A pet duck who enjoys sipping tea, watching TV on the sofa and chasing bin lorries has fans as far away as the USA after his owner shared videos of him on TikTok. Ham, a four-year-old Indian Runner Duck, has been hand-reared since he was one week old by Charlotte Taylor-Dugdale, who lives in Chorley.
Ham lives in a pen in the garden of Charlotte’s three-bed semi-detached house and enjoys hanging out with her kids - Riley, 13, Dominic, 11, and Emily, 9 - and he even follows them to school. The mischievous duck is ‘best friends’ with her son and even knows his own name.
Charlotte has shared the duck’s antics online which has earned him an army of fans. Ham is not just an online celebrity, as he’s well-known in the local area for regularly escaping and trying to get into people’s homes.
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The 30-year-old mum said: "I don't know how he's doing it. Our garden is secure. I've had the authorities come round and look and it's secure.
"When he first went missing, someone put in a local Facebook group 'there's a duck loose on the green'. Now he's become well-known for it. He knows his own name, he answers to Ham.
"In Chorley, people love him. I walked to the shop with my daughter the other day and people were like 'it's Ham'. He's pretty much famous.
"Sometimes he just comes home, he'll come home when he's called. After he's escaped, he'll just walk through the front door."
In 2018 Charlotte took in Ham and another duck, called Pea, from a breeder and the pair were inseparable. The family would take the ducks out for walks, but Pea wouldn’t venture out without them.
When Pea passed away in December 2021, Ham began to escape from her garden, possibly to find his mate. And in his latest breakout last week caused a search party to be launched when he went missing for over five hours before he was found in a shed.
Charlotte added: "We named them Pea and Ham as we were having pea and ham soup for tea so me and my mum came up with the names then. Pea was quiet and not as tame but very protective over Ham. When Pea passed away he started looking for her.
"I'm like his mother duck and it's like he's one of the kids. He's like a little human, he's got his own personality.
"Him and my son are best friends, he'll sit on the couch and cuddle up to the kids.He comes to pick my daughter up from school, they walk home together. He doesn't need a lead.
"Sometimes when he's escaped, he's been seen at schools. Someone put on Facebook once that he was trying to get into their house."
The lucky duck is treated to salad three times a week and gets a constant supply of corn and goes mad for Rice Krispies and a brew. Ham is even partial to wearing a hand-made scarf in the winter and videos of him supping brews and wandering around town are loved by his fans online. The fearless duck even runs down the street after bin lorries, chases cats and dogs and even tackles foxes.
Charlotte added: "I put videos of him on TikTok and people love it. I've had messages from people in America saying he brightens their day. It's lovely to know people love him as much as we do."
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