Merry

Merry was rescued one hot summer’s night in January, 2018. She was 4 weeks old at the time and was meant to live in that faeces soaked shed until she was 7-9 weeks old when she would have been sent to slaughter for meat. Ducks are aquatic birds and live to swim, they clean themselves by swimming in water. In intensive duck farms, no pools of water are ever provided for ducks. One of their most basic, instictual needs is completely denied in intensive farming.

I saw Merry towards the back of the group of ducks. She was smaller than the rest and ended up sitting down whilst the rest of them walked on. I decided to take her because she was so small and I knew she didn’t look terribly healthy. I grabbed her quite easily and took her home with her friends Pippin and Legolas (all names from Lord Of The Rings).

This image was taken by Unconsciously Cruel www.facebook.com/unconsciouslycruel

Merry is a very affectionate little lady. She craves touch and spends as much time as possible close to her friends. She always makes sure she has her beak resting on Pippin. She had a respiratory infection that meant I had to medicate her daily. With daily interaction and patting, Merry has realised that I’m not so bad. Animals rescued from farms are usually terrified of humans. The only times they see humans are stressful situations when farmers are clearing dead animals out of sheds or when it’s time to be sent to slaughter. For an animal who has lived in these conditions to start to trust a human, it is a very special thing.

Merry has not only discovered the joy of water and being able to swim, she’s also learnt all about the happiness of oats! Oats are her new favourite thing. She prefers them watered down, but oats, water and Pippin are currently her world and that is such a big different to her world that was a shed with a floor made of poo and a future that was a very stressful death.

The following footage is the first time Merry and Pippin ever saw the water.