Mama duck parades her 13 babies through nursing home

CANANDAIGUA, New York (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Patients and staff at a nursing home in upstate New York are treated to an annual parade of ducklings when a mama duck leads her new babies through the hallways.

"Every year, without fail, a mama duck chooses one of the enclosed courtyards at our M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center to lay her eggs and take care of her babies,"  the University of Rochester Thompson Health hospital in Canandaigua, New York wrote on Facebook. "She lets us know when she's ready to go by tapping on the glass, and this morning, it was time for this annual rite of spring."

When the little ducklings hatch, the proud mama parades them through the halls of the hospital's nursing home. Last week, staffers took photos of the annual tradition as mama duck led her 13 newborn ducklings through the halls, out the door, and down a grassy patch outside the hospital.

The staff says they lead the family down the same path every year.

"She has us trained," one associate joked.

The staff uses old signage to gently guide the duck and her babies in case they look like they're about to get sidetracked.

Another photo shows a staffer holding the door open at the end of the corridor as the family waddles their way out.

"There they go! Good luck, guys. We'll miss you!"