Today is a sad day for me. Yesterday I took the girls to a new home. I hated to give them away, but since spring hit this year Ariel had gotten EXTREMELY hormonal and quacked EXTREMELY LOUDLY anytime I, my husband or any of our neighbors walked outside. I could not get her to shut up. She would quack continuously until we or the other people went back inside. My neighbors are really nice people and did not complain directly, but comments they made let me know it was really bothering them. Nobody wants to go out to enjoy the nice weather if they will be berated by a crazy mallard! I wouldn't want them to be such a nuisance to me. I didn't want to be the annoying, "never gets a clue when you're being nice but trying to tell them something" sort of neighbor. I'm just not that selfish.
Luckily, I was able to find them a good home with a very nice lady who lives near me. She said I can come visit them anytime, and I think I will take her up on the offer. I already miss them terribly and it was very sad for me to not be greeted by them this morning. It will take me a while to be able to sleep in on the weekend. I'm programed to get up the same time each morning to let them out of their night pen, otherwise they would start quacking loudly and disturb everyone. They did that since the beginning, even before the hormones kicked in, so I learned to get up before they got started. I never thought I'd miss that, but this morning I got up at their usual wake-up time, walked out into my yard, and felt so empty.
I think they will be happy in their new home. They will be with many other ducks, geese and chickens. I think the variety will keep them from getting as board as they were with me. They will probably miss their yard though. They will be kept in a large pen with other ducks most of the time, and let out into the yard occasionally. They won't like that but they will get used to it I'm sure. Ducks are social creatures, so they will probably enjoy the chats more than they will miss the grass. They do have two kiddie pools in their pen, which Ariel immediately discovered. That will make them happy!
This will probably be the last post on this blog except for an occasional update. A final word of caution to anyone considering ducks as pets who live close to other people: don't get Mallards. They are really noisy. If any quacking will pose a problem with your neighbors, then get Muscovy Ducks (they don't quack) or a different pet all together. Your neighbors may not be able to make you get rid of your noisy fowl, but they won't appreciate it and you wouldn't want them to do that to you. Be reasonable and be nice. Its our human relationships that are most important. Never get so carried away that you forget that.
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