It was my first hatch and I made some mistakes and lost 2 ducklings to not intervening. Next time I will be more likely to be a little more proactive if I decide to hatch in the future.
Yes, last year I hatched ONE duck! I was so disappointed. I also bought 3 white call ducklings... each one had an untimely death. So, I hit the local Tractor Supply for ducks this year and skipped the hatching. We'll hatch another year. We hope to integrate them by summer.
My duck is able to handle stairs just fine. They are quite good at hopping. The ramp shouldn't be an issue if your duck is used to it and raised with it.
Oh your little fluffy friends will grow so quickly. Take pictures now before they begin to feather. They feather gradually and will go through periods where he/she seems to grow feathers in one spot. Then suddenly you'll notice tail feathers, then wing feathers... then start to really notice...
Apparently I'm nothing more than food. I mean, okay... they are barn birds, what was I expecting? Feathered dogs? Maybe. Every time I come outside, it's feathers following me everywhere because I might have food. I think I am feeding them too much. They have clearly seen me as a source of...
I hate to say this but the same thing happened to me. I made the tough decision and ended their pain. Because they were losing either way. I saw their behavior get worse, not better. And I'm a professional animal trainer. What I couldn't stop were the attacks on my family dog. I couldn't...
It won't improve, if you're hoping it will. It WILL get worse. And he will grow vicious barbs on the back of his legs that he WILL know how to use. I just killed two of mine yesterday. I just wanted a nice flock of birds, not to be mated with and my family dog attacked by roosters. It's...
No, they didn't kill each other. Yet. It would have gotten to that eventually. They were competing for everything, including crowing. They even began to fight with the family dog. That was it, that's the act that sealed their fate. Not the incessant crowing from dawn til dusk. Not the horrid...
My ducks get mad when I give them food they don't like. They CHARGE at me, throwing their bodies at me. What the heck is up with that? Do they think they are endearing themselves to me and thusly changing my mind, intimidating me into giving them something better? LOL Sometimes I say outloud...
I've been having trouble with my ducks digging muddy holes in the yard. Namely wherever our temporary pen is, right next to the duck pool. So I spent some time today just watching them. I moved their area today and as I was moving some boards on the wet, saturated ground there were tons of...
Actually YES! I have a bucket in the corner of their run with nipples on it. I didn't put it in their for them, but it just was left over from the chickens. The one, smaller duck took right to it simply because the height was perfect. I don't know about my larger, taller duck since he was...
The ducks I hatched I got the eggs here on BYC in the buy/sell/trade forum. I got Saxony ducks, did some research and they are considered a rare breed. Pretty duck, rather large but not HUGE. Nice long bills, peck through shells easily.
I know it's a silly question. I am convinced that my one duck (a drake I think) is acting a bit jealous when I pay attention to the chickens and completely ignore him. The chickens have been hanging out on the deck and I'm gently training them not to get up on the railing by overly petting and...
Yeah, he's really pretty. I mean, not pretty because he's a duck and he's mine. But pretty as in, I think he's a boy pretty. And now I've noticed curling feathers at the tail. LOL I kinda wanted a duck, but it's okay. He is a fun duck.