Down-on-luck duck finds loving home
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RONAN — One lucky duck lives at the corner of First and Buchanan Street SW in Ronan. Ever since moving in with Ed and Virginia Cornelius last summer, Mr. Quackers, as he’s affectionately dubbed, has been top duck in the household.
“You are one spoiled duck,” Virginia tells him as she goes through the morning routine of setting up Mr. Quackers’ living area.
In warm weather, the handsome duck enjoys waddling around the yard and lives in an outdoor tent complete with swimming pool, but this winter, Virginia moved the bird indoors to weather the cold and snow. And he loves his new home.
Each morning, Mr. Quackers rouses from sleeping in a soft-sided kennel much like his larger outdoor tent and quacks for his “mom.” That means it’s bath time, and Virginia draws water — warm water, just as Mr. Quackers likes — in the tub, so the pet can get his splashing fix and clean up for the day.
“He’s very structured,” she said. “He has this routine, and until I do it, he quacks at me.”
It’s evident that Virginia and Mr. Quackers have a special bond. They’ve learned to communicate with each other quite well, Virginia said, and she successfully taught him not to bite. A cuddly duck, Mr. Quackers loves to have his tummy scratched while cozied up on Virginia’s lap. While his bathroom home might not be the most comfortable place for humans, to Mr. Quackers, it’s a palace.
“We spend a lot of time sitting on the john, and it’s not because we need to go to the bathroom,” Virginia chuckled.
After a 15-minute bath complete with rubber duckies, Mr. Quackers hops up, teetering on the side of the bathtub for a moment before plopping down to eat breakfast. He gulps down a few bites of a 50/50 chicken scratch and duck food mixture with some chopped cabbage thrown in, and then it’s grooming time — so out comes Mr. Panda.
From online research, Virginia learned that ducks like stuffed animals, so she gave Mr. Quackers a stuffed panda. He rubs his head on the panda to comb his feathers, and it’s become a necessary fixture in his living quarters. Mr. Quackers also has a mirror outside the gate that keeps him in the bathroom; he feels more comfortable with another duck looking back at him, Virginia said.
Once his home is arranged with newspaper covering the floor and all accessories in place, Mr. Quackers will spend the day quietly enjoying his security — a luxury the duck didn’t always have.
Virginia first saw Mr. Quackers in Ronan City Park last June, and noticed that he and three other ducks were of the domestic Rouen breed.
The two pairs of ducks had been dropped off at the park, probably after someone couldn’t handle their full-grown Easter ducklings, Virginia speculates.
Before long, one male and female had disappeared, and Virginia started keeping a close eye on the remaining pair. Then “some of the kids got a hold of the female and did away with it,” Virginia said, and Mr. Quackers was left all alone.
“He was just crying,” she said, and looking for his friends.
So Virginia, a member of the Ronan City Park Board, consulted Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Rolfsness, who agreed that Virginia should rescue the duck.
“It would just break my heart if something happened to him,” Virginia said.
Virginia and a friend, who’s a wildlife biologist, took some popcorn and bread out to the park to entice Mr. Quackers over. He had obviously lived with humans before and was tame, Virginia said.
“He just swam right across the creek, and that was it; we brought him home,” she said.
Rouen ducks can’t fly, so there’s no telling how long Mr. Quackers would have lasted without Virginia’s help. He’s the third pet duck Virginia’s had, and she plans to keep Mr. Quackers around to a ripe old age.
“He’s just amazing,” she said.
