My Love Affair With Ducks...

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Breaking News . . . . . . . .

Petey is the duck that laid the green egg (remember this phrase) yesterday, because this morning when I got up to take care of her and let all the other crazy creatures out, there was a little greenish egg in the cage with her. She was the culprit after all @WannaBeHillBilly! You called it.

After I fed her some pea and corn ‘soup’ I took her up to the duck lot to put her in the pool, to clean up and get a little water therapy. I kept Romeo Ralphie away from her, bless her heart. I mean, it’s enough having a pain in her foot. She sure doesn’t need a pain her a$$ too! I thought she would enjoy seeing the others, and them, her.

So, the big and brawny, loud mouthed Petey has shown me her other, much softer side. She literally laid in my lap this morning for, oh, about an hour. I just sat there and rocked slowly (I always do this) and rubbed Arnicare Gel, a homeopathic medicine for muscle pain & stiffness, swelling from injuries and bruising, on her leg and then petted her the entire time. She never went to sleep, but she did rest.

Then, when DH woke up and came in the den where we were, I was so anxious to tell him that Petey was the duck that laid the green egg. To which he responded, “Too bad we didn’t get the duck that laid the golden egg!” And then I replied, “Honey, that was a goose. It was a goose that laid the golden egg! Duh!”

I just thought that was a bit funny.

Anyway, I put her back in the crate and fixed us, (DH, me and Petey) some scrambled eggs. She seems comfortable and happy.

My fingers are crossed that the swelling goes down and she gets better very quickly. I am going to call the vet in the morning to see if I can get a dosage amount of Meloxicam for her.

She has been a very good keeper so far in the house. Here she is in her cage snoozing. She props her bill up on her Paw Patrol water bucket. I know this isn’t the best picture, but if I had tried to move to get a better shot, her beady eyes would have locked dead on me.
View attachment 2273469

In addition to her food and water, she does have grit and oyster shell in her cage.

I love that bucket!!!

 

[Mimi13]

Yes

That noise Petey is making in the video should alert you! - I call it the quack of pleasure! And usually it means something really bad for you is going on, like they have found the entrance to the tomato patch and are lustfully devouring your tomato plants, replace tomato with salad, strawberries, zucchini and …
Whenever i hear a duck making this sound i run out of the house as fast as i can! If i'm lucky they have found just an ant-nest…
I bet another dozen of my duck's eggs that Petey will go broody next spring and this corner will be her duck-burg.

And pool-eggs? Boring!!! I had roll-down-the-hill eggs smashing against the house, rotten egg under the patio, an egg in the waterer, an egg at the bottom of the steps (almost crushed it!) and wait if you get those really poopy eggs after a good day of foraging plenty of insects…
You will develop a steel-stomach within the next year or so…

So, what I gather from this is, ducks will not give me the nice clean eggs I get from the majority of my chickens. Just like the one I got this morning was laid in the mucky spot right next to their water bucket.

Ninety percent or better of my chicken eggs I keep right on the counter and also sell them that way. No washing, no refrigeration. I don’t guess I’ll be so lucky with the ducks.

And, why in the world can’t they lay in a nest? Why do they make it so hard on the poor keepers?

Oh, and say it ain’t so! I want NO broody ducks! No, none, zilch, zero!

 

[duluthralphie]

So, what I gather from this is, ducks will not give me the nice clean eggs I get from the majority of my chickens. Just like the one I got this morning was laid in the mucky spot right next to their water bucket.

Ninety percent or better of my chicken eggs I keep right on the counter and also sell them that way. No washing, no refrigeration. I don’t guess I’ll be so lucky with the ducks.

And, why in the world can’t they lay in a nest? Why do they make it so hard on the poor keepers?

Oh, and say it ain’t so! I want NO broody ducks! No, none, zilch, zero!

I have told you over and over why.....

dux are evil!

 

[Mimi13]

I love that bucket!!!

Don’t cha now! That is my grandson’s Paw Patrol bucket that I snatched.

Funny story. That cage was purchased many years ago for one of our little heelers. It has been used for many things over the past 7-8 years, but the past 2 years it has served me well as a broody breaker. I added a 1/2” hardware cloth bottom to it and set it up on 4x4’s to keep it off the ground to allow air to pass underneath. I told myself last Saturday afternoon that as soon as I take it out of the chicken run I would have another broody pop up. And I was partially right...I had TWO broodies pop up. Dad gum birds!

 

[Mimi13]

I have told you over and over why.....

dux are evil!

I knew you were gonna respond to that post. I just knew it.

 

[duluthralphie]

I knew you were gonna respond to that post. I just knew it.

Your a psychic!!

 

[Mimi13]

Your a psychic!!

I wish. I’d go buy some lottery tickets!

 

[duluthralphie]

I wish. I’d go buy some lottery tickets!

Pick up one for me too.

 

[Mimi13]

So, I was out there refilling the pool a little earlier and hurried and started videoing once I saw Ralphie was gonna whip out his dangling participle! Poor Petey, she ain’t nothing but a surfboard.

Haha!

 

[Mimi13]

Pick up one for me too.

I would, but my luck with lottery tickets is about as good as my luck with trying to hatch out pullets. It sucks!!!!!