2019 Spring Ducklings are here!

[Miss Lydia]

Elvis is handsome!! I bet the girls are going to love him. Why are you keeping them separate?

 

[SailorNoMore]

@Miss Lydia "Elvis is handsome!! I bet the girls are going to love him. Why are you keeping them separate?"

I am keeping him separate just as a medical precaution. I would feel horrible to bring a strange duck home, open the coop and put him in, only to have him pass something to the girls that would be costly or fatal. He is living in the brooder in the garage for now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

But he has been right there face to face with them or was for the video if he had anything [and he looks very healthy] it is too late now.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Here are Carl and Barbra Lewis, my Blue Pekins. They come from @Texag87 flock. We are going to try to breed them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They are beautiful

 

[katiebrock]

Here is the introduction of my new chocolate ancona drake to my existing ancona hens. He is roughly the same age of the girls, everybody was born in May. He doesn't have his tail curl yet, but is voice sexed, he is way different. This is the only color combination in the ancona breed that is sex-linked. I have to research which way the ducklings color indicates which is the drake and the hen. He will join the flock in three weeks. Everybody meet Elvis.

I bet he loves being the center of attention!

 

[SailorNoMore]

Here are the 21 week old Anconas. When the drake arrived, he did not like meal worms and swimming. He acquired a taste for the worms from the hen that became his buddy but still will not have anything to do with the kiddie pool three weeks later.

 

[Miss Lydia]

lol poor Elvis. How old is he? If you put him in the pool will he stay ? Maybe once mating behavior starts he’ll follow them in. Beautiful ducks. Thanks for the updated video.

 

[SailorNoMore]

@Miss Lydia, lol poor Elvis. How old is he? If you put him in the pool will he stay? Maybe once mating behavior starts he’ll follow them in. Beautiful ducks. Thanks for the updated video.
He was also born in May, the seller did not know the day, so everybody is around 5 months. I am holding off on physically putting him into the water until two of the meanest hens quit pecking him. During the day, out in the yard, everything is fine. The matriarch and the second duck still make his life miserable inside the coop at night. The first night, all three "mean girls" ganged up on Elvis and ran him ragged, one on each side and the matriarch behind him stopped drilling him in the back and the other two nipping at his legs. After three nights separated, the third duck stopped pecking him. So two accept him and two do not. The only time I have seen him retaliate is when somebody pecks at his face. His strike back is immediate. So that does not happen often. He has warded off one attack by a eagle, the wife was in her nightgown running & screaming and Elvis was as stretched as he could be, flapping those wings enough to make the bird decide to go elsewhere.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aw bless poor fellow having the girls and an Eagle after him. I hope soon he will be accepted. once the girls start head bobbing at him you’ll know all is well.