2019 Spring Ducklings are here!

[Magnolia Ducks]

That sounds like a plan though you may need a new coffee grinder. My oyster shell is about the same size as regular grit.

 

[SailorNoMore]

@ Magnolia Ducks, That sounds like a plan though you may need a new coffee grinder. My oyster shell is about the same size as regular grit.

I had planned on buying a good one and only use it for the ducks. The wife is getting hostile about me taking stuff to the ducks. The adults have the bottom of the broiler pan, the juveniles have a pyrex pie plate and the babies now have a custard cup. The broiler bottom is the only item that does not have one or more still left in the kitchen. I thought about trying the food processor on the oyster shells then I figured that would be pushing boundaries toooo far.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@WannaBeHillBilly I am happy to see that your house is made from brick instead of constructed from lumber. I will be curious to hear how it and all of you survived the storm.

Well it was just that sudden burst of energy over our heads, it rained itself out and that was it. - Except for this weeks excessive heat and humidity. It was like i remember Houston, mid 90's and the humidity was worse by the day. It is called the dirty side of a storm for a reason. Cristobal sucked all the moisture from the gulf- and Atlantic coast up here and finally this evening all that water dropped out of the sky. We're down from 35°C (95F) to 22°C (72F), that's a relief!
And yes, i love that house for being made out of brick and mortar! It has a lot of disadvantages, but it is rock-solid. It sit's here since 1964 and no cracks in the walls or the concrete slab.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I believe the late evening shower we had yesterday was unrelated to the storm. It came from the south. Opposite direction of rotation . Thought it would be over quick so I stayed under the trees in the old duck pen. I was wrong and the ducklings In the new house we’re scared. Their first day out of the brooder and this happens. They ate about half as much as normal in 24 hours.

During this evening's thunderstorm the four ducklings were just sitting smack in the middle of the bedroom, huddled together and sleeping while the grown up's were anxiously listening to the noise of the rain and the wind. The little ones feel so safe with the flock!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Is anybody feeding their hens the MannaPro oyster shells. I have the 50# bag and I do not like the size of their chunks. Evidently one or more of the hens does not either from the egg I found this morning. The egg has its yoke and its white fluid but does not have the calicum shell around it. This is probably the third one I have found recently and was not fragments like the earlier ones. I am wondering if I took the chunks of oyster shell and ran them through a coffee grinder if that would make it more palatable to the ladies.

I buy the store brand crushed oyster-shells from Rural King and apply the hammer treatment to larger chunks. We also collect the shells of the eggs we eat here. Then i roughly grind them up with a mallet in a metal bucket and mix them with the oyster shells. All my ducks eat from the calcium supply, even the ducklings have tried some! - And yet there is that ocasional »drake-egg«. It's normal, nothing to be worried about unless there is a duck permanently laying eggs with issues.

 

[Texag87]

I bought a big TSC bag of oyster shells over a year ago and still have half of it. They do seem to be eating more as they get older though .......about the same as before but with 25% less hens. Speaking of hens, if my hearing is right the new hatch is 3 ducks and two drakes.

 

[SailorNoMore]

Before D-day's brother died, I put an appeal out on Facebook for a 1 or 2 day old Ancona of either sex and any color. Within 25 minutes a breeder 80 miles away said I could have the pick of his litter when they hatched. Sure enough the drake passed and we got in the car to go buy a replacement. The wife picked out a chocolate in memory of the one hen that had its head crushed in. No name until we can voice sex it but it and D-day are doing fine as I write this.
I expected D-day to be the one to pass away because he was wet and hypodermic when I discovered him. You can not tell now that he had a rough start in this old world!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I bought a big TSC bag of oyster shells over a year ago and still have half of it. They do seem to be eating more as they get older though .......about the same as before but with 25% less hens. Speaking of hens, if my hearing is right the new hatch is 3 ducks and two drakes.

My four rascals are still just peeping really LOUD, just 11 days old... Running around with the flock all over the place and catching those pesky little green insects (flies?) in the grass that are abundant here this year.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Before D-day's brother died, I put an appeal out on Facebook for a 1 or 2 day old Ancona of either sex and any color. Within 25 minutes a breeder 80 miles away said I could have the pick of his litter when they hatched. Sure enough the drake passed and we got in the car to go buy a replacement. The wife picked out a chocolate in memory of the one hen that had its head crushed in. No name until we can voice sex it but it and D-day are doing fine as I write this.
I expected D-day to be the one to pass away because he was wet and hypodermic when I discovered him. You can not tell now that he had a rough start in this old world!

@SailorNoMore sorry about reading your losses! It seems we humons have done a pretty good job in removing the natural breeding and care instincts out of our domesticated ducks. Last year Katharina's good mothering came as a huge surprise for me and i was impressed with Pinball's performance this year.
However what Pommes Duck and her flock-mate Smaug are doing is just poor: They're both so flooded with hormones that they crack every real-egg they can get into their nest sooner or later, killing the unhatched chick. I have started to remove the wooden eggs from their nest in the hope the hormone flood will subside.
D-Day is a fighter! He was fighting for his life right from the start and made it. He will be a strong drake!

 

[SailorNoMore]

Here are the one week old Ancona babies D-day & Asia. Enjoy.