The Brooding of Allie, Casey and Latte

[Amiga]

Swoon!

 

[Debs Flock]

Allie: 4lbs, 3oz - broke that even pound thing)
Latsey: 2lbs, 1oz - if they won't bother to have individual weights, I won't bother to list them individually - 9 days in a row at the same weight!!!

After they got weighed, they took a bath and then preened on the rug before being socialized on the blanket for a couple more hours.

Allie nuzzled up to my arm and looked at me and rubbed her bill back and forth (not side to side) twice on my arm. I interpreted this as she wanted her bill stroked (which is something I have done with all the ducklings, but this was the first time I saw anything that could be interpreted as a request.) I stroked her bill then over her head with my finger and she half shut her eyes. I cupped my fingers over the back of her neck and stroked the top of her head with my thumb and she completely closed her eyes and relaxed. For around 1/2 hour, Allie slept with her foot resting on my hand and her body alongside my arm. Her neck and head were resting on my arm while I rested my head (lightly - not full weight) on her back. Every few minutes, she would open an eye and look at me, then go back to sleep. I could feel her little twitches in REM sleep. None of my other ducks including Casey and Latte wanted to be this intimate once they started their blood feathers. She melted my heart and when she hates me in 2-4 weeks it will break my heart. Hopefully we will get some of that back with Allie the Duck. By the way, she is just as sweet with Yvonne, so it isn't a personal bond, that is just how sweet she is.

Well since I have been slacking a bit, here are some preening pictures from after their bath...

Latte showing off her wings while Allie shows how insanely long her leg is.



Allie: Those aren't wings.... These are wings!


Casey showing off advanced duck balance moves. (She is the only one who can do this on dry land so far.)


General preening and proof that Allie can actually stand up.


Casey shows off blood feathers and preens her belly.


She really does have the most advanced feather growth of the group.


And such a pretty chest.

Love these pics! Allie's legs does look insanely long!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They have grown up so fast. Wings an all. Very pretty girls..

 

[Julie Birb]

Allie: 4lbs, 3oz - broke that even pound thing) Latsey: 2lbs, 1oz - if they won't bother to have individual weights, I won't bother to list them individually - 9 days in a row at the same weight!!! After they got weighed, they took a bath and then preened on the rug before being socialized on the blanket for a couple more hours. Allie nuzzled up to my arm and looked at me and rubbed her bill back and forth (not side to side) twice on my arm. I interpreted this as she wanted her bill stroked (which is something I have done with all the ducklings, but this was the first time I saw anything that could be interpreted as a request.) I stroked her bill then over her head with my finger and she half shut her eyes. I cupped my fingers over the back of her neck and stroked the top of her head with my thumb and she completely closed her eyes and relaxed. For around 1/2 hour, Allie slept with her foot resting on my hand and her body alongside my arm. Her neck and head were resting on my arm while I rested my head (lightly - not full weight) on her back. Every few minutes, she would open an eye and look at me, then go back to sleep. I could feel her little twitches in REM sleep. None of my other ducks including Casey and Latte wanted to be this intimate once they started their blood feathers. She melted my heart and when she hates me in 2-4 weeks it will break my heart. Hopefully we will get some of that back with Allie the Duck. By the way, she is just as sweet with Yvonne, so it isn't a personal bond, that is just how sweet she is. Well since I have been slacking a bit, here are some preening pictures from after their bath... Latte showing off her wings while Allie shows how insanely long her leg is. Allie: Those aren't wings.... These are wings! Casey showing off advanced duck balance moves. (She is the only one who can do this on dry land so far.) General preening and proof that Allie can actually stand up. Casey shows off blood feathers and preens her belly. She really does have the most advanced feather growth of the group. And such a pretty chest.

CUTE AND ADORABLE AND PRECIOUS AND I NEED TO KISS ALL 3 GROWING CHILD DUCKS. SEE THE WEBS AND HOW THEY CONTRAST WITH THE SURFACE HPON WHICH THEY FLATLY STAND?

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Weights:
Allie: 4lb, 6 oz
Latsey: 2lbs, 3oz - Now I have to tell you... Since the 'lings hit 1lb, I have been rounding the ounces since the decimal ounces don't really matter any more. On 3/27, Latte weighed 1lb, 5.9oz, Casey weighed 1lb, 6.2oz - both of these were reported as 1lb, 6oz... Since then, they have actually been the same out to the 1/10th of an ounce!!! I think Casey is counting the grains of food Latte eats and is following suit.

Arrrrg! Must ducks try so hard to hurt themselves? Casey snagged a stud earring right out of Yvonne's ear and swallowed it before she could do anything. This was at lunch when Yvonne came home to see them. I was "at home" but was on a mandatory, can't get away from it, course for work (live interactive, not something I could do later). So she took off the rest of the day (my hero) and called our vet right away and they said they weren't equipped to do any endoscope work and referenced a vet that might and so she called them and they said there was nothing they could do. I searched through the forums (could do this at the same time I was "at work") and found zillions of cases of ducks/ducklings/chickens who had swallowed earrings and although a few people had recommended crop surgery, no one had that done. I found a suggestion from @Miss Lydia that some olive or coconut oil might help it pass, so we gave Casey some olive oil. Most of the threads said the gizzard would destroy the earring and it would either pass or be regurgitated. Unfortunately most of the OPs did not come back and say how their birds fared. One of the people writing in (not the OP) said their chicken ate an earring and it was still walking around at 12 years old. Last year a couple of my ducks ate some .22 brass and I found it several weeks later mangled by their gizzards in their pool. (There are still 3 pieces unaccounted for and all the ducks seem fine a year later). So we have some hope. I think their gizzards can handle it, but I am worried a bit about hardware disease. The earring in question was a cheap piece of costume jewelry with a plastic ball so who knows what was in the metal of the stem. So far Casey is walking around happy. I hope this is just a warning for us and not another lesson of great consequence. Time will tell.

On the good side today, the 'lings had bath time - Yay! They preened themselves dry and went back to eating and drinking. Then my work day ended so I decided to spend some time with them on the blanket. I took Allie out first and set her in the center of the blanket. I took Casey out next and while I was setting her on the blanket, Allie ran to the edge of the blanket at the same time Casey was going over Allie she let out an absolutely humongous poop that completely covered Allie

. Looks like the 'lings get bath time again

but this time I started with an empty tub. Not a problem since they are old enough now that I still give them a warm bath but the temp is not so critical. I put them in and started filling up the tub. They have been through this once before and don't really like the running water so much. So I decided they were big girls now and turned on the shower full blast (it hit in the front half of the tub so they weren't in it to start with). That really terrified them at first... Casey ventured forth first and ate the drops out of the air and swam around the outside of the blast. (She is our first to try new things.) Allie followed suit, then moved right in the center of the blast and arched her back and put her face right in the water stream (like the scene from Flash Dance). She stayed like that with her nicking blinking like crazy but her eyes open the whole time until the tub was full. Casey swam around her nibbling drops. (I will try to get a video of this in the near future - Allie was in ducky heaven!!!) Latte finally nibbled a few drops from the shower when the tub was almost full. (She is our resident scaredy-butt.)

Hopefully I will get some pics and that video soon.

 

[Debs Flock]

Geez, sorry, Tony! Hope Casey passes that earring very soon so you both don't have to worry.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Geez, sorry, Tony! Hope Casey passes that earring very soon so you both don't have to worry.

Me too

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Well so far Casey is her normal trouble-causing self. Just for reference, here is the (duckling at least) personalities (wanted to wait this long to see if things stuck or were just one-shot behaviors) along with their weights and pictures.

Allie: 4-1/2lbs on the nose. (She can compete with all our adult Runners.) She is sweet, contemplative, mellow, and did I mention sweet.


She is also inventive - observe she has made the drinker a bill holding device for when she is sleeping and is positioned in such a way that it actually isn't a drowning hazard.


Latte: 2lbs, 3oz. (Took the day off from growing - apparently it was a duckling holiday, but no one told the Pekin.) Official scaredy-butt - hates everything new hates leaving the brooder, hates going in the brooder, hates going in the tub, hates getting out of the tub, hates going on the blanket, hates getting off the blanket. Really hates getting weighed. If you move she runs away, if not, she's in your face and can actually be cuddly.


She is really starting to come into her color...


Casey: 2lbs, 3oz (Also observing the holiday.) Pesterer. She nibbles/pecks anything and everything. She steps on her sisters all the time, she nibbles their toes, she pulls our hair, she bites our lips and she is the first to try anything new. Half the pictures I took today had a blurry spot in the middle of them where she pecked the camera lens with a wet bill. She is the best swimmer, has the best feather development and is the best Android Phone reprogrammer. Also she is an earring thief. I think she is part runner, she seems to have their metabolism.


She is well on her way to being fully feathered.


I tried to get a video of Allie in the shower. She kind of did the same thing again but not all the way into the stream and not with so much enthusiasm. I don't know if it was "been there, done that" or the water was off a couple degrees. Casey was not quite as enthusiastic either, but Latte was just as much of a scaredy-butt and she made all the noise. It still was a fun video and you can really see how big Allie is when she is in motion, so I am still putting it up. Only watch if you like to see wet half-grown ducklings.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well so far Casey is her normal trouble-causing self. Just for reference, here is the (duckling at least) personalities (wanted to wait this long to see if things stuck or were just one-shot behaviors) along with their weights and pictures.

Allie: 4-1/2lbs on the nose. (She can compete with all our adult Runners.) She is sweet, contemplative, mellow, and did I mention sweet.


She is also inventive - observe she has made the drinker a bill holding device for when she is sleeping and is positioned in such a way that it actually isn't a drowning hazard.


Latte: 2lbs, 3oz. (Took the day off from growing - apparently it was a duckling holiday, but no one told the Pekin.) Official scaredy-butt - hates everything new hates leaving the brooder, hates going in the brooder, hates going in the tub, hates getting out of the tub, hates going on the blanket, hates getting off the blanket. Really hates getting weighed. If you move she runs away, if not, she's in your face and can actually be cuddly.


She is really starting to come into her color...


Casey: 2lbs, 3oz (Also observing the holiday.) Pesterer. She nibbles/pecks anything and everything. She steps on her sisters all the time, she nibbles their toes, she pulls our hair, she bites our lips and she is the first to try anything new. Half the pictures I took today had a blurry spot in the middle of them where she pecked the camera lens with a wet bill. She is the best swimmer, has the best feather development and is the best Android Phone reprogrammer. Also she is an earring thief. I think she is part runner, she seems to have their metabolism.


She is well on her way to being fully feathered.


I tried to get a video of Allie in the shower. She kind of did the same thing again but not all the way into the stream and not with so much enthusiasm. I don't know if it was "been there, done that" or the water was off a couple degrees. Casey was not quite as enthusiastic either, but Latte was just as much of a scaredy-butt and she made all the noise. It still was a fun video and you can really see how big Allie is when she is in motion, so I am still putting it up. Only watch if you like to see wet half-grown ducklings.

I love that pic of Allie with her new bill holder. and she is so brave in the shower to learning about rain. Love the coloring on Latte and Casey it is just amazing how much they change from day to day. gorgeous girls and thank you for giving us a run down on their personalities.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

They're so cute. Poor Latte, being scared of everything must be so stressful. I feel bad for my scaredy ducks. If anyone can get her to come around, it's you