A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people’s hearts.
A Muscovy duck named Daisy was brought to Wild Willow Ranch and Rescue earlier this month after showing up at a home in the Clandeboye, Man. area.
“She’d come out, appear out of the long grass once a day, follow them around like a dog,” said Candice Cronin, the rescue’s director and founder.
“They’d feed her, and then she would disappear into the long grass until the next day.”
This went on for over a week.
The homeowners could tell she wasn’t a wild duck, and worried how she’d fare with falling temperatures and predators afoot.
Daisy the duck enjoys some lunch in an Oct. 9, 2024 TikTok video. (Wild Willow Ranch and Rescue)
They checked with neighbours to see if she belonged to anyone. With no leads, they contacted Wild Willow Ranch and Rescue, a non-profit farm sanctuary north of Beausejour, Man.
The waterfowl was in rough shape when she came into Cronin’s care.
“She’s not able to fly. All of her flight feathers are all damaged, so we’re not quite sure happened there, but the good news is that there’s new feathers growing.”
After quarantine, the duck, whom staff have started calling Daisy, is settling into her new digs nicely. She is making friends with the other animals living at the rescue, including mini ducks, mini horses, dogs, and cats.
Daisy is the first duck they’ve rescued, but she’s proven very popular amongst the other animals and the rescue’s followers on social media.
@wildwillowranch Our stray duck, Daisy has settled in very quickly with all the chickens and geese. Our old Mini horse, Sweetie eats her pellets in their pen so the other horse doesn’t steal. Well that kind of backfired 🤣 They used to leave her alone until just recently. Now she has dinner with then every night! #wildwillowranchrescue #farmsanctuary #notforprofit #fypシ #rescuehorse #stray #duck #muscovy #chickens #dinnertimewithfamily ♬ I like to eat eat eat – VICKYLOGAN
“I didn’t expect that. I guess it’s just such an odd story. But she’s on social media, and people are loving her up, so it’s great.”
As Daisy’s care continues, Cronin said the rescue is always in need of donations. The organization is running a 50/50 draw to fund its ongoing work. Anyone looking for information can contact Cronin by email.
