Hottentot and Ringed Teal Ducks

[HottentotTeal]

It's actually real duck food.

It's the Mazuri maintenance.


Fortunately, it's pretty small. I was afraid it would be too big for them.

The food pieces are just a few times bigger than the little goldfish treats i give them.

Plus, it floats and it turns into something that looks like coco puffs or cookie crisp after about 30 minutes.

 

[KansasKid]

I just have to say, i love your ducks. and as you posted on my aviary thread->
Quote:
I know want some!!!





and my addiction continues.............

 

[KansasKid]

Did you say somewhere that you got yours from mallard lane farms?

 

[HottentotTeal]

Quote:
Yeap.

I think they are out now. Last time i checked for someone, they had a female left.

Also, I know it's a bit late, but I will take a pic of my aviary door tomorrow, so you can see the bolts and stuff i used on it.

 

[HottentotTeal]

I meant to post this door picture in my thread, but at the time, I just posted it in a different thread for KansasKid and figured it was too soon to crosspost it.

Also, it was somewhere between 29- 32 degrees 2 days ago (below freezing for the first time his year) and i didn't even realize it.

It had just rained the night before from the cold front pushing through and i put my tarp on top of the aviary. The water froze over night and was still frozen in the morning when i took it off.

The ducks slept in the pond and it didn't freeze apparently. (even at freezing or just below, it seems to rarely freeze water here)

I checked the weather for the next day (yesterday) and it was going to be even colder, in the lower 20s, so i went ahead and looked up on here and a few people recommended that the ponds be covered, if possible.


Naturally, my 2 ducks love to sleep in the pond and i was afraid they would get stuck in there over night.


I went out and use 2 painted boards that i normally have propped up outside the aviary as a windbreak for them and put both to cover the pond. I put an old sheet over the boards and then put several of my large smooth pineapple sized rocks around the boards and to keep the sheet on top of the boards. Then i also put in a plastic cat litter tub (which i use for carrying the pine needles into the aviary to avoid a mess) into the the aviary and filled it up with pine needles.

They normally don't seem to nest or lay down in the corner where i usually have some pine straw, but they were genuinely curious of the tub and were hopping in and rooting around in the tub. I took the boards off at lunch time, because the freeze is over and it should be in the 40s-50s the rest of the week. They immediately dove into the 45 degree water. I meant to take a few pictures, but i just kept forgetting, mostly because it was pretty cold and my hands were numb from cleaning their pond out earlier that day.

I'll try to take some pics of it next time it freezes.

 

[HottentotTeal]

I had to do some maintenance to the aviary a few weeks ago, so i had the ducks inside for about a week.

It's good to know that now i can move them inside when a hurricane comes!

Amazingly, they didn't get out. I think the space between the bars are just a bit too small for them.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I wouldnt dare think of covering the pond. That's just too risky. They'll be fine. The water wont freeze with them on it, The little bit of movenment they prduce even when sleeping on it is enough to keep it from freezing over. Even with it be a small pond. It will still have to be well below freezing for 12-14 hours to cool it off enough to worry about that.
At that point, it doesnt hurt to put a heat lamp on hottentots, which will keep the pond open too.

They are one of the warmer climate ducks, but mine always handled the low teens here with easy right out in the full open with no shelter.

 

[HottentotTeal]

Been a while since i posted anything in here, so i will update this with 2 little videos that i posted in another thread about beak clicking and head bobbing:

Video 1

Video 2


Note: you will need the DivX codec to view them, because i converted them from their original MOV format to save space. For those wondering about the file size, they are about 2.5 mbs each. Originals were about 50 and 80 each.

You can get the codec at DivX.com if you use Windows Media Player, or i would recommend just getting the VLC Player from videolan.org, which is a universal player and plays just about anything that requires a nonstandard (non-Microsoft) codec(quicktime, Real Player, Divx, etc.).

 

[mckenzie]

Have your hottentots laid any eggs since you have had them?

 

[lschin1]

yeah have you gotten any ducklings from them this spring?