Quackers is Rescued from Slaughter

Quackers was born on a farm where ducks were raised for slaughter. The tips of her wings had been cut so she couldn't just fly away. When she was seven months old, she and all her siblings and many of her cousins were stuffed into cages and loaded on to a truck. She was so scared she cuddled up close to her brother and sister and they all quacked very loudly.

The truck drove a long way to another town across several rivers and over many mountains far away from the farm where she was born. It was market day in Vallejo and the farmer was hoping to sell all his ducks. One by one, her brothers, sisters and cousins were sold. Nearly half the ducks were gone when a kindly lady asked the farmer if any of the ducks laid eggs. "Certainly," said the farmer. "All the females lay eggs."

The lady lived nearby the market and had an organic fruit and vegetable garden. For years, they had been battling with snails and slugs that ate all the newly sprouted seeds and freshly transplanted seedlings. Her family didn't want to put poison down to kill the snails. They had tried every method they heard about but nothing really helped. Then one day, on her little son's music tape, she heard a song about a duck that loved to eat snails. It gave her an idea.

The kindly lady pointed to Quackers and said, "I'll take that one."

The farmer grabbed Quackers by her shoulders and stuffed her into a gunnysack. She tried to bite the farmer but failed. She was terrified.

"And what do I feed the duck?" asked the lady.

"Ordinary chicken scratch." said the farmer. "This will last you a few days." And he gave her a little box of some cracked corn to start off with. The lady loaded the gunnysack containing Quackers the Duck into her car and drove home.