By Heather Hintze

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Remember that Albany mallard someone spray painted orange before the Civil War football game last fall? Well it's been recovering at the Chintimini Wildlife Center for the past few months.

The mallard, which staff now call Bill, was found the Thursday before the big game last fall, completely covered in orange spray paint--perhaps a Civil War prank gone too far. Staff took him in this winter giving him food, shelter, and a girlfriend.

In December, Bill was found spray painted orange head to tailfeathers with his feet bound in duct tape. The paint stripped the waterproof coating on Bill's feathers, so he had to spend the winter at the Chintimini Wildlife Center.

"We kept him all winter long so he could go through a molt, most birds, they'll drop all their feathers in a year and grow new ones, and he's doing that now. And most of his orange feathers are gone and he's turning into a normal duck," said Director Jeff Picton.

At first, staff put him in an enclosure by himself, but bill didn't take well to the solitary confinement.

"He continued to lose weight and be kind of droopy and we thought, well maybe he needs some company," said Picton. "My next door neighbors raised ducks, so we borrowed one of their hens and put them in together, and he perked right up. And they've been together all this time."

The hen, simply referred to as Bill's girlfriend, laid a batch of eggs a few months ago, but those weren't fertile. Now that it's spring, love is in the air again, and Bill may soon be a daddy.

"Now she's got some more she's laying, she's got nine of them so far and we're going to see if she lays some more and sits on them and there's a chance they might be his babies so everyone is pretty excited about that idea," said Picton.

Even if they are his ducklings, Bill is a wild duck, and the staff plans to release him back into his habitat in the upcoming weeks. So what will become of Bill and his girlfriend?

"It's like a tragic ending type thing, you know. She's going back to her place, he's going back into the wild. She's a domestic duck, she can't fly, she couldn't go with him," said Picton.

Staff say they're not sure whether they'll release Bill onto the neighbor's farm with his girlfriend or put him back into the wild. In any case, Bill's stay at the Chintimini Wildlife Center will be over in a few weeks.