A couple of mallard ducks finally got to see the first green in their young lives
Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb are not even a year old. These are not Croatian cities, but white, adorable, perfectly healthy warty ducks.
Animal-loving people have taken the wart ducks from a husbandry that should make you think. The not species-appropriate attitude included, among other things, that they did not know grass, were not fed sufficiently and were intended for slaughter.
Gut Aiderbichl's animal emergency center was contacted, and the mallard ducks found their new forever home at Gut Aiderbichl Heimathof in Carinthia.
"We wanted to keep the ducks their whole life, but the landlord of the property suddenly wanted it different ..."
Of course, the situation had been discussed with the landlord. All seemed settled, and the young ducks came from a bad attitude without grass and sun to a property where they should live a wonderful life.
Especially for the warthogs, a wooden cottage was made ready, where straw was also strewn. Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb could decide whether they wanted to be in the cottage or rather outside on the meadow.
"Of course I spoiled the ducks ..."
There, where Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb came from, they had had no bathing pond and no green meadow. In their new environment there was a pond and also a meadow - just as wart ducks naturally need. They look for their food in the grass and then do feather care in the bathing pond. For Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb, green plants, grass, herbs, water plants, worms, bugs or snails are among their favorite foods.
Under no circumstances can ducks tolerate dry bread. It makes the stomach swell and contains a lot of salt and sugar. Feeding can also make them lose their shyness towards humans. They know "if a human comes, I get a piece of bread", which can mean that if there is a road between the human and the duck, it can be life-threatening for the duck. It wants the bread - there possibly an approaching car is realized too late.
Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb were spoiled by their savior with potatoes, corn, wheat and, for example, green salad.
How are things going now for Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb at the new home base in Carinthia?
The new arrivals have passed the medical test with flying colors. Markus Leitner, the administrator of Gut Aiderbichl Carinthia, looks after them mischievously. "There's something about ducks like that - they always make you smile....".
Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb have already made friends with many ducks. Among their closer friends are, for example, the running ducks Daisy and Elsa.
With a heavy heart, the lady has unfortunately had to pass on her ducks, but with the knowledge that they could not have done better in the large flock of ducks at Gut Aiderbichl. Porec, Pula, Rovinj, Umag and Zagreb will not forget them either: Ducks can remember the human voice, they can experience emotions such as joy and sadness, and they are by no means stupid.
The desire to keep an animal arises from an ancient basic motive - namely the longing of cultural man for the lost paradise.
~ Konrad Lorenz
