FluffTheDuck
Duck love is recognizable in any language
All these facts are based on the following:
The Cape Coop
Opinions are wanted please
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They can sleep with one eye open – Ducks can turn off half their brain while keeping the other half alert for predators. Ducks will usually only fully rest both halves if they are feeling safe & protected either in the middle of a large group of ducks or in a safe location.
Duck Terms – A baby duck is called a duckling, a male is a drake and a female is a hen or duck. A group of ducks is called a raft, a team or a paddling (how cute is that, a paddling of ducks??). Generic “bird” terms can also be used like chick, bird or flock.
Waterproofing – Ducks have highly waterproof feathers thanks to an intricate feather pattern and a wax-like coating that they spread onto their feathers while preening. The waxy oil is produced in their preen gland, a small gland at the base of their tail. Duck feathers are so waterproof that they can dive completely underwater and the downy under-feathers will stay totally dry.
Ducks of the world – Ducks live in both freshwater and seawater and can be found on every continent except for Antarctica.
No cold feet here – Ducks have a special countercurrent blood vessel system in their feet/legs so their feet will not feel cold. Their feet have a unique alignment of blood vessels, with veins and arteries lying next to each other & lace like capillaries that weave among themselves. As warm blood comes down the legs from the body and meets the cooled blood coming back up, heat is exchanged in these special capillaries. This preserves a core temperature in the feet delivering just enough blood to feed the tissues & keep frostbite at bay. It also means that cooled blood is not making its way back into the body, which could lower their core temperature. This lets them swim in icy water and be undisturbed by walking in snow & chilly puddles.
Extreme Molting – Most bird species have a “sequential molt” where they lose their flight feathers one at a time, allowing them to always have the ability to fly. Most waterfowl have a “simultaneous wing molt” typically in spring or early summer, where they lose all their primary feathers at once. This means until they grow back (about 20-40 days) the bird can not fly. Luckily waterfowl are well adapted to flightless life by inhabiting wetlands where they can find food and shelter without the need for flying.
Drake Molting – Drakes will undergo the wing molt we just discussed above, but they also undergo twice-yearly molting of their plumage. Shortly after the females make their nest and the main breeding season is over, drakes will molt their colorful plumage. It is replaced with their “eclipse plumage” – drab, brown feathers similar to the female’s coloring. In fall/winter they will molt again, regaining their bright, colorful feathers known as their “nuptial plumage” in preparation for the next mating season.
Mating – Drakes, unfortunately, have a reputation of very aggressive mating that can sometimes even result in injury or death. In some species of ducks, a female will bond with a male for one season – but she will still be harassed into mating by other males. The female can protect herself from insemination from an unwanted male with a long, complicated oviduct full of twists, turns & chambers. She can sideline sperm & eject it later so that she only reproduces with the male of her choosing.
Ducks can change genders – Gender change in ducks is relatively rare, but happens as often as 1 in every 10,000 birds and can happen both from female to male and male to female, although female to male seems more common. The cause is undetermined but it is thought to happen when an imbalance of genders in a flock occurs (a really large all male or all female flock). When a male bird turns female, it will molt all of its colorful plumage, develop the louder female quack and display nesting habits. There are stories about a once male duck laying eggs, but I have seen nothing scientifically conclusive. The female to male transformation seems to be studied a bit more. Female ducks that turn male will molt into the colorful male plumage including a drake curl tail feather, develop the raspy drake quake & drake mannerisms and can even fertilize eggs! One biology based explanation is that almost all birds have two ovaries, but they only use the left one. If the left one becomes damaged or diseased (or for some reason shuts down by some instinct to balance the flock), the rudimentary right ovary excretes excessive testosterone resulting in a change of gender.
Ducks turn white with age. White ducks are white their whole lives, but dark-colored ducks slowly develop white patches in their feathers as they age, just like humans and dogs. Eventually, when they are very old, they could become entirely white.
The Cape Coop
Opinions are wanted please
-----
They can sleep with one eye open – Ducks can turn off half their brain while keeping the other half alert for predators. Ducks will usually only fully rest both halves if they are feeling safe & protected either in the middle of a large group of ducks or in a safe location.
Duck Terms – A baby duck is called a duckling, a male is a drake and a female is a hen or duck. A group of ducks is called a raft, a team or a paddling (how cute is that, a paddling of ducks??). Generic “bird” terms can also be used like chick, bird or flock.
Waterproofing – Ducks have highly waterproof feathers thanks to an intricate feather pattern and a wax-like coating that they spread onto their feathers while preening. The waxy oil is produced in their preen gland, a small gland at the base of their tail. Duck feathers are so waterproof that they can dive completely underwater and the downy under-feathers will stay totally dry.
Ducks of the world – Ducks live in both freshwater and seawater and can be found on every continent except for Antarctica.
No cold feet here – Ducks have a special countercurrent blood vessel system in their feet/legs so their feet will not feel cold. Their feet have a unique alignment of blood vessels, with veins and arteries lying next to each other & lace like capillaries that weave among themselves. As warm blood comes down the legs from the body and meets the cooled blood coming back up, heat is exchanged in these special capillaries. This preserves a core temperature in the feet delivering just enough blood to feed the tissues & keep frostbite at bay. It also means that cooled blood is not making its way back into the body, which could lower their core temperature. This lets them swim in icy water and be undisturbed by walking in snow & chilly puddles.
Extreme Molting – Most bird species have a “sequential molt” where they lose their flight feathers one at a time, allowing them to always have the ability to fly. Most waterfowl have a “simultaneous wing molt” typically in spring or early summer, where they lose all their primary feathers at once. This means until they grow back (about 20-40 days) the bird can not fly. Luckily waterfowl are well adapted to flightless life by inhabiting wetlands where they can find food and shelter without the need for flying.
Drake Molting – Drakes will undergo the wing molt we just discussed above, but they also undergo twice-yearly molting of their plumage. Shortly after the females make their nest and the main breeding season is over, drakes will molt their colorful plumage. It is replaced with their “eclipse plumage” – drab, brown feathers similar to the female’s coloring. In fall/winter they will molt again, regaining their bright, colorful feathers known as their “nuptial plumage” in preparation for the next mating season.
Mating – Drakes, unfortunately, have a reputation of very aggressive mating that can sometimes even result in injury or death. In some species of ducks, a female will bond with a male for one season – but she will still be harassed into mating by other males. The female can protect herself from insemination from an unwanted male with a long, complicated oviduct full of twists, turns & chambers. She can sideline sperm & eject it later so that she only reproduces with the male of her choosing.
Ducks can change genders – Gender change in ducks is relatively rare, but happens as often as 1 in every 10,000 birds and can happen both from female to male and male to female, although female to male seems more common. The cause is undetermined but it is thought to happen when an imbalance of genders in a flock occurs (a really large all male or all female flock). When a male bird turns female, it will molt all of its colorful plumage, develop the louder female quack and display nesting habits. There are stories about a once male duck laying eggs, but I have seen nothing scientifically conclusive. The female to male transformation seems to be studied a bit more. Female ducks that turn male will molt into the colorful male plumage including a drake curl tail feather, develop the raspy drake quake & drake mannerisms and can even fertilize eggs! One biology based explanation is that almost all birds have two ovaries, but they only use the left one. If the left one becomes damaged or diseased (or for some reason shuts down by some instinct to balance the flock), the rudimentary right ovary excretes excessive testosterone resulting in a change of gender.
Ducks turn white with age. White ducks are white their whole lives, but dark-colored ducks slowly develop white patches in their feathers as they age, just like humans and dogs. Eventually, when they are very old, they could become entirely white.
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