Sooooo sorry! I have been really busy lately and when I get home I crash. (I might spend time with the ducks, but not on the computer.) So I have a couple if pics from the last week. The newbies are going through their teen - adult molt to get their real feathers. They are semi-integrated...
The grass is so green and nice, it grows on duck poop. HAHA! But seriously it ranges from lush to moonscape with poopy mud holes, The big pool helps because they spend a lot of time it in which is time not spent on the grass. I don't cut it unless it gets really long in places and it just does...
So far, Casey isn't a super-hero (she only fights her own battles). Even when Kaine goes after one of her brooder mates, they are on their own (Kaine has already proven himself superior to the other two, so he mostly leaves them alone now.)
We started our foot inspection and weigh-in program today. No severely bad feet, but the iodine does get used. I am including this here because now that the ducklings are in with the flock, I wanted to show where they rank as far as weight with the established members... from lightest to...
All my Metzer babies have been full of vitality with the exception of Ebony who was constipated when we got her, but there is no way that you could tell that on a day-old and once she got flowing normally, she thrived. I have never gotten ducks from a feed store. The only non-Metzer ducks I...
Kaine needs a good butt whipping and Casey is perfect for it since she isn't a bully herself. She is nice to any duck that doesn't attack her or block her from food.
The head under water pic (along with the one before it for perspective) are my favorites. That is Rhiannon on the top. The...
It was bound to happen... Add together the following facts:
* Kaine periodically gets out on parole.
* Kaine's #1 destination is the pool.
* Kaine thinks he is a god in the pool.
* Casey and Latte can now climb the ramp into the pool.
= Kaine thinks his size, weight and strength might give...
Why we named her "Latte" It's funny because when they were little everyone who came to see them thought that Casey was "Latte" because Latte was white and Casey was brown. Now Latte looks like latte
I am sure Allie will be able to do the ramp. Snow could do it no problem and being outside...
Here is some more enabling...
Casey and Latte have completely mastered the pool ramp and can come and go as they please. Allie can't yet. Her legs are strong enough now to walk all day and to run at least 70' at a time. But climbing is a bit of a challenge still. She'll get it... In the...
Very nice! I wish I could put a hard roof on, but to get a 20x20 hard roof in our area that would withstand the wind means a 20 x 20 barn which would definitely break the bank!
I ordered some fishing net with 1" holes that will cover the whole thing. It is made to stay outdoors and they recommend it for stopping golf balls, soft balls and soccer balls (as well as chicken coops) so I think it will keep any birds of prey out and the raccoons will all be fried before...
Since she is the strongest swimmer and she has been spending lots of time standing in the kiddie pool, we decided to show Casey what the big blue thing that all the other ducks disappear into is. So I set her at the top of the ramp of the big pool. Naturally she decided to check out the water...
Thanks, We will see. We get high winds also (gusts of around 70mph took out the ducky dome last year) but I have insulated the places where the wire touches metal with electrical tape so there are no hard surfaces to rub on and the wires have a small profile for the wind so I hope they just...
Thanks. I know owls are more prone to hunt in wooded areas than hawks and eagles. So I wondered if that might be the case... I will check for the strips and adequate netting...