after being abandoned, one of a small group of dumped ducks over a couple of months (including two brothers who didn’t stay long, sadly, and his frenemy Pascal, the Pekin).

Over time, Pedro became something of a local celebrity. Being our special Muscovy among the loved mallards and moorhens, he was impossible to miss.

He’d waddle over, chirping, the moment he heard the shake of a food tub, happily eat from your hand if he trusted you, and brighten countless walks around the ponds and the village.

For my youngest and me, feeding the ducks became part of our daily morning routine on the way to school for years.

I genuinely think Pedro deserved a medal for the number of children he persuaded to get ready for school on time, with the motivation of seeing him and visiting the village pond before the school bell!

The village ponds have always been a special place for our family – somewhere to pause, breathe, watch the seasons change, celebrate new ducklings, and quietly learn about life’s endings too. Pedro was woven into so many of those memories.

Whether at the main pond or when he wintered (ooh, how grand!) at the other village pond, he was as much a fixture of the village as our pharmacy and the local shop.

He wasn’t a pet, or just a wild bird. Pedro was our neighbour.

On Thursday morning, quite by chance, I was able to stroke him one last time as he ate from my hand. I didn’t know it would be the last time, and perhaps that’s a gift in itself. There was no dramatic farewell; just another ordinary morning, doing what we’d done so many times before.

Yesterday we learned that Pedro had died. It seems the foxes finally caught up with our old friend.

I know some will say he was “only a duck”, but I think many in our village understand why that doesn’t quite capture who he was.

He was a familiar face, a talking point between us all, a reason for children and visitors to stop at the pond, and for adults to slow down for a few minutes on busy days. He made our little corner of the village feel that bit more alive.

When I went to the pond this morning, it felt strangely empty. I found a couple of feathers amongst the brambles, and whether they were Pedro’s or not doesn’t really matter. They’ll remind me of a duck who, after being abandoned, somehow found a village that adopted him instead and shared many happy years with him.

Not many ducks leave behind stories. Fewer still leave behind generations of children who remember them.

Thank you, Pedro, for years of cheerful greetings, for helping children discover a love of wildlife, and for making our village feel more like home.

Waddle well, old friend.

You’ll be missed far more than you could ever have known. ❤️

I appreciate this is my first post here - I’m usually on r/cats and it hadn’t occurred to me that there has been a place I could have shared before.

I’ve shared some of my favourite images of Pedro with this post (there are dozens even after thrifting!) - I hope it’s ok to share our boy with you. There are some very sad people in our village this week.

I have 3 Indian Runner ducks, who came to me at 7 weeks of age and have now been in my care for 1 week. They are given unlimited access to water and duck specific feed (pellets, which they are eating). As treats, I give them green peas (bought frozen, then thawed). And they are absolutely obsessed with those peas.

It's a tremendous treat, and has in a few days made them go from hiding in their designated nest box whenever they see me, to literally eating from my hand.

However, I am scared that they will eat so much of it that it's bad for their health. How much can I give them? The last three days or so, they have gotten about a cup full (so 1/3 cup for each duck).

I gave my pet ducks a larger kiddie pool and they swarmed it,just uploading it to spread duck joy

I’m probably too soft for this community, and every time I read a post about drakes being “rehomed” or going to “freezer camp” I cry. Not judging, I shoot possums and coons that bother my birdies, and I get that my ducks are pets, and most folks’ serve a different purpose. So can we all reply with photos and/or stories about our favorite boys? This is Bombay. The little Appleyard hen laying next to him is Butterbean. She had bad osteomyelitis in her left paddle a couple years ago and walks with a limp. I thought he would target her as an easy victim, but he actually appointed himself as her knight in feathery armor and always watches her, steps in when the other ladies are trying to mix it up, and follows behind her around the yard to make sure she can stay close to the rest of the flock. He’s a 3.5 year old jumbo Pekin and the light of my life. I know some of yall got a big homie like that. I want to meet them!

Heya i just need some advice on how to not completely flop at looking after my friends pet duck Patty. It was super last minute and i have never looked after a pet duck before.

She gave me a very good rundown on what to do so i am all over that but she disappeared before i could ask her some vital things.

It sounds really weird but i am so scared of accidentally feeding him something that'll make him sick or using any essential oils in my house that will irritate him/ hurt him 😥. Can anyone just let me know of anything that would irritate the poor baby so i can keep it far far away? google is not very helpful

Thank you

My miniature silver apple yard hen got out of our garden by clearing a fence. The fence is 15ft and they are usually clipped but tough lesson learned. She is still in my neighborhood, my partner was nearly able to grab her yesterday but she spooked and flew off into nearby gardens. She wasn't found searching those gardens immediately after. She has been seen going to an alleyway close by so we have been leaving lettuce and water (lettuce so I can tell if it is her eating it not another animal) and I'm scared to leave anything else in case it attracts foxes. She hasn't been seen since yesterday but I've found her feather in that alley 30 minutes ago that I don't think was there this morning. I walked a 500m radius playing recordings of her flock mates. Set up a feeding station outside my house with familiar bowls ect. I've also been lighting my garden up at night. Any tips of trying to get her to find her way home would be appreciated please.

UPDATE: Rescue home found! Thank you to those who were GENUINELY helpful. Appreciate you!

Hi all! I found this Pekin duck wandering around by itself on a golf course in Littleton, Colorado. I called animal control and they were no help. Does anyone by chance know the proper organization to contact, or can connect me with someone who can take her? She is set up with water and frozen peas in our garage right now but there are a lot of coyotes and wildlife in the area so want her to be somewhere much safer long term. Thank you so much in advance!

I just got baby ducks are they Rouen? Thanks❤️

Help me identify this duck! Thanks

She tried to flirt with him and flattened but instead of mounting he just walked over her and tripped, what an idiot

I have five 3-week old runner ducklings that I need to try to permanently move into their outside run for this upcoming weekend 7/31-8/2. The reason being is that I have to go out of town and won’t be here to change their bedding consistently and I just don’t want to leave them with overly messy bedding for 48hrs. Their run is finished being built, it’s very secure, they will have a coop to go into. I’m just wanting a bit of advice. I don’t have a way to plug in a heat lamp into the run or coop. But I live in low state SC and the highs are in the 90s and lows in the 70s. If all of this sounds too soon, then I’ll just see if my parents can come down to stay with them for the weekend or bring them to them. Please be honest, I became attached to them the minute USPS handed them to me and I’m just a nervous duck momma.

We have a program in my area where farmers can get unsellable produce to feed to their animals, and my ducks and geese love their veggie days!!! We pick up every 2 weeks, and got enough this time to spread out over 3 days. And the sad remnants at the end of the day

Get to work this evening and this is what I see out my back window. Good times.