Family ties

I would probably have taken a pic of Nibbler today anyway. But with thoughts of this weeks assignment in my head it made me realise that this little duck is dependant on us for everything at the moment. From food, drink and warmth to learning to swim.

Unlike a puppy or a kitten, which even if orphaned at an early age know they are different to the two legged critters they live with. A duckling imprints on the first live moving object larger than itself that it sees. In short, as far as Nibbler is concerned he is human. So we have to not only make sure he is physically looked after but that we equip him with the skills he will need to take his place in the duck world.

The other difference form a dog or a cat is that like our other children he will eventually grow up and leave home. This in his case will probably just be out to the small field at the back of our house and he may well still have a stronger bond with us than the other ducks but he wont be totally dependant on us any more.

In return we are learning a lot from him, especially the boys. Who are experiencing the responsibility of raising a baby. How rewarding it can be to have a small bundle of fluff who actually wants to spend time with you, and how tedious it can be to clean up crap all the time. Even if Nibbs decides that he prefers to hang out with the ducks we will have had a wonderful experience and thanks to blip a lot of pictures to remember it by.

Of course we don't know yet whether or not Nibbs is a duck or a drake. So as well as everything else we may have to break it to him that he's a she...!