Farmcolony bids farewell to Pickles, a most delightful duck that members of the chicken committee came to know and love as they cared for her in the chicken coop.  Why is there a duck living in the chicken coop, you might wonder?  Two ducks came to live in the chicken coop several years ago with a group of chickens given to the farm through a private donation.  These two ducks had always lived with chickens and the chicken committee continued to care for the ducks as well as they could by building them a swimming pool and providing sleeping accommodations for them inside the coop.  The ducks in turn rewarded the chicken committee members with their utter cuteness as they waddled through the chicken yard quack, quack, quacking.

Pickles is a special breed of duck called an Indian Runner duck.  Indian Runner ducks claim one of the most distinctive body styles in the duck world.  At first glance they look more like penguins or feathered bowling pins than either domesticated or wild ducks. But, unlike penguins, they can actually run rather quickly.  The shape of their bodies and placement of the legs allow these ducks to run and not just waddle quickly. 

Chicken committee members tended several ducks in the chicken coop as more ducks were added as companions to the original duck, Daphne, after her mate disappeared, presumably the victim of a hawk attack.  Pickles and Ping, the first Indian Runner ducks to join the coop, kept Daphne company until she eventually died having reached the limit of her years.  Ping got sick and died from reasons unknown and two new Indian Runner ducks joined the flock to keep Pickles company.  After the last predator attack left Pickles alone again in the coop, the committee decided it was time to rehome Pickles to a flock of ducks of her own kind rather than adding more ducks to the chicken coop. 

The thing about chickens is that they can be quite aggressive.  Pecking and bullying is completely normal chicken behavior that establishes the pecking order – aka the chicken hierarchy system – and they will attack each other if a member of the flock feels threatened or wants to establish dominance.  A bird with different traits may be seen as an intruder and a threat to the rest of the flock, which promotes pecking.  Sometimes this normal pecking goes too far and can result in injury or even death.  Flock members have a tendency to imitate each other, so when one member of the flock begins aggressive pecking, others will follow suit. 

Pickles is a bird of a different feather; she is a duck.  The chicken committee members realized bullying behavior toward Pickles was mounting and Pickles was no longer safe living in the coop among the chickens.  The chickens didn’t seem to mind having several ducks living among them, but they seemed to have a problem with just one duck.  Go figure.

For her own protection Pickles has gone to live with a flock of ducks of her own kind.  The video above shows the moment when Pickles meets her new family at Edible Landscaping, a nearby edible plant nursery where a flock of Indian Runner ducks resides.  Edible Landscaping happily welcomed Pickles to its flock. 

The chicken committee members will miss Pickles whom they came to know and love and will remember her fondly.