milkweeds
Chirping
- Mar 11, 2015
- 45
- 24
- 67
I am just busting at the seams to tell this hililarious story and if you bare with me...you will find it most unusual. I had 16 mallard ducks, 6 adult and 10- 7 weeks old ducklings. I have a 2 acre meadow where everyone was playing until about 7 days ago, The baby ducklings were becoming bullies and chasing the adults. Two of my adult mallards were constantly mating with 2 poor females to the point the girls were running and screaming all day. It was to the point that I was running out 15-20 times a day to save my girls who I felt were more important since they lay the eggs... I told my husband I cant take care of the house and be referee all day long. I saw no relief from my 2 older males..Brigham and Angel ...my girls were smashing their eggs in their nests and completely destroying them...it was obvious they were stressed out.,,either by the males breeding them all day or the baby mallards that were chasing them. I was at wits end. I told my husband we are packing up the 2 males and the 10 babies and bringing them down to the river...which flowed along the mountain...about a distance of 2 blocks away.....down the road, across a main drag and then across a long field and down the hill to the river. I had clipped Brigham to prevent him from landing successfully on my girls...allowing them equal time to run away. Plus I figured , he will molt in a few weeks, getting his fight wings back and then fly away. So we dropped everyone off.....Brigham started floating downstream, while Angel stayed nearby. The 10 babies all gathered on the bank looking at the huge river before them.It was very shallow for about 20 feet and out so the babies could successfully swim around and not be forced downstream. There you could see the evidence of crawfish, muscles and small minnos. My husband said a prayer and drove off. I was pretty cherry knowing my 4 remaining girls whom I had had for years...were all calmly walking around digging for worms and bugs....the yard was so peaceful. The next morning I awoke to a pitter patter sound outside my window and looked to find Brigham standing there wanting in the barn. It meant that Brigham walked the healthy way home...from a place he had never been before..... to a home he had never left before. As time passed , I began to see little ducks appearing all over the place....the 7 week ducklings had flown enough to discover where home was.....and were landing at all points around the meadow...I told my husband if he wanted Brigham and the ducklings he would have to build a fence and protect the ladies who lay eggs....He did so. I was able to separate Brigham from the ladies who he attacked all day and give him his favorite girl...FIVE DAYS PASSED....the babies were contained and there was now peace in the barn yard. BUT Brigham was alone, the only male.......Angel was his best buddy....... My husband and I went down to the river to see if Angel was still there...I took out my bull horn and gave my usual call for bed time gathering...and he flew out of his place in the tall brush and stood on the other side of the river...about 1 hundred feet across. My husband sat on a large rock on the edge as I talked to Angel...Angel was standing on the other side wiggling his tail and listening to me. Since Angel appeared to be all alone down here...I gave in to the idea that he should come home and be company for Brigham....So I stood there talking to Angel my 1 yr old mallard male, like one would to a kid that needs to come home....My husband thought it quite silly as I stood there for 30 minutes talking to him... he stood motionless listening to me. After 30 minutes I started walking in the direction of home...and while going out of sight I kept talking to him so he would know which direction to go......The next day I got up about 5 am , ran to the kitchen window that faced the meadow and there stood Angel....waiting for everyone to come and probably.... to eat some tasty food which I always lay out buffet style.....Angel had come home. I still have my baby ducklings...Angel and Brigham.....but now there is a fence separating everyone and ..wow what peace! All of these ducks had never left home before....yet they found their way over the many trees and highway that separated us from the river......what I would call a healthy 15 minute walk....baby ducklings can fly at 7 weeks....and clipped adult ducks are perfectly satisfied to hoof it when home is really.......HOME SWEET HOME.
. I have had a similar thing happen when I let out my Japanese quails, they would wander off and return. Once I had two that walked around the garden and our dogs went up to them and the quails just stood there, they didn’t know what was going on. Anyways both of the quails made it through the garden, past the house and started walking down into the bush. I went back inside and when I went back out probably half an hour or an hour later I saw them in the paddock making their way back to their pen. They are very interesting birds. Lol
