Ducks On Ice

[greyfields]

 

[DrakeMaiden]

My drakes do water ballet. They form a group of 4 (equally spaced)in the middle of the pond and then do their drake antics (make that noise that is almost like a sneeze as they raise their heads and then spin around in a tight circle) in unison. I really don't know how they synchronize like that. It is fascinating to watch. I want to record it on video and set it to classical music.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Our pond is frozen solid, but we have a little pool for the waterfowl.... anyway, Our goose went out and was stomping on the kiddie pool the other morning. He was so mad about it, pecking it and stamping his giant goosey foot. Anyway, I shooed him off and broke out all the ice, and gave him and the duckies fresh water. happy swimming!

 

[12 Acres]

Sorry it took so long to answer all the questions. You know how it is...

mjsdhs - Get ducks. Hands down they are the most entertaining animals I've ever had. Almost completely no maintenance. I'm feeding them through the winter but come next spring they're on their own. The pond is 3/4 of an acre and full of fish, crustaceans, frogs, etc. Duckie buffet! By the way, my first duck order was for 10, two died the first day. They are a piece of cake to raise and you'll be glad you did it.

jubylives - the pond was dug when I was about 10. It's 3/4 of an acre. I would NOT have waterfowl of any kind if I didn't have this great natural habitat for them to live in. I don't have to provide water or a pool for them, it's already here. My ducks are very happy and content birds with plenty of space to swim and "be ducks". It's the way it should be. Dig a pond, they're great if you're a bird watcher, fisher or just want to have plenty of wildlife visit your backyard. Our pond is about 14 feet deep in the deep end and it gradually rises to ankle depth in the shallow end. I love it.

allaboutdemchicks - thanks! Glad you enjoyed my duckies.

sunbury chick - We are in NW Ohio fairly close to Toledo. The shore of Lake Erie is only 4 miles north of us, as the crow flies. We have tons of waterfowl up here. I love watching the Tundra Swans migrate overhead. Just beautiful!!! Your little mallard is very cute. Ducks are great. I was tempted to get a pair of Pilgrim geese but I decided to hold off until sometime in the future. My ducks are fun to watch and they occasionally have other waterfowl visitors drop in for a bite to eat. A Lesser Scaup spent two days with my ducks a few weeks ago. It was fun to watch my big fat ducks with that tiny little Scaup--so cute!

Greyfields - I hear ya! Ducks are awesome! (and so much better behaved than chickens)

DrakeMaiden - I know that ballet you're talking about. I love to see the drakes do their posturing toward each other. There's something so creative and graceful about it all. I am still learning duck body language so I don't know what it all means but it sure is interesting to observe.

chickensducks&agoos - That's funny about your goose! My ducks nibble at the ice in an attempt to get it out of their way. On the warm days it recedes enough that they can feed along the edge and they are happier on those days. They haven't yet figured it out that they can break it easily just by walking on it. Maybe I should get a goose after all!