The call to my wife: "I'm bringing home 7 baby

[freak 1,032]

The call to my wife: "I'm bringing home 7 baby ducks! Hop online and figure out how we keep them alive."

I came up over a hill to find the momma duck dead and the babies scurrying into the road to get to her. I pulled a quick U-turn and shooed them off the road. They huddled by a closed garage for warmth.

I quickly discovered I had nothing in my car to transport ducks (won't make that mistake again!). An employee from the golf course just down the street got me a box. Here they are cuddled in the box after I collected them.

Once home, my wife and daughters helped me make a temporary home for them...a storage bin with a towel in the bottom.

We quickly discovered these little guys (girls?) can really jump! My girls had this innovate solution to block them from hopping out while I searched for a better solution.

One tiny duck hotel with a heat lamp, check! I cleared a space in the corner of our garage and it was time for them to move in.

They seemed to take to the new spot right away. They drank water from bowls and then just sat in the water. Our neighbor ran to a local pet store and picked up some food for them.

They survived the night! We'd done everything we knew to do and were pretty sure they would be warm enough, but it was great to see them alive and well still this morning. Next step, finding them a permanent home.

[freak 1,032]

I got home yesterday after work to find our 7 baby ducks still doing great. Based on tons of great advice I got from Reddit, we tracked down a local, licensed wildlife rehab organization that was glad to take them in until they could be released back into the wild. Also, we let everyone in our family (except the 6-week old) pick a name. The final names were Buddy, Ducky Mo-Mo, Scrooge McDuck, Sarah, Flower, Fluffy and Grapes.

We loaded all 14 of us into the van: 2 parents, 4 girls, 1 baby boy, and 7 ducks. Since our boy didn't get to pick a name (he's still struggling with English) and didn't get into the original picture set, we figured he deserved an appearance here. Future duck rescuer in training!

We put the ducks in an empty diaper box for the 20-minute drive. They did great and chirped quietly the entire drive. I have to say, there were a lot of tears among my girls on the trip. No one wanted to say goodbye. But we agreed it was better to have been able to help the ducks and then say goodbye than to have never met them in the first place.

When we saw this sign, we thought we were getting close. Then a peacock walked by and we knew we were at the right place.

Here's one of our favorite guests we met while dropping off our duck buddies. You should have heard the incredible sounds he made! My 8-year-old really wants to work with animals in the future. She was in heaven at this place.