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I think the girl and her family have a ton of compassion for the duck! It's a HOUSE DUCK, for crying out loud! I think that duck has a pretty darn pampered life. It goes swimming and comes back when called...if the duck was so darn unhappy, as some seem to think, would it really come back of its own volition? No...it would swim away or fly off. But it returns and follows the girl around.
If you abuse a dog, say a Golden or Lab, would it always run away? If that was the truth, then we wouldn't have unhappy/emaciated dogs sitting in backyards across the country, would we?
The duck has relied upon the girl and her family for food its whole life. It probably never got to interact with other ducks (speaking of other ducks, taking it to the pond is NOT a good idea if it is to be a "house duck". Snowflake could pick up any number of diseases/parasites from the wild duck population and could possibly spread them to the girl and her family) and probably has no idea how to forage for food.
I own both chickens and ducks. I do keep the chicks in the house until they are fully fledged at 6 weeks and then they go outside to spend the rest of their lives as chickens and ducks! I did have a "house bantam" (an Old English Game hen), but that was only for a few short weeks till she could be integrated with the flock safely. My ducks and chickens are free range, but get fed all flock feed, oyster shell, and some scratch grains in the morning. They learned as young birds by watching the older hens and roosters as they caught bugs and ate grass/plants.
This is not Disney, people! Dogs and cats have evolved over millennia to stay with us and either protect us/our property or to hunt/kill vermin. Ducks were kept as either food or pets, but they stayed outside with members of their own species.
If you abuse a dog, say a Golden or Lab, would it always run away? If that was the truth, then we wouldn't have unhappy/emaciated dogs sitting in backyards across the country, would we?
The duck has relied upon the girl and her family for food its whole life. It probably never got to interact with other ducks (speaking of other ducks, taking it to the pond is NOT a good idea if it is to be a "house duck". Snowflake could pick up any number of diseases/parasites from the wild duck population and could possibly spread them to the girl and her family) and probably has no idea how to forage for food.
I own both chickens and ducks. I do keep the chicks in the house until they are fully fledged at 6 weeks and then they go outside to spend the rest of their lives as chickens and ducks! I did have a "house bantam" (an Old English Game hen), but that was only for a few short weeks till she could be integrated with the flock safely. My ducks and chickens are free range, but get fed all flock feed, oyster shell, and some scratch grains in the morning. They learned as young birds by watching the older hens and roosters as they caught bugs and ate grass/plants.
This is not Disney, people! Dogs and cats have evolved over millennia to stay with us and either protect us/our property or to hunt/kill vermin. Ducks were kept as either food or pets, but they stayed outside with members of their own species.
These emaciated dogs are usually chained or inside fenced yards.
The duck does not have to forage...it's well fed!
Don't be a nit-picking hen. Be a happy, quacky duck instead.
When my kids were smaller, they got several ducklings one spring. We fashioned an outdoor pen with an artificial water pond for them under our deck and ushered them inside a locked kennel at night to protect from foxes and coyotes. When they could fly, they flew out of the pen and joined the wild ducks on our pond. It was a fun experience - one I would repeat again.
These emaciated dogs are usually chained or inside fenced yards.
The duck does not have to forage...it's well fed!
Don't be a nit-picking hen. Be a happy, quacky duck instead.
When my kids were smaller, they got several ducklings one spring. We fashioned an outdoor pen with an artificial water pond for them under our deck and ushered them inside a locked kennel at night to protect from foxes and coyotes. When they could fly, they flew out of the pen and joined the wild ducks on our pond. It was a fun experience - one I would repeat again.
You had multiple ducks and they weren't being treated like this girl treats her duck.
If you abuse a dog, say a Golden or Lab, would it always run away? If that was the truth, then we wouldn't have unhappy/emaciated dogs sitting in backyards across the country, would we?
The duck has relied upon the girl and her family for food its whole life. It probably never got to interact with other ducks (speaking of other ducks, taking it to the pond is NOT a good idea if it is to be a "house duck". Snowflake could pick up any number of diseases/parasites from the wild duck population and could possibly spread them to the girl and her family) and probably has no idea how to forage for food.
I own both chickens and ducks. I do keep the chicks in the house until they are fully fledged at 6 weeks and then they go outside to spend the rest of their lives as chickens and ducks! I did have a "house bantam" (an Old English Game hen), but that was only for a few short weeks till she could be integrated with the flock safely. My ducks and chickens are free range, but get fed all flock feed, oyster shell, and some scratch grains in the morning. They learned as young birds by watching the older hens and roosters as they caught bugs and ate grass/plants.
This is not Disney, people! Dogs and cats have evolved over millennia to stay with us and either protect us/our property or to hunt/kill vermin. Ducks were kept as either food or pets, but they stayed outside with members of their own species.
A dog wouldn't. A cat would. I have seen it happen more than once. A dog is a pack animal. It stays loyal to it's pack no matter what. Abuse or no, it's going to stay even if it can escape. A cat will say, "The Hell with you," and move on. I actually acquired one of my cats that way and I have seen others do the same. They are loyal when loyalty is earned. It's the nature of the beast.
I don't know about ducks and their willingness to stay put but as has been said about one hundred times, that duck is not being held captive. If it was not content to stay where it was, it could swim away in the pond. Regarding parasites and so forth, taking your dog for a walk exposes him to them when he sniffs other dog's feces. Diseases are spread at dog parks all the time.
It's possible that the family bathes the duck or gives it some treatment to prevent it from catching parasites from wild ducks it meets in the pond. They might be the type of people who would know enough to take these precautions.
At one time this duck might have been happier with his duck friends but now it only knows what it knows. From the story, it didn't appear they had really planned it this way but this is the way it turned out and it's not a bad deal for everyone including the duck.
Go look at a duck! They show emotion just as other critters do. I saw a happy duck at the end of the story, when the little girl was cuddling it. Both were as contented as could be.
Things will change once she starts going to school, but the duck will be her pal for the rest of its life. If people can love parakeets, why not a duck?
Go look at a duck! They show emotion just as other critters do. I saw a happy duck at the end of the story, when the little girl was cuddling it. Both were as contented as could be.
Things will change once she starts going to school, but the duck will be her pal for the rest of its life. If people can love parakeets, why not a duck?
Yep...people have parakeets, cockatiels, all sorts of parrots, love birds, finches, budgies, cockatoos, conures, parakeets, etc. for pets and no one thinks twice.
She'll grow up to be one of those people who needs to take a "comfort pet" on an airplane.
No, she wont. Shell grow up to be empathetic and caring and an excellent mother one day. As kids who have pets, do. She may also be a tad less judgmental than average.
Oh for goodness sakes, much ado about nothing. Yes, it is normal for a 4 year old to be that attached to something. In many cases it's not even a real animal, but a stuffed one they are "mommy" of. There is no indication anyone here is being harmed in any way whatsoever, whether child, parents, or said duck, so why all the harsh judgement?
Unless the child's doctor is a "quack." Pun intended.
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