Neglected Ducks Get Their First Swim

Mobile users due to YouTube restrictions please watch this version instead:youtu.be/ouSXmc3k0SA

Please click “show more” for the FAQ before posting questions about the music, etc.

For the first time in their lives two dozen recently rescued ducks get their first taste of life in a pond. They had been living for years with a hoarder who had them in pens without adequate access to water or proper nutrition.

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FAQ:
What is the music?
Music is “Egyptian Reggae” by Jonathan Richman. You can find it on iTunes or just about anywhere. Jonathan is a swell musician so if you’re not familiar with him, check him out–you’re in for a treat! He was in the film “There’s Something About Mary” if that reminds you. itunes.apple.com/us/album/egyptian-reggae/id68288338?i=68287597

Can we have a version without the music?
Nah. This video was shot on the spur of the moment with a Canon 7D. If you know anything about these cameras, they have nice picture quality but crummy audio because the mike is mounted on the camera — so you pick up all the clunks and clicks from manipulating the lens. Plus the ducks were about 20 – 30 feet away, so we really didn’t pick up too much audio of them.

Why didn’t you let the ducks just find their own way into the water instead of chasing them in?
There are a number of considerations. It was important to get the new ducks integrated into the flock swiftly because by the end of the day they would be sharing a coop to protect them from nocturnal predators, and so any issues needed to be observed and dealt with if certain ducks were being picked on, etc., so that we could separate them again if necessary. The pond is a safe place for ducks because there are no corners, whereas the pasture perimeter does have corners.

Also we have limited staff and lots of other animals needing attention, so it was judicious for the safety of the new ducks to get them acclimated while staff members were present. Last, from many previous experiences we KNEW they would love the water once they were in.

Who made the video?
Doug Abel is an award-winning editor (30 Rock, Louie, The Fog of War, more www.imdb.com/name/nm0003575/) who co-founded the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary with his wife, Jenny Brown. Jenny recently wrote a book called “The Lucky Ones” which tells the story of her journey to create WFAS. youtu.be/RbL18w9unFM