Monday, June 24, 2013

Morning Treats and Breakfast

GrMaDuck is really enjoys morning time with our duckies.  A few treats and everyone gathers around.  

Followed by fresh water in the pools and buckets and duck food in dishes. 


Today she took a bunch of pictures looking around the aviary while she enjoyed the morning chores (its not too hot and not too buggy this morning).


Beau is always changing his coloring.  She tried to capture a few shots of how white and speckled his head is right now.



You can see the temporary dividing fences are still up, but thankfully there has not been a need lately to separate so the inside dividing gate has stayed open.





Saturday, June 22, 2013

thinking about adopting more (written 6/22/13)

GrmaDuck saw this video




We have been thinking about getting more females to join our teeny tiny little flock, and this video was the straw that sent GrMaDuck over the edge to look into adoption.  We still have concerns about adding and adopting, because we know it will be extra work, and a lot of extra time required, especially during the transition.   But our ratio is still backwards, and while the boys are calm, and Missy is happy, maybe this would be a good time to introduce new feather friends.... maybe .. Still we don't know if we will qualify, and still not 100% sure if our hearts (especially GrMaDuck's is ready to take on the emotional connection to 4-6 more duckies), but are we sure enough to apply and look into it.  In the long run, the boys and Missy should be happier with more girls than boys.

Readers, don't be surprised if this doesn't happen.  There are many many things to take into consideration
we'll see
...

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On a side note, Missy is still singing her happy song and this make us VERY happy that she is happy.

more pictures later

Helpful Links

Our ducks are PETS.  As humans and as owners we feel a strong responsibility to do everything in our power to give them the best care and protection.  Our ducks are also domestic breeds so we take into consideration the weaknesses that have been bred into them.  Our love for our ducks as PETS, makes our hearts more vulnerable to heartache when it comes to injury and death, than if they were livestock.  We are not vegans, nor do we feel that animals have more rights than their humans, as some of our ducky friends (who do an amazing job of caring for their animals/ducks/etc) are .  We are loving caring humans, and as the people who CHOSE to have pet ducks, we take the responsibility for them to have happy, healthy lives very seriously.  Ducks are fragile creatures.  Ducks are EXTREMELY social creatures and flock dynamics affect everything including their health.  Ducks, especially domestic ducks, are extremely vulnerable to preditors, injury, and can be easily frightened.

We believe the more you know about caring for them the better.  We are sharing the links we found to be most helpful below.  (yes they are also in the sidebar as well)

Please add these links to you "library" of information to refer to.

Want a pet duck?  REALLY?!?!?!
http://www.liveducks.com/easterducks.html

Want a a pet duck?  READ THIS FIRST all the way to the end!!
http://ducksandclucks.com/blog/2013/06/14/want-a-pet-duck/

See if ducks are right for you.
http://katihoza.home.comcast.net/~katihoza/

Articles About Waterfowl: Care and Feeding of Ducks and Geese from Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary
http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/articles.htm#artresp

Duck Care Tips from Duck Rescue Network
http://duckrescuenetwork.org/duck_care.html

DUCKS as pets Frequently Asked Questions
http://katihoza.home.comcast.net/~katihoza/faq/index.html

LiveDucks lots of complied information (click on "care and health" in the side bar)
http://www.liveducks.com/index.html

PLANTS AND PENS article by British Waterfowl Association
http://www.waterfowl.org.uk/docs/plants_and_pens.pdf

TOXIC PLANTS index - poultry help
http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html


Friday, June 21, 2013

Siesta Time

Kouta falling asleep while getting a drink of water.
Missy thought it was a good idea too - she is singing her quiet happy song (which we rarely hear any more)

They are cracking me up!! Now Beau has joined the siesta by the water dish party

and finally Darrick joins them - Funny funny Duckies!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Duckie Update

Our pet duckies are doing well. The boys for the most part, are over their spring meanness



Missy seems to miss Queenie the most, now that she is the only girlie ducky . She is making the adjustment well, and is pretending to nest . Missy has laying issues, so she doesn't really lay eggs, but she likes to pretend.



We have left the dividing fences up so that we can give Missy some time in the pool unbothered by the whole gang, I mean the whole flock. However she is not fond of being by herself and because Beau is her very best love, most of the time when we separate, Beau and Missy stay together. Kouta and Darrick are still best buddies - it is so cute - so when we do separate they are very content to have time just the two of them. To us it's one of the sweetest things to see their friendship their brotherhood remain so sweet and faithful. 



Just a review of who is who:

Kouta ,male Pekin, he is King and definitely number one in pecking order, he is the biggest white duck

Darrick, he is our male Cayuga, our little, well comparatively speaking that is, all-black duck.

Beau is the duck that looks very similar to a mallard except he is a Welsh Harlequin. He is always competing with Darrick for the number two position. Unfortunately most of the time Beau loses that fight because of Darrick's close friendship with Kouta. 

Missy , messy Missy, is our only female duck. She is the other big white duck, although not quite as big as Kouta. Pekins are sweet personable ducks but their very
 large size makes them clumsy. She is frequently being chased around by the boys, and sometimes will trip. She repeatedly sprains her knee , actually I think it's her ankle. It is mild and usually a day of rest makes it all better. But she worries us with her clumsiness, we are afraid she might really hurt herself one of these days.

We will say it again and again -  it is not for the faint of heart to love and care for such fragile creatures especially as pets. 

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