The Wandering Moe-Duck

"Moe! Mooooe! Where are you, Moe?" Moe Duck, the Queen, usually responds to her name with a sound that reminds Spouse of the villain "Penguin"'s laugh in the old Batman television series. For three days, she did not respond, day or night.

Pic: Her Highness, Queen Moe

"Moe! Mooooe! Where are you, Moe?" For three days, my neighbors did not firebomb the property out of exasperation during my long, plaintive calls. Thank you, neighbors.

Oh, I worried. I fretted. By the second day, I wondered if I needed to start writing her obituary. By the third day, I gave her up for dead. Oh sure, there was an outside chance she'd gone broody somewhere, but since Khaki Campbells aren't known for their broodiness - they're far more career-minded - well, let's not give one's self false hope, eh? After all, whatever happened to her was probably all my fault. [I've never been one to pass up a good self-flagellation.]

Then on the morning of the fourth day, through my pre-coffee dazed gaze, it looked as if one of the ducks had somehow escaped the duck pen and was trying frantically to get back in. No wait, it's Moe! "Mooooooeeee!" I yelled, waking everyone across the tri-county area. She responded with a "quackquackquack", as if to question where the heck was her share of morning lettuce? I opened the gate to let her in, then gave everyone their stash of greens.

[We've enough pasture now that the geese & ducks really don't need store-bought greens anymore, but this keeps down over-excited intermingling (and pecking) of the various birds until they've all calmed. Morning routine is THAT exciting, y'all.]

I watched her eat, then dash out of the pen, root around the pasture/lawn areas, and then toddle off behind the Chicken Haus, alone... hey, wait! Walked over to the coop, and she had vanished. Poof! She was not to be seen again until the next morning.

This has been her routine for the past few days. I'm finally past having a heart attack each night she doesn't respond, and am taking it on faith that the dogs will do a good job of keeping her protected outside of the night pen. Now taking bets that she has a nest somewhere, and if the dogs don't find the eggs first, possibly a batch of Moelings within the next 28 days. Will keep you posted. Yay Moe!