Nigel the Depressed Muscovy Duck

Just a quick post to introduce you to one of the permanent residents at Newhouse Farm, Nigel the Muscovy Duck. Nigel is a rescue duck from the RSPCA, which luckily for him means he'll never be destined for the dinner plate. The RSPCA rescued him because he'd apparently been seen sitting for days at the side of a lake, seemingly suffering from depression.

When Nigel arrived at Newhouse Farm the Strawbridges got him a girlfriend (another Muscovy Duck of course) in order to cheer him up. This must have worked because sometime later there were lots of little Muscovy Ducks running around the farm. However, tragedy struck one day when Nigel's girlfriend was eaten by foxes. So now Nigel is single once more, poor thing. But he should count himself lucky as two of his offspring ended up in the Cassoulet we ate a few weeks ago!

Nigel's daily activities seem to include sitting under a tree, hanging out by the house waiting for scraps of leftover bread, or taking a bath in the stream. Apparently Muscovy Ducks can't quack, so instead Nigel makes a funny sort of hissing/panting sound. I hope Nigel gets another girlfriend soon to cheer him up, especially because then I can incubate some Muscovy eggs!

There's plenty more creatures great and small here at the farm, so I'll introduce them to you over the next few months.