Meet Ethel.
At 7 years old, she has no qualms about table manners or her voracious appetite. She and her boyfriend come running at the first site of their trusted human companion Kelly Meister, and Ethel is the first to stuff her entire face in the bag of feed and scarf down its guts. When her boyfriend finishes eating, he waits for her before descending back into the pond. They’ve gone steady for a few years so he’s grown accustomed to her pace.
Ethel is, after all, getting fairly elderly for a duck.
Reaching that ripe old age meant defying all of the odds that worked against her from the day she was dumped at Perrysburg’s Three Meadows Park. Ethel’s story began when a couple purchased her and her sister as an Easter present for their grandchildren. A few months later the pair got bigger, smellier and louder so the grandparents dumped them. Because Ethel and her sister were domesticated, as are all store-bought mallards, they could not fly and had little defense against wild animals.
Ethel’s sister didn’t last long.
But Ethel, on the other hand, is one of Meister’s success stories. The brown and white mallard is one of 11 domesticated ducks that have taken refuge at the park. Since 2000, Meister has made regular trips with a 25-pound bag of dried, cracked corn to keep the ducks nourished. In the winter she goes through one bag in three days but during the summer she can stretch it over about a week and a half.
The couple of months following Easter have typically meant an influx of dumped ducks because parents might think it’s cute to place a baby duckling in their kids’ Easter baskets, Meister said. But here’s another success story: the last duck who joined Meister’s circle arrived a few years ago.
“The reason they’re not dumping out there at Three Meadows anymore is because of Kelly,” said Jeff Studer, animal control officer for the City of Perrysburg.
Meister has written countless letters to the editor before the holiday every year. Meister has seen ducks disappear, likely to hungry coyotes. She’s seen people at the park release their dogs to chase the ducks. She’s seen yards of fishing wire, wadded up in the grass, get wrapped around a duck’s leg and tear it off. She’s seen hooks get caught in ducklings’ feet.
“It’s a shame that people think they’re disposable,” she said. “People really don’t get that they’re just condemning these poor creatures to a nasty death.”
She and her volunteers try to scoop up all the sick ducks they can. Meister receives donations for feed but she covers all of the medical costs, which can run her up to about $60 per animal.
Kerry Ackerman, owner of J&B Feed Co., said his business sells a variety of ducks but that customers must pre-order them and must purchase at least six at a time. Each duckling costs $5. The minimum purchase rule tends to deter people from buying ducklings merely for Easter purposes because its a relatively large investment. Customers typically buy ducks to add activity to their backyard ponds or to raise for food. The white pekin, for example, is often used for meat because it grows to a large size, Ackerman said.
But a quick Craigslist search reveals a couple of local opportunities to purchase a duckling or two for an Easter morning surprise. One Maumee-based post advertises “the perfect Easter gift” for $10 a duckling. It costs $15 if you want two. Another post from Millbury added March 26 is taking orders for Easter chicks and ducks that will only be ready when they are a couple of days old. One Michigan listing on a different site called Michigansuperads.com markets ducklings for $4 — and these guys will be dyed neon for Easter.
Even if no one dumps ducks after Easter this year, Meister and Studer still must be on the lookout. The domesticated ducks lay an exorbitant number of eggs in a season — one duck laid 40 last year alone. If they hatch, that means more ducks inept at dealing with nature’s brutal realities. That also creates more ducks to mate with the wild ducks — over time altering the gene pool of the population altogether, Studer said.
The ducks are also a drag on the city. Studer said Perrysburg keeps the fountain running to keep the pond from freezing over. The city would otherwise be able to shut off the valve during the winter.
Spend just a half hour with Meister’s duck buddies and you’ll quickly understand why some people might want to own one. They’re friendly once you get to know them; Ethel practically stands on Meister’s lap while eating. And they wobble as they run in a goofy swagger, squeaking or honking or nipping at their partners as they bump into one another. This of course makes them a source of entertainment for park-walkers.
“If nobody did anything here there would be hundreds of ducks here and they’d be dying,” Meister said. “And nobody knows about all of this. They’ll come here and think, ‘Oh, look at the cute ducks at the pond.'”
Donate to Meister’s “Lucky Duck Fund” by calling Luckey Farmers Inc. at 419 – 874 – 3525 or stopping by the location at 11330 Avenue Rd. in Perrysburg. Check out Meister’s website at www.crazycritterlady.com.
