I'm only catching the tail end of this thread, but we had a pet duck for quite a few years! Her name was Jemima (after Beatrix Potter) and she was a newborn freshly hatched duckling swept from a nest along a nearby river. We were fishing with friends/aka drinking, and throwing worms into the water but I'll never forget our friend saying JAN..GET OUT OF THE WATER...SOMETHINGS COMING AT YOU"! My eyesight was, and still is incredible, and I saw this newborn mallard duckling being swept by the current. Grabbed her up...and yup...I was mama. We did try to find a suitable nest for over an hour around the marsh, but alas, ended up taking her home. One cute duckling, and sadly she ws scared to death of her own kind! I tried numerous times to fix her up with a flock of mallards, but it didn't work. We had her for quite a few years, and I might add, she was highly intelligent! One of the RB cats we had "Y" ripped her across the bill one day. Jemima recognized him from the other 2 residing in the apt. and cornered him and went and beat the daylights out of him a month + later! She was never messed with again! Anyway...duck, duck, duck...goose! I'll duck outta here before I get in trouble....but give me anything that's intoxicating. I'd like to become "comfortably numb"..in ode to the "Who"