Hottentot and Ringed Teal Ducks

[HottentotTeal]

Quote:
Thank you for posting love_a_duck!


I think i overdid a lot of stuff, but i figured it's better to overdo something than not.


I have a picture of the aviary before i put them in that i took at night, so it's not a really good picture. I will try to take one later tomorrow afternoon and post it, so you can see the whole thing.



Quote:
Yes, they were a lot smaller than I thought for some reason. I kept thinking they would be about the size of a large dove, but kept telling myself, no they will still be a bit bigger.

I think the viewing distance from the zoo exhibit makes them look larger than what they are, too.


Now if i can only get them to eat so they don't starve to death! I put about 10 warmed peas in a small bowl along with a bowl of their regular feed in there.

I don't have their little shed built, so i just put the pet taxi/carrier in there and put the bowl of food in the pet taxi because if it rains, it will just get the food wet.

I put the small food bowl with peas over by the pond where they were sitting on the "shore," so maybe they might eat some of those too.


For now, they are just floating in the pond.


If they eat a few peas, do they need grit for that?

At TSC, they had some crushed granite grit. It looks kinda large, though. I didn't put any in there yet (grit). They looked like they were chicklet size (the gum) and i thought they would be more like nerd candy-sized.

Also, how long could i leave the peas out if they don't eat them?

I just put them out about 20 minutes ago and i figured i would go in and remove the bowl of peas before i go to sleep in a little while.



Also, when i drove up to pick up the ducks, Jamie said she could sell me a bag of feed, so i got a bag. It looks like poultry feed and she said it is about 17% protein.

I think i recall reading that sometimes people supplement poultry feed with grains, but i don't know how that works or if it would be required with the bag she sold me. She also mentioned that she also gives ducks grains, but i forgot to ask if that was a requirement when using that type of feed.


Are the grains like oatmeal oats or something or are these grains you would have to go buy at an animal feed store? I'm not really sure where to look for grains at that level, because most of those types of feed stores are nowhere near to be seen in the city.

 

[HottentotTeal]

Quote:
Hold out your hand. that is about the length of their main body. I think they are the size of a White-winged Dove.

I'll try to take some better scaled pics tomorrow.

The food dishes are kinda large and so is the 5-gallon self-waterer that i put in there, so it's a little hard to use those as a reference as well. I think the food dishes are about 3" high, though.

In one of the pics where you can see a better view of the sight barrier behind them, that is composed of (2) 2'x12" boards, so the first board line where they meet is 12 inches, roughly. I raised the dirt a little at the boards, so they are still under a foot high for sure. They don't have the same body as some of the taller/slender ducks i have seen on here like Nettie's.

 

[love_a_duck]

Wow!
that is much smaller than I thought.
they are petite and unique.
i like that.

and yeah, i am right there with you on overdoing stuff.
sigh.....

what can ya do though?
give it all to the ducks!

 

[1lpoock]

Congrats thats soo exciting that you finally got them! Aren't you happy you did all this planning, look what it payed off with! I hope they do well and give you some babies next spring!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yep, they are the smallest duck in the world, about 5-6 inches long.
As for the feed ratio, it has everything in it you'll need, it is made of grains anyway. As for the peas, I have never given any to any of them, but wont hurt, if they'll eat them.
The whole grains can be anything, corn, wheat, rye, soybeans, etc, yes bought at feed stores. I only give whole grains in the winter as they put on more fat than anything for them.
As for grit, you dont need any, they are walking on it, dirt. That's all grit is anyway, they'll get what they need from there.
once they settle down, they'll start eating well, usually 24 hours or so, just keep trips into the pen at a minimum for now till they get use to everything and you'll be fine.
Congrats again

 

[HottentotTeal]

Hi 1lpoock, yes i am so glad we took our time with everything, although i was running out of patience at the end since it was taking so long to get everything set up.


I took vacation for the rest of the week, so i am going to go get some supplies for the aviary. I need some more rocks and a few other things. I am going to put in a small path of pebbles so i can minimize the foot traffic on their dirt/mud.


Thanks for the tip Boggy. Sadly, it seems the only ones who ate the peas were some ants. I quickly took the little bowl of peas out about an hour later.


They are so tiny and cute. I still can't believe i have my own little zoo exhibit!

When my wife gets home, I will try to take a good picture of the interior. I will need her to watch the door, so they don't fly out. They usually just go to the opposite end of the aviary though.

I filled up my 5 gallon waterer yesterday around 11am. Is it ok to just leave it alone for today and not change it? I want to minimize disturbing them and don't know if it would be ok to just leave the water alone for 2 days.

I already disturbed them enough yesterday when i was trying to set up a few things in there for them.

 

[HottentotTeal]

Ok, I got just about everything i needed from the stores today, but am now thinking I should put in a pump and filter system to keep it clean.

Home depot carries a pump filter brand called Total Pond.

They have all sorts of pumps and filters.

Any advice is appreciated, because I have no idea about filters and pumps.

Money isn't an option and I don't mind overdoing it. In fact, with what i picked out so far, I am pretty sure it is way more than enough.



I have about a 50 Gallon pond. The Total Pond site recommended one of their pumps/filters that can handle at least half that per hour.

Here is what i am looking at:





Filter:

http://www.totalpond.com/?q=node/24

They sell 2 that i was looking at


Pressure Filter up to 1200 Gallons Per Hour with UV filter
uses 3/4" or 1" ID tubing connectors

Pressure Filter up to 850 Gallons Per Hour (No UV filter)
uses 3/4" or 1" ID tubing connectors

These both use mechanical and biological filtering mechanisms which really appealed to me.


Pump:

http://www.totalpond.com/?q=node/20

560 Gallons Per Hour Pond Pump
They sell smaller ones, but the smaller ones have 1/2" ID Tubing connectors


I think the smallest pump they have will work:
40-70 GPH Fountain Pump * Note it says Fountain Pump, so I guess it works a little differently than the 560 Gallon one.



Tubing:

1", 3/4", 1/4" etc. To make things easy, i could go with 3/4".





Now, I really don't know anything about the pumps and filters, but it's obviously way more than i need. My question is would this turn the small pond into a undertow death trap for them or anything like that?

I don't know how powerful the pump and filter would be for such a small space.


The Pond I set up for them is just a thick and hard Rubbermaid Tub I bought from Tractor Supply. It's about 3 feet wide and 5 feet in legth and oval shaped or Rectangular but just with 2 rounded edges lengthwise.

The water depth is probably over a foot. I don't know how much exactly, but i can measure if need be.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

as for changing the water, now worries whith that, as long as it's not smelly or green, you'll be fine, they guys live in swamps in Madagascar so they arent to finicky
The pump sounds fine. I always used pool snad filter's and pumps but we 're talking 10's of thousands of gallons in mine. No undertows should be a problem with this one.
Think you will be just fine, could even go to a smaller modle if you'd like.

Dint think they'd eat the peas, but had never tried it, and yep that kind of stuff is an ant magnet, do watch them a bunch at once can be a problem , I have had the eat the feet clean off them before. Dont panic about this though, very rare, just keep the ant hills down in your yard and you'll be fine

 

[HottentotTeal]

Ok, thanks for letting me know.

I went to the petco store and bought 10 small crickets, some goldfish pellets, and some cracked corn. I put a small spoon of it in with the feed to give them a mixture and see if they will eat anything.
From what I read, I really shouldn't give them this regularly, especially not unless it's winter and that other grains would be better, but until I can go hunting around at a feed store or until they will start eating again, I figured 1 spoon wouldn't hurt my chances of luring them to the bowl.

I also made sure to put the bowl in a spot right by the pond where they always rest.


Previously, I had to put a small bowl in the pet taxi and they never went near it after we let them out. They only go up there to perch if i walk in the cage.


They ate a few of the goldfish pellets already, so it looks like they have an appetite. I also put the food dish under some cover, so it shouldn't get wet for quite some time. I can go collect it later tonight.


As promised, here is a daytime pic of the inside. there is about 2 more feet below the pic and it's mostly sand/dirt. I put down some tiny moon river pebbles over some folded landscape fabric there by the door, because it gets too muddy when i walk in and out.


All the plants are lined with landscape fabric and so is the pond, that way the rocks and pebbles will not sink into the mud. I learned this thehard way when i originally put the tiny moon river pebbles all around the cage a few days before. They started sinking in the dirt and it was suggested that i pull them all out and coat the dirt floor perimeter with landscape fabric to prevent that. Working pretty good so far.

I also finished the front door area outside with more pebbles and ledge stones, but forgot to take a pic of that. I'll take one later tomorrow, because i disturbed the ducks enough for today.

I had to rotate the pic, so i hope the forum lets me post it. the dimensions are the same, just reversed. If not, i will repost it and you may have to turn your head 90 degrees to see it.

 

[sianara]

Congrats!!!

I've been following this thread from the beginning and was so happy to finally see that you got your pair. They are very cute.

Please, please, please

keep us updated from time to time on how they are settling in - especially when they have babies!

You did a wonderful job with your aviary. I especially like the grass near the pond, nice touch. I enjoyed seeing how you laid out all the materials for us to view. Very concise (loved the coins

)

I can feel your excitement. I felt the same way last fall when I finally got my australian spotted pair.

So again, congrats. Enjoy your birds, ducks are a wonderful thing.

(P.S. I love all my chickens but I REALLY LOVE my ducks!)