Hi everyone. Meet Boot:
Her head is not always upside-down like that. It's just that she likes to keep very clean, and she was preening during the whole photoshoot. That first picture, of course, is from when she was a wee beepy thing, in a season we like to call "Spring". Look how green it was!
Here are some important things for you to know about Boot:
- She is an Indian Runner. Sometimes these ducks are called "bottle ducks" or "bowling pin ducks" because they stand up so straight and tall (like in that baby picture). They don't really waddle; instead they jog along quite smoothly. She does not stand up as straight as some runners, because A) she was raised with normal ducks instead of straight-up ducks (peer pressure, dontcha know), and B) she is pretty chill. She'll stand up right straight when she's scared, but usually she's pretty happy and stands only part-straight-up.
- She is missing the webbing on one foot. She was actually named Boot before this happened, but at some point in her teen months, she managed to get the webbing sliced through on her left foot. She never limped, and so we didn't even notice until it had already completely healed. She doesn't seem to care, and as far we know the other ducks don't give her grief about it.
- When Indian Runners are excited (like lettuce is being handed out! Or we're filling up a fresh wading pool!), they stand in place and hop back-and-forth on their two feet. It's awesome.
- Boot is the most adventurous of all our ducks. She only weighs 1.5 lbs (2 lbs in the middle of laying season), but she is always the first to venture through the snow, or up onto the porch, or through the woods to the stream.
- Even though she is so small, she lays 3oz eggs (that's 150% the size of your average chicken eggs) just like the bigger ducks.
- She thinks you are a sucker. She will take none of your guff.
