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A fluffy black cat sits on the threshold of an open wooden barn door beside a cluster of yellow ducklings. 11 / 34

The Old Barn Door Creaked Open, and the Morning Scouts Were Ready

AI imageblack catducklingsbarn

The barn door has creaked open, and the morning reconnaissance team is ready to report. On the worn wooden threshold sits a fluffy black cat with copper eyes and tufted ears, her long fur catching the gray daylight. Pressed in a cluster right beside her are about a dozen yellow ducklings, spilling down the step and onto the dirt path as they take their first look at the yard. Straw is piled up inside the shadowy barn, while outside, a hedge, a coiled hose, buckets, and patches of grass stretch toward the garden.

Barns and farms have long been home to cats, who have traditionally helped keep rodent populations in check around feed stores. Ducklings, on the other hand, are easy prey for many animals, so housing for young birds needs to be secure. Predators such as raccoons, foxes, hawks, and even neighborhood dogs can be a threat, especially at night. Many keepers use sturdy coops with fine wire mesh instead of loose chicken wire, plus solid latches, and bring young birds inside at dusk. Even a friendly farm cat should be supervised around ducklings this young, since a playful swat can easily hurt them.

For now, everyone at the barn door seems perfectly content to just look. The cat has seen this yard a thousand times, but with a crowd of fuzzy newcomers at her side, it feels brand new again.

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