Henri

Sponsored By
Ada Garms,
Ana Trelles,
Annika Billberg,
Evan McCarthy,
Melanie Schuelke,
Shannon Turnquist,
The Duckworth Perry Family,
Madison Reed,
Dawn Parker,
Sandy Switzer,
Brian Dahm, Hunter Huffman

Henri came into the IFS family after we were contacted about a little duck living all alone on a pond—and when we found out that his only companion was a plastic decoy duck, we knew we had to help. Because Henri is a domesticated duck, living in the wild was extremely dangerous for him. Domesticated ducks can typically only fly a few feet in the air and just for short bursts of time, which made him an easy target for predators. Henri was likely purchased at a farm supply store as a pet or a project and then dumped on the pond—perhaps even under the misguided belief that he “belonged” in the wild.

Rescuing Henri was no easy task. We waded into the pond trying to round him up and even tried approaching him in a kayak. When Henri wasn’t swimming away from us, he was flying over our heads! We tried every strategy we could think of, even driving to the farm supply store to buy creative rescue supplies. At one point, Henri even swam inside a storm drain, and all we could do was wait for him to come back out. Eventually, our patience prevailed, and we were able to safely catch Henri and transport him to our sanctuary. And of course, we brought his best friend, Bob (the decoy duck), too—they’re bonded after all! 

Sadly, domesticated ducks are frequently released into the wild, and we’re so thankful to have the opportunity to give Henri a safe forever home at our sanctuary where he’ll enjoy all the same freedoms that he did before, but with the added benefit of protection, daily meals of nourishing food, veterinary care if ever needed—and, a real flock!