Drake being bullied

[Miss Lydia]

Its a very hard thing to deal with, but for the peace of the flock it sounds like the best.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I also felt like it'd be easier to find 2 healthy drakes a home instead of 4 drakes (and although I'm sure things will change but the Pekin Drakes haven't caused any problems so far so I hate to rehome them just because they're drakes) or even a Drake with a disability (I'm referring to Reggie's bad limp because he's never been able to bare his weight on that one foot and he is very clumsy and oftentimes gets trampled on if he falls in front of the Flock while they're on the move). I am going to post about them on my state thread and the rehoming thread tonight. I was hoping CWR would be able to take them so I wouldn't have to worry about them going to a worse situation or being someone's dinner, which is really out of my control but it'd make this much easier for me

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I don't normally wash eggs but this one had to be washed, as I don't have nesting boxes set up because I wasn't expecting duck eggs until Spring. She laid this right in the middle of their duck house, which makes me very happy since they free range and could have laid it anywhere. I have the Buff Orpington and a Pekin. Which one do you suspect laid this? @Miss Lydia

 

[Miss Lydia]

That looks like a Buff from here I think Pekin lay white. Pretty egg too.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I took a picture of the duck egg in the middle, with different shades of eggs from my chickens, so it'd be easier to see the color of the duck egg

 

[Miss Lydia]

Looks creamy beige from here. I say Buff

 

[HeatherKellyB]

It's almost white but it's slightly tinted. From what I've read, Pekin do lay white eggs but I couldn't find a specific color laid by the buff

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I need to start offering oyster shell now, right? Same as chickens? On the side to eat as they feel they need? My ducks are only fed actual feed whenever I feed them. I can't leave feed out for them because that's the only way I can get them off the pond at night. Knowing this, is it still recommended that I leave the oyster shell out all the time, or offer it anytime they eat throughout the day?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Leave the oyster shell out all the time they shouldn’t eat it except for when they need to replenish any calcium they need for egg laying

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Leave the oyster shell out all the time they shouldn’t eat it except for when they need to replenish any calcium they need for egg laying

Thank you! I'll put it out there tonight so they'll see it in the morning. Looks like I'll be fixing up their nesting boxes tomorrow too. I am just so shocked. Between searching for a new home for some of these drakes and trying to keeping Reggie safe, the ducks laying hasn't even crossed my mind. I am so incredibly impressed that she actually laid in their duck house. There is an island in the middle of the pond and they've started to hang out there sometimes. Anytime we've had wild geese to hatch eggs here, it's always been on this island, so I just figured that it was possible the ducks might lay there. I've heard that ducks, especially young ducks, will just lay wherever, anytime, any place. Since I am so new to this, I didn't know if they'd lay in the pond while swimming around or what, hahaha! It's amazing how much I've learned in this short time with chickens and ducks! I've loved every bit of it, with the exception of my Drake problems now, cockerel problems, and the overwhelming stress I was under when everyone was so young. The stress is still more than I can handle at times, but I wouldn't trade this for anything! Thank you again @Miss Lydia