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I figure the Mandarins ARE the most beautiful birds...plumage wise...in the entire world.
Nothing prettier or finer than a Mandarin drake all decked out in his regalia of finery...the gal Mandy ducks are pretty nifty in their own rights too considering they are suppose to be camouflaged.
Seems some are unfamiliar with the development of ducks like Mandarins (Aix galericulata). We've had several natural hatches over the years, so thought I would put this together for those wanting a peaky at jest what Mandies do. These photos of ours are a compilation of several hatches over the years here. I am NOT the meddlesome sort that is into making our Mandies like our Calls...but taming the birds so I can work amongst them without stressing them, I will condone that, but cuddling a Mandie or a Swan or Ruddy Shel...try another species we humans have domesticated, 'kay?
So to begin, what are we trying to replicate as far as conditions for tree ducks like the Mandarins so the wanna feel the need to make more of themselves...well let's have a look see at what the wilds do. We use to have Wood Ducks nesting on our property...that is until the poplar tree they chose had the roof rot away.
This is your more typical nesting box used for tree ducks like Mandarins and Wood ducks. We hang ours so they face North...some hang them so they face the morning sun, but not too much sun (heat) and more at an angle of North East.
On my other Mandarin thread...I show step by step how my Hero made this tree (real tree) nest pictured below...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...r-aix-galericulata-mandarin-ducks-mega-photos
How do you tell if'n yer nesties are worthy of Mandarins...they USE them to hatch out offspring from. Pretty simple...if you got it wrong somehow, the girl ducks turn their bills up and refuse to use the nest or the babies hatched out never thrive...good healthy production of ducks means you got it going on right...fer that time at least, eh!
Wild pattern Mandarin hen using tree nest
Mommy Mandarin popping outta her nesting box
So you got yerself a Mandarin hen laying eggs in the nest box.
Is she serious about incubating these eggs or just stockpiling them??
Well me Dears...you KNOW she's serious when she tears out her chest down and begins to cover the eggs with it. Here in the Great White North where we get snow ever single month of the year (no kidding--I never kid about how much we love the SNOWS here...beauty!), the serious ducks ensure their eggs don't get frozen...mildly cold is OK until she begins incubation...but freezing, not so good.
These eggs were CLEARS...so I do intervene and candle me Mandarin natural hatched eggs and remove the ones that are not gonna hatch. I personally don't want any exploding eggs along with the viable ones...so I intervene, candle and remove the clears, put the developing ones back in the nest box for the Momma to be.
Now the best thing to do PRE babies hatching, is to ensure you got all the baby items ready for the upcoming hatch. Waterer with stainless pan and marbles so no duck ducks drown themselves or get overly wet getting a sip of water...bowl of duck/goose starter with a few shiny marbles to entice billing, some number 1 sized granite grit and fresh hard boiled egg yolk (any poultry species will do). I also have a bit of soft canned cat food and some use mealworms to entice the little Mandy blighters into eating and therefor LIVING! For incubated Mandarins...I heard that unless they are dropped to mimic the bale outta the tree nest falling ordeal, they will never begin eating...need to be bumped to incite them to eat. No idea if that is fact or fallacy as I have never bothered to artificially incubate the Mandies...why the heck would I when the real deal of the pair do such an AWESOME job...let them do the work they do so good at. KISS principle, don't overly complicate what WORKS, eh.
So the eggs are in the tree nest and looky l00k, they are pipping! Wonderful, eh!
Here is a different group hatching in the tree nest box...AWESOME!
Now donna be getting yer knickers in a knot and rush this along...pipping and hatching wears them little blighters down. It can take a day er two for them to hatch outta their shells, dry off and get up the energy to make the BIG climb outta the nest box (with encouragement from the Mah and Pah outside--egging them on with special calls just to say, "Hey, come on down, the waters fine!").
Voila...we be up and ready to take the big dive. Baby Mandy at the nest hole!
So the baby Mandarins as day olds remind me alot of chipmunk downed ducks of Mallard descent...grey Calls, wild type coloured Rouens, grey Crested Ducks etc. A very practical and hiding pattern of down for these wild ducks to have on.
These are one of our hatches...day old Mandarins
Here are one of the pairs of parents and their swarm of Mandarin ducklings as day olds.
Note there is already an assortment of food and water available along with No. 1 granite grit. NO disturbing the new family thundering about the pen...HAVE it ready and WAITING on the new arrivals to use, eh! It goes without saying that the tiniest of holes in your facilities could result in the loss of one of these mega tiny yet speedy babies. I am talking holes no bigger than a Looney and yer Mandarin babes can get into a bad predicament. It is YOUR duty as keeper of the bevy to ensure your facilities are up to snuff and ready for them little, very little ones.
This is one brood of Mandarins at two weeks of age--lookit the legs & feet...kills me how they can truck along on those LEGS looking almost as big as their parents' feets!!
Here this brood is ONE month old - note the chunks of watermelon for them to nibble on
Note, there is no baby water dish...I use a car tire and a rubber tub for the older Mandarins. Thing with Mandies is you always have to have swimming water on hand, year round. Even at -50C/-58F below, I bring out fresh fluid water at noon so the Mandarins can bath and have time to dry off before night fall. If you do not allow the Mandarins to bath in water, they can have their preen gland (base of the tail) seal shut and they cannot coat their feathers with their feather oil to insulate them from the cold and wet conditions. They use the oil to insulate themselves from temperature extremes.
Ducks grow FAST, they hafta...in the wilds they have to be hatched in reasonably warm weather and get going and ready to migrate by the fall with their parents...rush to get to adulthood, indeed!
Parents - Mom on left, Dad on right
One of the things the parents do ... the hen will moult after the babes hatch and I often catch the Dad (drake) moulting whilst the Mom (hen) is still setting on eggs. The two genders look very similar when moulting...goes without saying that they do this because they cannot fly (without their flight feathers--DUH!) and need to be able to hide from dangers.
So how do you tell gender when the males look an awful lot like the females? Boys will retain their pinkier bills and darker V's of colouration on their feets (webbed area) plus the males have a bit yellower leg colour.
Picture taken yesterday (June 23), but before you freak out, the red markings on the male by his head (where his ear would be located) is watermelon juice...he has gotten right into the melon and smeared his head feathers up. So a male moulting (and enjoying melon!) on the far left and a female on the right. See how his legs are just a tad yellower and the webbed v's are a shade darker. His bill is pinkier (good way to gender the wild patterned Mandarins...not so much on the white mutations though...girls have pretty pink bills in that variety) AND you can see on his chest some circling of male marked chest feathers. Sometimes you will see the white and black patterned plumage sorta peaking up outta what looks like mostly "girl" feathers on the boys. The drakes do not always drop ALL feathers at once and sometimes keep a few more "boy" like feathers on their bods.
But indeed, HE looks alot like the SHE on the right bottom. Another male moulting on the top right...a bit more brown colouration in their feathers but sure is close in colouration to the female's everyday feather patterns.
White female mandarin horking on watermelon
Wild pattern female Mandarin
Ah but before you can blink...
Them duck ducks are back to being adultish and purdy once again...showing off pool side to each other.
Ah Fall time outside...all the fallen leaves outside.
Time to get the Taj Mahal ready for winter.
Get ready, set...let it SNOW!
And time once again to shed off the plumage and grow out a new feathered suit.
June 17, 2015 - pair of Mandarin Drake sail feathers...only birds to have these SAIL feathers
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
Edit; Cripers, not 2105 yet now is it? LMBO
I figure the Mandarins ARE the most beautiful birds...plumage wise...in the entire world.
Nothing prettier or finer than a Mandarin drake all decked out in his regalia of finery...the gal Mandy ducks are pretty nifty in their own rights too considering they are suppose to be camouflaged.
Seems some are unfamiliar with the development of ducks like Mandarins (Aix galericulata). We've had several natural hatches over the years, so thought I would put this together for those wanting a peaky at jest what Mandies do. These photos of ours are a compilation of several hatches over the years here. I am NOT the meddlesome sort that is into making our Mandies like our Calls...but taming the birds so I can work amongst them without stressing them, I will condone that, but cuddling a Mandie or a Swan or Ruddy Shel...try another species we humans have domesticated, 'kay?
So to begin, what are we trying to replicate as far as conditions for tree ducks like the Mandarins so the wanna feel the need to make more of themselves...well let's have a look see at what the wilds do. We use to have Wood Ducks nesting on our property...that is until the poplar tree they chose had the roof rot away.
This is your more typical nesting box used for tree ducks like Mandarins and Wood ducks. We hang ours so they face North...some hang them so they face the morning sun, but not too much sun (heat) and more at an angle of North East.
On my other Mandarin thread...I show step by step how my Hero made this tree (real tree) nest pictured below...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...r-aix-galericulata-mandarin-ducks-mega-photos
How do you tell if'n yer nesties are worthy of Mandarins...they USE them to hatch out offspring from. Pretty simple...if you got it wrong somehow, the girl ducks turn their bills up and refuse to use the nest or the babies hatched out never thrive...good healthy production of ducks means you got it going on right...fer that time at least, eh!
Wild pattern Mandarin hen using tree nest
Mommy Mandarin popping outta her nesting box
So you got yerself a Mandarin hen laying eggs in the nest box.
Is she serious about incubating these eggs or just stockpiling them??
Well me Dears...you KNOW she's serious when she tears out her chest down and begins to cover the eggs with it. Here in the Great White North where we get snow ever single month of the year (no kidding--I never kid about how much we love the SNOWS here...beauty!), the serious ducks ensure their eggs don't get frozen...mildly cold is OK until she begins incubation...but freezing, not so good.
These eggs were CLEARS...so I do intervene and candle me Mandarin natural hatched eggs and remove the ones that are not gonna hatch. I personally don't want any exploding eggs along with the viable ones...so I intervene, candle and remove the clears, put the developing ones back in the nest box for the Momma to be.
Now the best thing to do PRE babies hatching, is to ensure you got all the baby items ready for the upcoming hatch. Waterer with stainless pan and marbles so no duck ducks drown themselves or get overly wet getting a sip of water...bowl of duck/goose starter with a few shiny marbles to entice billing, some number 1 sized granite grit and fresh hard boiled egg yolk (any poultry species will do). I also have a bit of soft canned cat food and some use mealworms to entice the little Mandy blighters into eating and therefor LIVING! For incubated Mandarins...I heard that unless they are dropped to mimic the bale outta the tree nest falling ordeal, they will never begin eating...need to be bumped to incite them to eat. No idea if that is fact or fallacy as I have never bothered to artificially incubate the Mandies...why the heck would I when the real deal of the pair do such an AWESOME job...let them do the work they do so good at. KISS principle, don't overly complicate what WORKS, eh.
So the eggs are in the tree nest and looky l00k, they are pipping! Wonderful, eh!
Here is a different group hatching in the tree nest box...AWESOME!
Now donna be getting yer knickers in a knot and rush this along...pipping and hatching wears them little blighters down. It can take a day er two for them to hatch outta their shells, dry off and get up the energy to make the BIG climb outta the nest box (with encouragement from the Mah and Pah outside--egging them on with special calls just to say, "Hey, come on down, the waters fine!").
Voila...we be up and ready to take the big dive. Baby Mandy at the nest hole!
So the baby Mandarins as day olds remind me alot of chipmunk downed ducks of Mallard descent...grey Calls, wild type coloured Rouens, grey Crested Ducks etc. A very practical and hiding pattern of down for these wild ducks to have on.
These are one of our hatches...day old Mandarins
Here are one of the pairs of parents and their swarm of Mandarin ducklings as day olds.
Note there is already an assortment of food and water available along with No. 1 granite grit. NO disturbing the new family thundering about the pen...HAVE it ready and WAITING on the new arrivals to use, eh! It goes without saying that the tiniest of holes in your facilities could result in the loss of one of these mega tiny yet speedy babies. I am talking holes no bigger than a Looney and yer Mandarin babes can get into a bad predicament. It is YOUR duty as keeper of the bevy to ensure your facilities are up to snuff and ready for them little, very little ones.
This is one brood of Mandarins at two weeks of age--lookit the legs & feet...kills me how they can truck along on those LEGS looking almost as big as their parents' feets!!
Here this brood is ONE month old - note the chunks of watermelon for them to nibble on
Ducks grow FAST, they hafta...in the wilds they have to be hatched in reasonably warm weather and get going and ready to migrate by the fall with their parents...rush to get to adulthood, indeed!
Parents - Mom on left, Dad on right
One of the things the parents do ... the hen will moult after the babes hatch and I often catch the Dad (drake) moulting whilst the Mom (hen) is still setting on eggs. The two genders look very similar when moulting...goes without saying that they do this because they cannot fly (without their flight feathers--DUH!) and need to be able to hide from dangers.
So how do you tell gender when the males look an awful lot like the females? Boys will retain their pinkier bills and darker V's of colouration on their feets (webbed area) plus the males have a bit yellower leg colour.
Picture taken yesterday (June 23), but before you freak out, the red markings on the male by his head (where his ear would be located) is watermelon juice...he has gotten right into the melon and smeared his head feathers up. So a male moulting (and enjoying melon!) on the far left and a female on the right. See how his legs are just a tad yellower and the webbed v's are a shade darker. His bill is pinkier (good way to gender the wild patterned Mandarins...not so much on the white mutations though...girls have pretty pink bills in that variety) AND you can see on his chest some circling of male marked chest feathers. Sometimes you will see the white and black patterned plumage sorta peaking up outta what looks like mostly "girl" feathers on the boys. The drakes do not always drop ALL feathers at once and sometimes keep a few more "boy" like feathers on their bods.
But indeed, HE looks alot like the SHE on the right bottom. Another male moulting on the top right...a bit more brown colouration in their feathers but sure is close in colouration to the female's everyday feather patterns.
White female mandarin horking on watermelon
Wild pattern female Mandarin
Ah but before you can blink...
Them duck ducks are back to being adultish and purdy once again...showing off pool side to each other.
Ah Fall time outside...all the fallen leaves outside.
Time to get the Taj Mahal ready for winter.
Get ready, set...let it SNOW!
Let it snow because you better enjoy it, before you know it...be spring time again.
And after spring...tis summer.
And after spring...tis summer.
And time once again to shed off the plumage and grow out a new feathered suit.
June 17, 2015 - pair of Mandarin Drake sail feathers...only birds to have these SAIL feathers
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
Edit; Cripers, not 2105 yet now is it? LMBO
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