The Pudge-ly Duckling

Meet Pudge, the four day old duckling who waddled into the paddy field on a really cold morning. 

My first day on the job with Tepu' was a ducky rescue mission. With her adopted son, Parir, we went knee deep into the paddy field to herd the ducklings and mommy duck. Somehow, they managed to get into the paddy field. Herding ducks is no joke, especially if you're constantly losing balance on the slippery banks of the paddy field At the same time carrying a bucket to catch them in. 

The paddy plot was sort of squarish. Tepu' was standing at the other end of the bank yelling instructions over: 
"Renai, kamu berdiri di sana, jangan baginya masuk lagi". 
"Renai, stand there and don't let them go further in". 

With my waving and floundering around, I ended up scaring them further into the deeper end of the paddy field. Parir said to me: 
"Cakap saja sama mereka, panggil dia datang. Haiwan faham punya". 
"Talk to them, call them to you. Animals will understand". 

I'm not sure how, but uncle Parir managed to herd them back to my side of the paddy bank after some calling, cooing and getting almost waist deep into the deeper side of the water. 

Catching them was another story. That was when I almost planted my face into the ground. All 14 wet ducklings running around your feet, scrambling to get away from your grasp and getting caught in the grass. I managed to catch two. We brought them back to the little duck shed and put them back in there. Tepu ' noticed the smallest of them all, weak and shivering. We took her back to the long house and wrapped her in an old kitchen towel. Then I named it Pudge. For the rest of the day, I kept her under my wing and made sure to keep it dry and warm. 

By the end of the day, Pudge started walking and chirping again. Yay!