Lucky the duck - Story of Lucy the Canada Goose

I realize that I haven't said much about Lucky the Duck, so I'll dedicate this entire page to Lucky. As I mentioned in our opening story, Lucky is a domestic Rouen duck. Their markings are very similar to Mallards. They are raised as "table" ducks (raised to eat). Most restaurants prefer them to Pekin Ducks because their meat is leaner.

We normally have a family of Mallards that spend their summer in our pond. That was the case this past summer. When Lucy and Lucky first came to live with us, they stayed far away from the mother Mallard and her four ducklings. As the summer progressed, Lucky seemed to bond with them and she would spend most of the day swimming with them.

We fed Lucy and Lucky cracked corn down by the pond all Summer. The word got out and the population of Mallards grew. At one time there were 40 extra Mallards in the pond. They would show up for breakfast and dinner, but would leave before nightfall. Lucky enjoyed their company during the day, but they always left as darkness approached. Lucky's wings are clipped so she could not leave with the Mallards. She would get lonely in the evenings if Lucy wasn't nearby.

Even though the markings on Lucky and the Mallards were similiar, we could always tell which one was Lucky. She has a much larger chest than the Mallards, and she was much louder. If Lucy wasn't there when Lucky thought she should be, she would stand on her little platform in the middle of the pond and quack as loud as she could. The neighbors even commented on Lucky's volume.

I'm not certain how they did it, but Lucky and Lucy were able to communicate with each other. If Lucy was "missing" for a while, after being reunited, they would get together and "cheep" at each other as if they were checking to make sure each was okay. There was also some kind of understanding when it came to the corn. The wild ducks stayed back until Lucy got her share, then Lucky would let them know that they could come in and eat.

Now that it is only Lucy and Lucky, Lucky is much friendlier. She will eat out of hands and peck at our shoelaces. I'm sure that Lucky misses the interaction she had with the wild ducks and looks forward to their return next Spring.