Longbottom Bird Rescue was founded in 2019. The organization became a nonprofit in 2024.
“We are a domestic duck rescue. So, what we do is we take in breeds of domestic ducks like farm ducks that are bred specifically for human purposes like food and pets. Those ducks are unable to fly. They are bred to be meat ducks, so they are too heavy to get off the ground. A lot of people get them as pets and leave them at parks and ponds, but because they can’t fly, they can’t migrate, so they just freeze out there, starve or get taken by a coyote,” Longbottom said.
“What we do is we go around and pick them up, and then, we try to raise awareness in the community and let people know, ‘don’t leave your duck out in the wild. It can’t survive like the wild ducks.’ Once we rescue the ducks, we keep them forever and take care of them. Then, we go around and do educational events to try and let people know,” he said.
Longbottom also operates the Longbottom Bird Ranch in Monfort Heights, near Mt. Airy Forest, which is on leased land on a private family farm. Because the ducks can’t survive in the wild, the rescued ducks stay at the ranch for the remainder of their lives. Ducks usually live eight to 12 years. Longbottom Bird Rescue usually gets them in the first year.
“The reason we started was there was a need. I had pet ducks and pet chickens, and someone was trying to find a rescue, because they found a duck. I tried to help them find a rescue and couldn’t find one. So, I started taking some in, and it just spun out of control. Now, we have 200-plus residents, and we just try to stop people from getting pet ducks, and take care of the one’s we have,” Longbottom said.
He said a lot of people get pet ducks in the spring from feed stores, and then they get rid of them by dumping them in a park after the ducklings become adults.
“We’re really trying to get the irresponsible sale of ducklings outlawed. That’s what we’ve been working toward for a while,” said Longbottom. “The biggest problem we have is that people really don’t know. If you go to the park, you wouldn’t know a domestic duck in crisis unless you knew what you were looking for. So, at a lot of these educational events we do, we’re just trying to tell people what to look out for, so they can see that it is a big problem.”
He said one example of that is to keep an eye out for a “big white duck at the park.”
“If you ever see one, they don’t exist in the wild, and that was somebody’s pet. Once you tell people that, I’ll get a call every other week from somebody who was at one of our events, and now they saw a white duck at a park. So, it’s pretty common. You’ve got to let people know and open their eyes to it.”
During his talk, Longbottom will address “Why does a duck need rescued?” which is always the biggest question he gets asked. He will also cover “Where do they come from?” “What do they look like?” and “What does the rest of their life look like with us, out in our pasture?”
HOW TO GO
What: Celebrating Self: Longbottom Bird Rescue with Executive Director Jimmy Longbottom
When: 11:30 a.m. Feb. 4
Where: Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave., Hamilton
Cost: $26 for members and $32 for non-members
More info on the rescue: longbottombirdranch.com
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