So I'll get pics for everyone tomorrow, but I finally caved and "rescued" some of the ducklings of the feral Muscovies at my local pond. The adults are so tame that they let me pet them, yes, but they also just let me steal their offspring. Smh. One of the ducklings appeared to be abandoned. Its father was nearby but I couldn't find its mother and no mom duck came running when I picked the little thing up. My sister said she saw a dead duck at the pond a couple of days before, so who knows?
So, yeah. Now I have my "test duck", a piebald barred black (Duckwin); the motherless duckling (now named Bambi because of course); and two tiny, black wild-type siblings (Chip and Dale). Bambi is also black wild-type. Names given by children minus Bambi because my sense of humor is a bit off.
I had a chocolate wild-type, sibling of Chip and Dale, but it wasn't able to eat or drink. Considering the amount of litter at the pond, I'm assuming intestinal blockage.
Not sure if I'll "rescue" any more this season, since I'm new to ducks, but I'm going to sell any drakes. They get nearly twice as big as the females and while they also eat bugs and make good pets, they obviously don't lay eggs. 3/3 is better than 2/3. I assume, statistically, two out of four will be females and that's probably enough for me since they're planned to inhabit my rabbit run. Fiona the rabbit has adopted "Duckwin" and they are already pals in the run. Luckily Duckwin seems to be female.
Of course, if I got even another dozen ducklings I could just sell extras once I'm sure they're not going to drop dead. Idk.
Funnily enough, I always wanted Cayuga or Khaki Campbell. I guess a lack of mosquitoes trumps abundant eggs? :lol: We'll see. Maybe next year I can use rabbit math and end up with a larger flock.
So, yeah. Now I have my "test duck", a piebald barred black (Duckwin); the motherless duckling (now named Bambi because of course); and two tiny, black wild-type siblings (Chip and Dale). Bambi is also black wild-type. Names given by children minus Bambi because my sense of humor is a bit off.
I had a chocolate wild-type, sibling of Chip and Dale, but it wasn't able to eat or drink. Considering the amount of litter at the pond, I'm assuming intestinal blockage.
Not sure if I'll "rescue" any more this season, since I'm new to ducks, but I'm going to sell any drakes. They get nearly twice as big as the females and while they also eat bugs and make good pets, they obviously don't lay eggs. 3/3 is better than 2/3. I assume, statistically, two out of four will be females and that's probably enough for me since they're planned to inhabit my rabbit run. Fiona the rabbit has adopted "Duckwin" and they are already pals in the run. Luckily Duckwin seems to be female.
Of course, if I got even another dozen ducklings I could just sell extras once I'm sure they're not going to drop dead. Idk.
Funnily enough, I always wanted Cayuga or Khaki Campbell. I guess a lack of mosquitoes trumps abundant eggs? :lol: We'll see. Maybe next year I can use rabbit math and end up with a larger flock.
