- May 7, 2014
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Hello everyone! My story is pretty long but I will give you the summary. I am a long time animal lover who lives in the suburbs of Dallas. (I need to live on a farm) I have always loved ducks. Just seeing ducks has always made me smile.
They have such personality and the way they walk/waddle is darling! (okay....of course you all know this or you wouldn't be on this forum!)
Anyway....for my birthday this year, my husband decided to surprise me with two baby ducklings. He bought them from the feed store and had no idea what breed or gender they were. They were two days old and to die for! Needless to say, I loved them. We kept them in my bathroom, took great care of them, and they soon began to think I was their mama.
While they were living in the bathroom, we build them a little house in the backyard with a door that could be latched at night. We fenced off a good part of our back yard and got a little baby pool for them to play in. When they were about 4 weeks old, we put them out there and they loved it. They would even go into their little house on their own when it got dark, so all we had to do was go out and latch it.
They are now 7.5 weeks old and I still cannot tell if they are boys/girls or one of each. I think they are blue swedish---am I right? And I know that they aren't good "quality" as they have mottled bibs. (They are perfect to me!) I can't tell by their quacks. One is definitely more vocal (the one with the lighter head), but they both make the same sounds when I am hand feeding them a snack (little mini quacks kinda). I've heard a few real quacks when I first come out of the house to feed them and they hear me coming, but I never see which one is doing it.
By appearance can anyone tell the gender of these guys?
Another question: Neither have a curled tail feather yet, but their tail feathers are quite different looking. One of them has tail feathers that seem to form a point, while the other one's tail feathers are more like a fan. Does that make any sense?
Last question: What is the deal with their beaks? What is the little part that looks like chipped paint almost?
Thanks for listening! I look forward to getting to know all of you!
Beth
Anyway....for my birthday this year, my husband decided to surprise me with two baby ducklings. He bought them from the feed store and had no idea what breed or gender they were. They were two days old and to die for! Needless to say, I loved them. We kept them in my bathroom, took great care of them, and they soon began to think I was their mama.
While they were living in the bathroom, we build them a little house in the backyard with a door that could be latched at night. We fenced off a good part of our back yard and got a little baby pool for them to play in. When they were about 4 weeks old, we put them out there and they loved it. They would even go into their little house on their own when it got dark, so all we had to do was go out and latch it.
They are now 7.5 weeks old and I still cannot tell if they are boys/girls or one of each. I think they are blue swedish---am I right? And I know that they aren't good "quality" as they have mottled bibs. (They are perfect to me!) I can't tell by their quacks. One is definitely more vocal (the one with the lighter head), but they both make the same sounds when I am hand feeding them a snack (little mini quacks kinda). I've heard a few real quacks when I first come out of the house to feed them and they hear me coming, but I never see which one is doing it.
By appearance can anyone tell the gender of these guys?
Another question: Neither have a curled tail feather yet, but their tail feathers are quite different looking. One of them has tail feathers that seem to form a point, while the other one's tail feathers are more like a fan. Does that make any sense?
Last question: What is the deal with their beaks? What is the little part that looks like chipped paint almost?
Thanks for listening! I look forward to getting to know all of you!
Beth
