My First Ducks Ever Are Hatching!

[Soon2BChixMom]

@DyingPhoenix how are the muscovy babies doing?

 

[DyingPhoenix]

Hey! Sorry about the delay. I had a busy weekend. I lost the little one with the odd belly. It wouldn't eat.

However, the rest of the troop are flourishing. The little dark one is still the sweet one who's slower and smaller than the rest. The smaller barred is very talkative and VERY zoomy! The larger barred is the first to run after me and the lavender is the professional hunter. That one is often most creeping through the grass, obsessed with catching prey lol. Sometimes it doesn't pay attention to just how far it gets and then comes running back full throttle.

Pics are hard to get as they are really running all over. They have things to do, after all!

Things like splashing!

And bug hunting.

Mingling with noisy, weird chickens who act like they're never fed in their own coop.

The latest gossip must also be shared!

It was probably about a plan to try and ruin every picture!

Ahhh, ignore the camera!

You little heathens!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

So sweet!
Sorry about the loss of the little one.

 

[MaxwellHouse]

They are too cute.

 

[Julie Birb]

Hey! Sorry about the delay. I had a busy weekend. I lost the little one with the odd belly. It wouldn't eat.

However, the rest of the troop are flourishing. The little dark one is still the sweet one who's slower and smaller than the rest. The smaller barred is very talkative and VERY zoomy! The larger barred is the first to run after me and the lavender is the professional hunter. That one is often most creeping through the grass, obsessed with catching prey lol. Sometimes it doesn't pay attention to just how far it gets and then comes running back full throttle.

Pics are hard to get as they are really running all over. They have things to do, after all!

Things like splashing!
View attachment 1453409

And bug hunting.
View attachment 1453410

Mingling with noisy, weird chickens who act like they're never fed in their own coop.
View attachment 1453411

The latest gossip must also be shared!
View attachment 1453413

It was probably about a plan to try and ruin every picture!
View attachment 1453422

Ahhh, ignore the camera!
View attachment 1453426

You little heathens!
View attachment 1453428

EEEEEEEEE! Cute. Adorable!! Awesome captions. Love and love some more.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

Thanks everyone!

I've been trying to pay close attention to their body language. Since I haven't been around many ducks, this is all new to me. Animal body language is super interesting anyway, so this is a great chance to study them.

There's a couple things I noticed. And maybe someone can flesh it out a little more on muscovy talk but the first thing I took note of was with the lavender duckling. The way it interacts with the chickens. The little one begins to move slow and deliberate. It opens it's bill in a sort of a panting motion, but no sounds come out, and it stares hard up at them. None of the other babies do this at all! I actually got it on video once. Marshmallow stood there and had a stare off while it did it before finally caving and turned tail. I can't tell if that's bravery, or fear lol. Or what it is at all.

Don't worry about Marshmallow. I know it looks like she could roll heads, but she's just a big doofus.

Another couple of things. The head bobbing Is that a muscovy greeting? Mine do that when they first see me.

The last is the lavender and how enthusiastic it seems. The happy trilling it does intensifies and gets downright loud, bill open, head bobs sometimes but mostly just looking at me.

My voice seems to really get it ramped, especially if I act excited or if we've been apart and I come back, orrr... if it's been bug hunting and comes running back from a distance.

It kind of seems like a noisy celebration of sorts. This one does it a ton! I always have to laugh, it's so dang cute I can't stand it. I worry it needs something though, like it's hungry when it does this. It also shows this behavior on a lesser scale when it's just set down in the grass to hunt or when I put food in front of it. None of the others do this to this degree.

I also have to say this is the first one to hatch and is super attached to me, and me to it! I wish I knew the genders because the no name thing sucks!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

It is all normal. The duckling in the video is wanting to tell the chicken to move so that it can get some food. It was having a stare down.
The head bobobbing, peeping, and thrilling are all good. Watch some vids of muscovies.
When they are scared or alert, the feathers on the back of their head stand up - like a fan.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

Hah! So my little lavender is a brave little toaster. Trying to tell that giant chicken to back off. I thought that's what it might have been, but thought, surely not, the little guy is so small he wouldn't dare! No wonder the others don't do that lol.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Hah! So my little lavender is a brave little toaster. Trying to tell that giant chicken to back off. I thought that's what it might have been, but thought, surely not, the little guy is so small he wouldn't dare! No wonder the others don't do that lol.

They are pretty bold little things when they want to be. Obviously it doesn't fear the chicken.

 

[Lil Drake40]

Great pics they are adorable