The duck herding trial in Portland went sideways fast

Honestly, I tried competitive duck herding last Saturday at a small farm outside Portland, and it was a mess from the start. I figured 12 ducks would be easy since I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, but they do NOT listen to commands, they just scatter every direction. My whistle was useless, and one duck bit my boot and wouldn't let go while two others ran into a muddy pond and hid under a dock. The event organizer said my stance was 'too aggressive', which made the birds panic even more, and I ended up chasing them for 45 minutes with zero points on the board. The only good part was the farm's owner laughing and giving me a free cider after, but my shins are bruised from tripping over a feed bucket. Has anyone else tried herding birds and found the actual training time is way longer than the videos suggest? I need tips before I even think about the next trial in June.

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1 Comment

the_julia1mo ago

A duck bit your boot and wouldn't let go? That's a whole new level of disrespect. I can't even picture how you got out of that without losing a shoe. And the part about them hiding under a dock, just watching you lose your mind, that's basically them laughing at you in bird language. Sounds like the videos you watched skipped the part where ducks have zero loyalty to any human with a whistle.