I have raised a flock of 10 Indian Runner ducks and the three girls have just started laying. Here are some of my favorite things about runner ducks:
1) They give good duck hugs. They will give a hug by leaning their head against me or by holding their head under my chin. Awwwww. But I do have to catch and hold them first, they're not really the kind to run up to me unless I'm holding green peas. But what a wonderful, graceful long neck! It is fun to hold and pet a runner duck.
2) They will feed within learned boundaries. I can bring my runner ducks to the front yard and they will eat the crickets that make noise under my window. Hurrah! I sleep better now. The runner ducks will feed in the front yard and they don't try to run into the fairly busy street. I do stay with them the entire time they are in the front yard.
3) Ducks are an elementary school teacher's best friends to help teach about animal adaptations. My runner ducks have six adaptations just on their tongue: 1. a thin tip to feel the food in the mud, 2. something that filters the water (looks sort of like a mesh) on the sides of their tongues right behind the tip, 3. hard points on each side just behind that for cutting soft vegetation, 4. a large bump in the middle of the back of their tongue to firmly close their nose while diving, 5. a soft round of tissue behind the large bump that can raise to connect their lungs to the nose hole, 6. and finally at the very back of their mouth some semi-hard spikes pointing to their stomach to prevent slippery fish from going back out of their beaks. That is just the tongue. I have not mentioned the beak or the many adaptations on the rest of the duck. Ducks are so awesome!
4) This is a con, but also really funny... my runner ducks don't look down and will trip over anything in their path. Unless it's tall, they don't go around. So if I leave, for example, a water bottle laying around... the first duck will step on it and may trip. The following ducks, not learning from seeing their friend trip, will also go over the bottle and trip, rather than going around. So four or five ducks in a row can trip over the same water bottle. I have to manage their environment to make sure nothing sharp or dangerous gets left out in their path.
Overall, I just love these funny birds with such awesome personalities.
1) They give good duck hugs. They will give a hug by leaning their head against me or by holding their head under my chin. Awwwww. But I do have to catch and hold them first, they're not really the kind to run up to me unless I'm holding green peas. But what a wonderful, graceful long neck! It is fun to hold and pet a runner duck.
2) They will feed within learned boundaries. I can bring my runner ducks to the front yard and they will eat the crickets that make noise under my window. Hurrah! I sleep better now. The runner ducks will feed in the front yard and they don't try to run into the fairly busy street. I do stay with them the entire time they are in the front yard.
3) Ducks are an elementary school teacher's best friends to help teach about animal adaptations. My runner ducks have six adaptations just on their tongue: 1. a thin tip to feel the food in the mud, 2. something that filters the water (looks sort of like a mesh) on the sides of their tongues right behind the tip, 3. hard points on each side just behind that for cutting soft vegetation, 4. a large bump in the middle of the back of their tongue to firmly close their nose while diving, 5. a soft round of tissue behind the large bump that can raise to connect their lungs to the nose hole, 6. and finally at the very back of their mouth some semi-hard spikes pointing to their stomach to prevent slippery fish from going back out of their beaks. That is just the tongue. I have not mentioned the beak or the many adaptations on the rest of the duck. Ducks are so awesome!
4) This is a con, but also really funny... my runner ducks don't look down and will trip over anything in their path. Unless it's tall, they don't go around. So if I leave, for example, a water bottle laying around... the first duck will step on it and may trip. The following ducks, not learning from seeing their friend trip, will also go over the bottle and trip, rather than going around. So four or five ducks in a row can trip over the same water bottle. I have to manage their environment to make sure nothing sharp or dangerous gets left out in their path.
Overall, I just love these funny birds with such awesome personalities.
