Earlier in October my female Khaki Campbell Cheese was killed by a hawk. After getting over the shock of losing her, my thoughts turned to my big boy Mac. He was so distraught by losing her I thought I was going to lose him too. So I went searching for a new mate for Mac. I found another female Khaki in Iowa. When I went to pick her up, she was out on a farm in the middle of nowhere. She was born sometime in May or June of this year. She is very pretty. I named her Chili. To me she is perfect in every way, except she has a crooked neck. I got her because the way she looked at me, head tilted etc. She eats and drinks with her neck turned sideways. I do not know if her neck is a vitamin deficiency or physical. I picked her up this morning and talked to her, and she kept turning her head top listen to my voice. I am now assuming she may be blind or deaf on her one side.
Then duck math kicked in and I got another one. This time I got a Cayuga/Peking cross female. We named her Gertrude. To me Gertrude is a big, pretty girl with a big quack. (Having Khaki Campbells before, to me she is a big girl
) She was also born in May or June of this year. When I got Gertrude, I got her from a local person. When I went out there I was kind of shocked. The conditions that Gertrude was living in was not good. He had all types of birds. In between me deciding what to do/get he feed the ducks. He dumped water in a big bowl, and threw a bunch of feed on the ground for the ducks. These ducks ran like little roaches (sorry) to water and the food that he had just put out. Made me kind of sad. I picked the one I wanted and left quick. When I got her home and let her out she immediately ran to the pool and jumped in. She played preened and had fun for quite awhile. By the time she was done the water was black from her. After a couple water changes and fresh food she was clean and really pretty. She is really scared of people, and she finally got within a foot of me this morning without freaking out.
Now since all three of them have been together about a month, They all get along well together. Ihave a concern with Gertrude. Ever since she has been here, she has been a little pig about food. To me she eats and eats. I noticed the other day she was laying by the food bowl eating, like it was her last meal. She sometimes does this with the water also. Since she is a bigger duck, I don’t really want her to become over weight , and have health issues do to that. I don’t really want to put up the food bowl during the day, as Mac and Chili nibble on it during the day. All three of these ducks forage during the day. Soon there will be snow here, the forage time will come to an end. Since she came from not such good conditions, what can I do to make her more happy, relaxed etc… and truly know that I do care for her and her friends. Thanks.
Then duck math kicked in and I got another one. This time I got a Cayuga/Peking cross female. We named her Gertrude. To me Gertrude is a big, pretty girl with a big quack. (Having Khaki Campbells before, to me she is a big girl
Now since all three of them have been together about a month, They all get along well together. Ihave a concern with Gertrude. Ever since she has been here, she has been a little pig about food. To me she eats and eats. I noticed the other day she was laying by the food bowl eating, like it was her last meal. She sometimes does this with the water also. Since she is a bigger duck, I don’t really want her to become over weight , and have health issues do to that. I don’t really want to put up the food bowl during the day, as Mac and Chili nibble on it during the day. All three of these ducks forage during the day. Soon there will be snow here, the forage time will come to an end. Since she came from not such good conditions, what can I do to make her more happy, relaxed etc… and truly know that I do care for her and her friends. Thanks.
