Man Raises Duckling in His Beard

Meet Peeps, a duck that hatched from a batch of eggs. Several things make Peeps different from his duckling counterparts. For one, the man who cared for the eggs Peeps came from was initially attempting to hatch chickens. For another, Peeps did not have any other ducks to socialize with.

That man is a Reddit user who goes by "Spongi." His series of photos has the online community calling him "the real Duck Commander," but you could also compare him to animal-lover Radagast from "The Hobbit." With a lone duck and no mother to care for it, the farmer Spongi came to the rescue. He raised Peeps in a bed next to his and cared for the duckling with his beard in lieu of a mother's wing.

Spongi tells his fellow redditors the duck's living arrangement will change with the weather.

"Once it's spring Peeps will be a free range duck," he wrote. "I'll provide grains, water and a shelter, but that's it other than socialization of course. My chickens are practically no work."

The man also elaborated on "socialization."

"First and foremost, I want to teach them that I'm not going to hurt them, I'm not something to be feared," he explained. "After that I teach them that socialization with me is positive for them. I will pet, rub, scratch, brush, groom them and so on… that they can come to me for food and water, maybe shelter (depends on the animal)."

Looks like Peeps is in good hands, and beard, after all.