Last month, the folks at Off Color Brewing (OCB) in Chicago, Illinois, noticed a pair of ducks hanging out in front of their taproom, Mousetrap. The ducks first appeared on their front patio, admiring the brewery’s decorative bourbon barrel planters from afar. The next day, staff found the female duck, later named Sprinkles, nestled atop one of the barrels.

The OCB crew was just as honored by Sprinkles’ choice of home as they were worried.

“Realizing she had [chosen] us, a privilege, and was building out her nest, our minds immediately shifted to, ‘With this privilege comes responsibility,’ and ‘How do we protect this duck and provide as relaxing a nesting environment as possible?’” OCB’s Ben Ustick told The Dodo.

The OCB team jumped into gear to protect the area surrounding Sprinkles’ nest as much as possible. They placed a “moat” of barrels around hers during one of her routine breaks from the nest, which gave her space from the taproom’s human and canine patrons.

“While she was gone, we sprang into action and circled about six more bourbon barrels around hers, essentially the way you’d see petals around the center of a flower, which created a significant buffer zone, or the ‘moat’ as we called it,” Ustick said, “and it gave us quite a bit of peace of mind.”

Sprinkles settled swimmingly into her nest and soon laid 10 eggs, which she incubated for 22 hours a day, rain or shine. She spent the remaining two hours swimming with her partner in the nearby Chicago River.

Whenever she was away, the team made sure to keep a close eye on her babies for her.

Just before Mother’s Day, a few weeks after laying her eggs, the OCB crew noticed Sprinkles moving around in her nest more than usual. A closer look confirmed their suspicions: Sprinkles’ babies were beginning to hatch.

The dedicated brewery’s efforts to protect Sprinkles were finally paying off, but one major safety concern remained.

“The barrel she chose is surrounded by concrete and fairly high off the ground,” Ustick said. “So when we realized that the babies were beginning to hatch, we knew they’d be taking off and heading down to the water within 8-12 hours or so, and we just wanted to make their departure safe.”

As one last intervention, the OCB team fastened a long wooden plank to the barrel, creating a ramp for the impending ducklings. Then, they covered the ground with thick leaves and grass.

“The ducklings who wanted to walk in a cute little line down the ramp could do so, and the more daring siblings could choose to jump into something with a bit more give than concrete,” Ustick said.

The next time they checked on the barrel, all 10 eggs were empty, and the entire little family was gone. But they didn’t stay away for too long.

“We figured we might not see her or her family again,” Ustick said. “I spent quite a bit of time that morning checking out the river, hoping for a glimpse, and then it happened — I saw them. It felt like they had searched me out to let me know everything was all good.”

You can watch Sprinkles and her family swim by OCB here:

Sprinkles, her partner and their 10 ducklings swam past OCB’s Mousetrap later that day to thank their friends for all they did. They’ve stopped by the brewery every day since, and Ustick is always elated to see them.

The patio has since returned to its pre-Sprinkles configuration, but as Ustick sees it, it might not stay that way for long.

“There’s actually been another duck couple checking out the space,” Ustick said. “So who knows what’s next?”