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How long is a drake good?
I have a wonderful Ancona drake who is about four years old. I wonder how long he will remain fertile. I bought Benedict as a young adult and he has been such a gentleman from the very beginning. Last year, he tried to teach some manners to a hatched drake, Grendal, who just wouldn't learn and... -
Sulmet for ducks?
@Casportpony, Amiga, or anyone else Is Sulmet safe (or beneficial) for ducks? I have a 2 mo old guy with cuts on his foot. I was looking for some kind of antibiotic to insure against infection. I have soaked him in epsom salts water, applied Neosporin, and keeping him quiet in bathtub. He won't... -
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My beautiful mamma, Beatrice. I feel so proud for her and she takes such care for all twelve of those new babies. -
New Babies!
When I let my ducks out this morning, I discovered at least six babies under my Ancona, Beatrice. She was off next briefly last afternoon, and I counted approximately 20 eggs then. At least she had her nest inside the duck house. I had no idea when to expect hatching, but knew it must be soon... -
Saving a broody duck
Pebbles, now in her third year, has gone broody but way back under a huge pile of dead tree branches where I cannot get to her. I have not put feed or water out there because I feared it would attract preditors. We have racoons, possms, skunks, etc. I haven't even seen her for several days and... -
Frozen eggs
Today, I found a nest of 13 eggs from my two ducks out under leaves by the fence in their run. They have two houses where they have laid before. It has been so cold I thought they had just quit for their rest time this winter. I brought them in, but we have been freezing for several nights with... -
Duckling with Angel Wing
One of my Ancona ducklings has angel wing. She (loud quack when I catch it) will be 7 weeks old on Saturday. The other three hatchlings are fine. With the help of my neighbor, I have tried to wrap her four or five times and she gets right out of it. I have read the thread and instructions... -
Older ducks don't like the little ones
My four Ancona ducklings are now four and a half weeks old, beginning to feather out nicely and all seem strong and healthy. I have had them out in the new duck house for the past three or more weeks and they can go out into the run at will this past week. The three older ones are still not... -
My new Ancona ducklings
They are now just past 3 weeks old and doing fine, thank you. Have them out in the new duck house partitioned off from the three big ones. Finally let them out into the run (under supervision) for the first time. Just wish there were more soft grass out there, but they enjoyed it anyway... -
Duck with Prolapse
I've read many posts here in the past, but cannot remember details. My duck, Beatrice, acted strangely this morning, and no egg from her. I caught her and have her in a warm bath in the house. She pooped a little bit in the water, and after an hour or so, I managed to push it back in. I'm not... -
So proud of my Ancona ducks
I was working in the kitchen this afternoon when I heard a loud quack that sounded alarming. By the time I got the door open Pebbles and Beatrice were quickly heading for the pen and Benedict was right behind them, with all three looking sideways and up. I immediately scanned the area and there... -
Joining the injured leg club - need advice
Yesterday, my year and a half old duck hurt her leg. I think I saw it happen. The three of them love to jump up the 5 steps onto the deck. Two of them fly down, but Pebbles chose to go back down the steps (not gracefully). Later when I was out splitting firewood, I saw she was sitting down to... -
Feeding oatmeal to ducks?
My three Ancona ducks live off of Scratch & Peck organic/GMO-free feed, vegetable treats, and free range in the yard. I have managed to accumulate quite a bit of human rolled oats and wonder if this can be added to their regular feed. I will never eat this much myself, so thought it might work... -
What should I do?
I have two Ancona ducks who have been quite regularly laying 2 eggs/day. They were both laying in a nest inside their house, and I don't let them out into the yard until 9:30 or so. In late March I introduced a beautiful drake, about the same age, and they adjusted nicely. The last week or so, I... -
New drake - How long to keep him separated?
Last evening, I received a boyfriend for my two ducks. They are all a little over one year old. I managed to construct a temporary pen space adjoining the ducks pen and that is where he spent the night. There seemed to be some communication through the fence and all was calm. This morning I let... -
More than one egg per day???
I have two young Ancona ducks who are both laying but not always every day. For about a week there were two eggs every morning in the nest, then there were two days with an empty nest. Today, I went out there to find FIVE eggs in the nest. Can they hold them for more than a day? -
Oyster shell vs. ground egg shell
I have been grinding up egg shell and feeding back to my two ducks instead of buying oyster shell. The eggs produced so far have VERY strong shells, even hard to crack open. Is there any problem with this practice? -
Ducks eating charcoal
I have a fire pit where I burn tree and yard waste (here in the Pacific Northwest). These two rescued Ancondas have taken to getting in and dabbling for bits of charcoal. Is this harmful? Of course, then when they head for the water dish, the water immediately turns black. They are finally... -
Question on duck colors
In reading about duck colors, I keep running into the terms 'penciled' and 'laced'. I have searched but cannot find any definition of the terms. Can someone please translate the words and/or show some photos of them? One of my new Anconas has spots that are a mixture of brown and black. Does... -
Getting to know these new ducks
When I bought these two ducks from Craigslist last week, the people couldn't tell me anything about them. They didn't know the breed, the sex, and they were "less than a year old." Their markings from the photo in the ad convinced me they were Anconas. I didn't see any drake feathers so figured...