Growing up the family lived in the country just outside Dallas. Great Grandmother livid on a farm north of Dallas. We’d visit and as children would go to her pond always just to watch their ducks. One year we kids decided to have our own ducks and GGM gave us permission to take two home with us. Why, Lord only knows. We had no pond/tank/lake. All we had was an inflatable kiddie pool. But we took two ducks and named them Pinky and Blackie they lived as part of the family and we played with them like one would a dog. Then we moved to the city. The two going with us. The year santa left us bicycles, with baskets was the year I attempted to put one in the basket and give a tour of the neighbor. Poor thing. Naturally, it was frightened and attempted to jump out of the enclosure, and cut his head on the spokes. Immediately rode home crying crocodile tears and showed him to Mom. Mom could fix anything ;-O She cleaned the cut, took needle and thread and begin to sew the cut. Duck survived, and we kept him for a few more years. Eventually, being children we tired of the responsibility and eventually took the two back to the farm. As they were released we hung around to see how they and the ‘regulars’ would react. They seemed to mingle well and the end of the day we bid adieu to our playtime buddies. For about a year when we’d visit GGM we’d look for Pinkie and Blackie -they remembered us just as we remembered them and their appearance/temperament. Then, one day the ducks were no longer there. Sad day indeed. Lots of memories with those two.
‘seem to have more personality than Chickens”
Agreed! We raised chickens when a child there in the country. Remember going to the Grain and feed store in Oak Cliff and dad buying little chicks, bringing them home Must have been about 5 years old..before beginning school. I be out there chasing the chickens. Fun until the day that dad decided he’d like fried chicken for dinner. He took that bird and do what men-folk do to a chicken before eating it. It was years before I could eat chicken again. Not even Youngbloods fried chicken for this tyke.
There are a number of persons who prefer duck eggs over chicken eggs. Don’t believe a duck egg has ever been eaten and only in the past year or so have there been many chicken eggs eaten. Now use them often for omelets (cheese) just about every morning. Or soft scrambled. Tastes change as one grows older I guess.
What started me down the whole Duck thing was I was mowing the Lawn and I kept hearing the weird sound, I’d stop and it would stop, I’d start pushing the mower again and it would start again, bugged me so I shut the mower off and started pushing it to the sidewalk then I could hear the peep peep peep... I was a Duckling following me and how I didn’t step on it while I was mowing is it’s own mystery.
I gathered it up, put it in a box, got a lamp and a bowl for water ... next thing ya know it is full grown, kids named it Stone Cold (after the Wrestler) cause it was Fearless, it thought it was a Dog, wanted to Wrestle, Fight and Tug a War with anything... nibble the kids toes while they were running about everything but fetch but it would come when called.
That is when I screwed up, I decided he needed a Girlfriend so I went to a neighbors, we caught a hen and I unveiled her and set her free in the yard, ducks herd but Stone Cold thought he was a Dog so he thought this Hen was chasing him and he ran and ran till he was winded and just ran between my legs and stopped because the Hen was basically a from a Pond and afraid of people, she wouldn’t come near me so ol Stone Cold was Safe, for the rest of the afternoon he was underfoot and eyeballing that new duck that always stayed about 10 ft away ... finally I just went in the house.
Next day Stone Cold was Gone... there was a Duck that looked just like him but it wasn’t him, it was like the hen had did a Vulcan Mind Meld on him, he wouldn’t come close and feeding them they wouldn’t come to the feed until you backed off, he became a Duck and a scaredycat duck at that.
Kids were Mad at me... But the Pair was Prolific, had lots of ducks after that and then I started buying all different kinds, the Call Ducks were pretty, the Runners were unique etc
If it weren’t so late I’d tell you about my Hen that Crowed almost like a Rooster.
Time got away, closer to Breakfast than Supper but I haven’t eaten Supper yet. Gnight.