SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — For years, Allegra Reid and her husband Bobby looked forward to their retirement.

But the universe, it seems, had other plans.

Not long after they became empty nesters, the couple was adopted by a flock of birds — more than 40, in fact.

It all started in 2009, when a scared little duck followed Reid home from the pond. She quickly learned that dozens of domesticated ducks and Chinese geese are routinely dumped here by their human owners. Many of them don’t survive, which is why Reid and her group of volunteers called The Mother Geese Brigade have been showing up at the Rancho Simi Community Park every day to keep the birds alive.

“We feed 25 of the Chinese geese and about 16 to 20 of the domestic duck,” Reid said.

Taking care of the birds is a full-time job. Many of them don’t know how to find food on their own. Others have special needs. Quasimodo has a deformed beak. Tiny Tim has what’s called “angel wings,” a condition caused by eating too much bread — likely from well-intentioned park visitors.

“Bread would be the equivalent of you feeding donuts to your infant child and only donuts,” Reid said.

The geese were almost removed last year after the park received complaints of bird overcrowding. Reid and her team then built them a special pen, promising to feed only the domesticated birds who can’t fend for themselves.

“I’ve always taken care of animals my whole life,” she said. “I grew up in not a great childhood. Animals were my savior.”

Now she’s paying it forward, saving the lives of dozens of orphaned birds by taking each and every one of them under her wing.