Lebanon group: Ducks do not make good
gifts
Birds are popular on Easter holiday
This is the dumbest article. The "reporter" had a
notepad, but I don't know what he was writing in
it--certainly not what I was saying. After this, we
never invited the Norwich Bulletin back again. They flub
up every interview. So that you don't think that we're
idiots, I'm going to add corrections and edit out taboo
words that a rescue sanctuary would not be caught dead
saying about ducks.
But would you look at my dear Joven--giving me a hug.
Joven hugged every visitor that came to our sanctuary
before he died of natural causes. I do miss this guy.
His ashes are still here at the sanctuary. Forever at
peace. My boy...
 LEBANON
-- Pekin ducks are, in no particular order: The mascot
of insurance company Aflac. The model of Disney's
"Donald Duck." The beloved pet on the NBC sitcom
"Friends" and BLEEP!
[Majestic disapproves of the
remainder of this sentence.]
But the one thing Pekin ducks should not be, said
Kimberly Link, are Easter gifts for children.
Especially the ducklings -- those tiny, gold-feathered
birdies that prove irresistible for some children.
[This kid really needs to learn
the difference between chicks & ducklings and
fur & feathers.]
"They're cute, but what people don't realize very
often is they outgrow this small,
fuzzy stage very, very
quickly," said Link, president of Majestic Waterfowl
Sanctuary in Lebanon. [I have made
a correction to this paragraph because I was misquoted as stating that ducks
outgrow their cuteness. WHAT?!]
The nonprofit organization rescues dozens of starving
Pekin ducks each winter from nearby waterways, which are
ditched by families after the
ducklings outgrow their
welcome.
Pekin ducks molt their feathers within two weeks of birth
to begin growing their creamy-white feathers, said
Harlan Hyde, store manager of lawn and gardening
supplier Agway. [I'm going to bet
that Harlan did not say that ducks "shed their fur."]
They also grow quickly. Within six to eight weeks,
adult ducks average about 7-9 pounds and 18 inches tall.
That explains why, come mid-summer, families who
previously thought they'd be able to care for the Easter
gifts, drop them off at places such as Spaulding Pond in
Norwich's Mohegan Park.
But doing that can prove disastrous. Domesticated
ducks have a hard time finding food in the wild. And,
come winter, predators, such as dogs and
wolves,
encircle ponds, driving the waterfowl into the freezing
water, where they often die.
[WOLVES? We have wolves in Connecticut?! Wake up kid, I
said COYOTES. Ay yi yi...]
It is not uncommon, Link said, to come across
half-frozen, half-ravaged Pekin ducks during the
harshest winter months. [Or for
ducks to actually freeze into the ice and become trapped
and predated, which is what I really said.
"Half-ravaged" ... that's a bit graphic. Trying to sell
a paper?]
"There are state laws to try and help the situation,
and we try our hardest to help educate people and let
them know the responsibilities behind raising ducks,"
said Hyde.
Still, in the four-week period leading up to Easter,
Hyde said Agway has sold 120 chicks to residents and
farmers. That number is higher than usual, too. In fact,
the store was sold out of its chicks by Friday, Hyde
said. [Don't panic. 120 chicks not
120 ducklings. People aren't dropping off chickens on
our local ponds.]
Since Majestic began in 2004, Link said the
organization has saved about 70 domesticated waterfowl.
A team of about eight volunteers lure the ducks into
traps, where they are then transported to the
half-acre
Lebanon sanctuary. The ducks are put up for adoption.
[How about 8 acres. What was this
kid writing in that notebook.]
"We enjoy what we do here, of course, but it's really
important for people to know that ducklings and goslings
are very fragile and don't make ideal pets for
children," she said.
Notes about the photo of me and Joven:
We were staining the wood for the new goose house that
day. I was in painting clothes and hard at work with the
power painter when the reporters showed up. He wanted to
do a last minute story for the Easter Sunday paper. I
agreed to do the interview provided they did not use any
photos of me. Apparently, the photographer wasn't taking
notes either.
The caption under the photo ended with a ridiculous
misquote. It said:
"Kimberly Link gets a hug Saturday from Joven, a
Pekin duck at Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary in Lebanon.
Link established the sanctuary to rehabilitate abandoned
waterfowl. Link says ducks show
affection by embracing each other with their necks."
Ha ha ha! I said WHAT? Where do
they get this nonsense! I said that ducks bob their
heads at each other on water and then the drake reaches
their neck over the hen and grabs on to mate. In
essence, that is what Joven was trying to do with me
because he's imprinted on humans and thought I looked
pretty hot that day--don't you think? Ha!
Article originally published April
16, 2006 |
