- Mar 4, 2012
- 103
- 10
- 91
Even though the literature states that Pekin ducks don’t brood I have one here that did not read that pamphlet. Even odder is that the pekin is sharing a nest with one of the muscovie ducks. The Pekin had the nest first but a couple days in to sitting the Muscovy decided to join her....they are both sharing a 1/4 blue barrel. They sit on the eggs each on half and while it is a tight squeeze they seem fine with the arrangement. The nest boxes are inside their spacious duck house.
So yesterday after finishing lunch I walk outside and decide to go check on the ducks in the duck house just to see that all is still well. There are those two sharing a nest plus another duck sitting on a nest and two nests that are almost full of eggs but nobody has claimed yet. I walk around the corner peering in to the shaded semi dark duck house somewhat blinded still by the bright Florida sun and I see the pekin duck flat on the ground sprawled out in front of it's nest....neck out straight on the ground mouth agape and figured she had died......then I see movement not of her but of the 5 foot rat snake that has the tail end of it’s body, maybe the last foot of it’s body twisted 3 times around her neck right behind her head while the other end of the snake is 4 feet away with it’s head inside the nest. I grab the snake quick from the duck and she gets up staggers a bit and falls gets up staggers and falls again then starts quacking so loud it is deafening.
This snake had a clipped tail tip which is what I do when I take the snakes a mile away and release them. So now I see the error in that system and there will be no more releasing of rat snakes. Now the duck that was co-nesting with her was not there so she must have been out feeding at the time or had run off but appears the Pekin tried to fight off the snake. I’m sure the snake would have killed her.....not that he could eat her but it sure wanted the eggs and by the look of the Pekin she was about done.
After throwing a fit and screaming her fool head off for 20 minutes and riling up the entire flock she calmed down and went right back to the nest and seems just fine.
So yesterday after finishing lunch I walk outside and decide to go check on the ducks in the duck house just to see that all is still well. There are those two sharing a nest plus another duck sitting on a nest and two nests that are almost full of eggs but nobody has claimed yet. I walk around the corner peering in to the shaded semi dark duck house somewhat blinded still by the bright Florida sun and I see the pekin duck flat on the ground sprawled out in front of it's nest....neck out straight on the ground mouth agape and figured she had died......then I see movement not of her but of the 5 foot rat snake that has the tail end of it’s body, maybe the last foot of it’s body twisted 3 times around her neck right behind her head while the other end of the snake is 4 feet away with it’s head inside the nest. I grab the snake quick from the duck and she gets up staggers a bit and falls gets up staggers and falls again then starts quacking so loud it is deafening.
This snake had a clipped tail tip which is what I do when I take the snakes a mile away and release them. So now I see the error in that system and there will be no more releasing of rat snakes. Now the duck that was co-nesting with her was not there so she must have been out feeding at the time or had run off but appears the Pekin tried to fight off the snake. I’m sure the snake would have killed her.....not that he could eat her but it sure wanted the eggs and by the look of the Pekin she was about done.
After throwing a fit and screaming her fool head off for 20 minutes and riling up the entire flock she calmed down and went right back to the nest and seems just fine.
I wouldnt release the snakes after this either.
