I think one of my four Rouen ducklings may have entered puberty overnight; as his voice has changed! He (or she- dunno yet) said his first grown-up ducky quacks to me today
Yesterday when I went out to feed/water/clean, they were all still making high-pitched peeping noises. A few were making raspy peeps (does that indicate a drake....hope so, it'd mean my 2 cayugas are an opposite sex pair!) Today when I went out, one was making a medium-pitched quacking noise
Almost sounded like a short frog croak.
The Rouens are around 4-5 weeks old? I think? They'd been at the feed store for a few days when I bought them. The 2 Cayugas are probably several days younger and noticeably smaller, but still bigger than the chickens. I'm just barely seeing pinfeathers on the Rouens' tails- and they are already twice the size of my oldest, largest red sex link pullets who are about 6 weeks old. They EAT like baby horses!! And I swear they grow an inch every day.
Is this normal for ducks to start quacking this young?? I've been amazed at how fast they've grown, and as I understand it they do mature a bit faster than chickens....but why wouldn't they be feathering out as much as the chickens are? They are still mostly duckling fluff- when does it change??
I think I may have finally made friends with my ducks. Yesterday I brought them (and the chicks) a handful of like 15 earthworms I'd picked up off the ground after a rain, and fed them by hand. Today the ducks ran to greet me when I entered the brooding house and they followed me around nibbling at my pants until I refilled their food & waterers. That was a MAJOR first- they had always been running to the other side of the brooding house until now!
So now that my duckling has entered duck puberty, I suppose it's time to have "the talk" with him, eh?
Let him know he'll soon start to grow thick feathers in places he'd never had feathers before. And he'll experience strange new feelings when he sees ducks of the opposite sex, and those feelings are perfectly normal. Ya know, that sort of thing?
I worry the other ducks may tease him for being an early bloomer; what with his voice change and all. At the very least, I know he won't develop any acne, since he's definitely not a Muscovy...tee hee!
Yesterday when I went out to feed/water/clean, they were all still making high-pitched peeping noises. A few were making raspy peeps (does that indicate a drake....hope so, it'd mean my 2 cayugas are an opposite sex pair!) Today when I went out, one was making a medium-pitched quacking noise
The Rouens are around 4-5 weeks old? I think? They'd been at the feed store for a few days when I bought them. The 2 Cayugas are probably several days younger and noticeably smaller, but still bigger than the chickens. I'm just barely seeing pinfeathers on the Rouens' tails- and they are already twice the size of my oldest, largest red sex link pullets who are about 6 weeks old. They EAT like baby horses!! And I swear they grow an inch every day.
Is this normal for ducks to start quacking this young?? I've been amazed at how fast they've grown, and as I understand it they do mature a bit faster than chickens....but why wouldn't they be feathering out as much as the chickens are? They are still mostly duckling fluff- when does it change??
I think I may have finally made friends with my ducks. Yesterday I brought them (and the chicks) a handful of like 15 earthworms I'd picked up off the ground after a rain, and fed them by hand. Today the ducks ran to greet me when I entered the brooding house and they followed me around nibbling at my pants until I refilled their food & waterers. That was a MAJOR first- they had always been running to the other side of the brooding house until now!
So now that my duckling has entered duck puberty, I suppose it's time to have "the talk" with him, eh?
I worry the other ducks may tease him for being an early bloomer; what with his voice change and all. At the very least, I know he won't develop any acne, since he's definitely not a Muscovy...tee hee!
