A Muscovy mother duck, now dubbed Irma, stayed gently on top of her 13 eggs as Hurricane Irma raged through Plant City, Florida. On Tuesday, Joy Anne Trent posted a photo of the tired mother-duck-in-waiting on Facebook. It wasn’t long before Irma had her own page – and yes, we are all still waiting and hoping her eggs will hatch.
Irma just happens to be one of the many Muscovy ducks that calls the local ponds home behind Joy’s house. Nearly a month ago, Irma laid 13 eggs at the base of an oak tree in Joy’s yard. Multiple times a day, Irma would come and go to eat and drink, and then return to her nest to make sure all of the potential little ones were protected and warm.
Last Sunday, as the storm moved in and rain poured down amidst the high winds, Irma hunkered down at the base of the old oak tree. Her feathers ruffled and the rain poured down on top of her, but Irma wouldn’t move, and when Joy woke up on Monday morning, there was Irma – sitting on her nest – broken branches and piles of leaves surrounding her that had blown off from the trees. On Tuesday, Irma finally moved from her nest – Joy and her family set out food which Irma gratefully accepted:
“So here’s to Irma, super duck, who sat through a category 2-3 hurricane, protecting her eggs and said ‘not today hurricane irma, not on my watch!’ Looking forward to having 13 Muscovy ducklings soon, pooping all over our driveway,” Joy posted.
Irma’s popularity has been growing, but Joy wants to remind people she has no intentions of interfering with the natural progression of life:
“I want to express that we are not trying to interfere with Mother Nature. If her eggs do not hatch, we will candle them. At this time, we are not trying to disturb Mother Nature. She knows what is best for those babies. Better than we do. We are trying to let Irma have her privacy. We will be candling her eggs next week to make sure that they are viable. Say a prayer that her efforts weren’t in vain.”
Best wishes for a large and healthy family Irma. Many thanks to Joy for helping out.
Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook.
(Photos of Muscovy mom via Facebook)
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Hope everything works out well for Irma and she has her little ones soon. Loyalty and love.
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL: THE LOVE of a MOTHER DUCK!!!
Keeping my fingers crossed Irma, stay strong!
Unusual looking ducks. What a good mom you are Irma.