Pet duck wins army of fans with naughty antics

By Ashley Pemberton via SWNS

A pet duck's naughty antics have won him an army of fans online as he keeps escaping and causing chaos - following kids to school, chasing trucks and picking fights with foxes.

Ham, a four-year-old Indian Runner Duck, lives in a pen in the garden of owner Charlotte Taylor-Dugdale's three-bed semi-detached house in Chorley, UK.

The mischievous duck, who Charlotte has hand-reared since he was a week old, is 'best friends' with her son and even drinks cups of tea that he's made by the family.

But it is his wandering ways that has won him fans from as far away as the USA after his antics were shared online.

He's been spotted following children to school and even trying to get into people's homes during his bids for freedom.

Charlotte, 30, said: "I don't know how he's doing it. Our garden is secure. I've had the authorities come round and look and it's secure.

"When he first went missing, someone put in a local Facebook group, 'there's a duck loose on the green.'

"Now he's become well-known for it. He knows his own name, he answers to Ham.

"People love him. I walked to the shop with my daughter the other day and people were like 'it's Ham'. He's pretty much famous.

"Sometimes he just comes home, he'll come home when he's called.

"After he's escaped, he'll just walk through the front door."

Charlotte took in Ham and another duck, called Pea, from a breeder in 2018 and the pair were inseparable.

Although Charlotte and her kids - Riley, 13, Dominic, 11, and Emily, 9 - would take them for walks, Pea wouldn't venture out without them.

But after she passed away in December 2021, Charlotte says Ham began escaping from her garden - possibly in search of his mate.

His latest breakout caused a search party to be launched when he went missing for over five hours before he was found in a shed.

Charlotte added: "We named them Pea and Ham as we were having pea and ham soup, so me and my mom came up with the names then.

"Pea was quiet and not as tame but very protective over Ham. When Pea passed away he started looking for her.

"I'm like his mother duck and it's like he's one of the kids. He's like a little human, he's got his own personality.

"He and my son are best friends, he'll sit on the couch and cuddle up to the kids.

"He comes to pick my daughter up from school, they walk home together. He doesn't need a lead.

"Sometimes when he's escaped, he's been seen at schools. Someone put on Facebook once that he was trying to get into their house."

The spoilt duck has a salad three times a week and is treated to a constant supply of corn and goes mad for Rice Krispies and tea.

Adorable pictures of him wearing a hand-made scarf in the winter and videos of him wandering around town are loved by his fans online.

And the fearless duck even runs down the street after trash collectors, chases cats and dogs and even tackles foxes.

Charlotte added: "I put videos of him on TikTok and people love it. I've had messages from people in America saying he brightens their day.

"It's lovely to know people love him as much as we do."