Wairau Valley farmer Donald Stuart's heading dog Charm herds ducks at the NZ Agricultural Show. Photo: RNZ
Wairau Valley farmer Donald Stuart has a hobby not shared with many - he and his heading dog Charm herd ducks.
"The idea came from an old fella in Wairau Valley.
"He had a pup for me and I said to him I don't have any sheep and he said 'get some ducks, they'll do the same job'.
"That was back in 1988 and the rest in history."
Stuart soon realised using ducks provided better training for young heading dogs, so he kept using them.
"The young pups can keep up with them better and they mob up easier so it just makes sense."
The niche hobby was a real head-turner, so Stuart began performing at events and fundraisers.
"The first was the 1988 telethon in Nelson. Since then I've been travelling around the South for events and A&P shows - people love it."
His flock of five Indian Runner ducks are housed in a purpose-built trailer that transforms into an obstacle course with a slide, tunnels and bridge.
"Originally I thought I'd try get them through a couple of 12 gallon drums and that didn't take long for them to learn.
"It's funny, when I started a few people said to me 'you can't train ducks their brains aren't big enough'.
"But they know when to come for dinner so I knew they had it in them."
After attracting big crowds at the NZ Agricultural Show on Wednesday, Stuart, Charm and the five ducks are set for more performances on Thursday and Friday.
