My Love Affair With Ducks...

[duluthralphie]

My birds are undermining my shed on the south side. I need to dump fill in the spot. But I want to do a little repairs to the building, now that they dug the footings up..

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I decided to do the dirty...and let my ducklings play in the dirt. There were all kinds of creepy crawlers in the clump of grass, weeds, roots, and Lord knows what all.

I dug up a big wad of grass in the pasture for the babies. This grass was so tough the poor babies couldn’t even begin to eat it.

All of them thoroughly enjoyed playing Where The Wild Things Are.

It wasn’t long before a long skinny, wiggly thing was discovered. They knew they were supposed to eat it, but how? The poor Worm Was Passed Around Like An STD! Finally Hershey was the winner...and slurped it up like spaghetti!

Finally, as all were getting nasty dirty, I saw Petey And The Beetle.

Of course they could not go back into the brooder as nasty as they were, so into the bath they went. Talk about tuckered out. They absolutely let me know when they wanted out. I dried them each and put them back into the brooder. They didn’t preen for very long. Instead, they opted for snooze time. Of course they were doll babies. Peaches’ crop was so heavy it almost pulled her off the side of the heat plate. View attachment 2079616

I couldn’t not post my beautiful Climatis flowers and Azalea. I’m sure the petals will be washed away by the impending rain. But so it is! Enjoy the colors. View attachment 2079615

So after Petey successfully managed the beatle, you can start giving her larger prey, a large snail, small toad, lizard, until she becomes another mouse-trap on legs, like Blanca and Earthquack Duck.
Nice flowers! We are far away from having tose here in WV. I always enjoyed the early spring in Houston, it'll need another 4-6 weeks here…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Nope, it was his first day in the big coop..

The other guys did not like him.

That's the difference between dux and xickens: Dux are peaceful, welcoming beings, simply the bright side!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I brought in a big old chunk of earth, but it was covered with vegetation on top so I turned it over to expose the dirt, creepy crawlers, roots and such. They never did ‘drill’ in it and I wondered why. They just picked at it. And had fun doing it.

Our outside field trips are postponed a few days due to weather, but they are still getting the tubby time. (Sounds like the new thing -tummy time- parents have to do with newborns now that they can’t sleep on their bellies.)

When we’ve had field trips to the yard they really didn’t do anything other than the usual eat-sleep-poop, rinse-repeat. They picked a little at the grass and stared at things flying over, which was cute to watch. Duckling expression is way cuter than chick expression, IMO anyway.

Does the dirt need to be wet in order for them to drill?

Try a field trip after a shower and you will see little roughnecks drilling for oil…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

They just need to be older for drilling.

Nope! - Katharinas ducklings were drilling on day five or six after experiencing their first shower under momma. After that it was drill baby, drill! - Momma duck was so proud of those little holes!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The best is when two or three drill in the same hole. The worst is when your yard is full of holes.

And the very best is when they start joining multiple holes together, after a shower to create a mud pit…

 

[Mimi13]

My birds are undermining my shed on the south side. I need to dump fill in the spot. But I want to do a little repairs to the building, now that they dug the footings up..

They do tend to be excellent helpers.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Another thing I’ve noticed regarding ducks and water. Sometimes, not always though, they seem to ‘smack at’ the water causing it to squirt out the rear sides of their bills. It makes a funny sound. It reminds me of when we clamp our hands together and place them right on top of the water (when we are in a pool) and squeeze them together making water shoot straight up. Hopefully that description was understandable. Anyway, it’s funny when the ducklings get that into the whole water experience.

They do that to clean out their nostrils. And yes it is simply cute! After raiding the compost there is a line of 4-5 ducks to both sides of my waterer all polishing their bills…
… and clogging the drain valve!

 

[Mimi13]

So after Petey successfully managed the beatle, you can start giving her larger prey, a large snail, small toad, lizard, until she becomes another mouse-trap on legs, like Blanca and Earthquack Duck.
Nice flowers! We are far away from having tose here in WV. I always enjoyed the early spring in Houston, it'll need another 4-6 weeks here…

Noooo, no frogs yet. That’s the equivalent of drinking an adult beverage at 10 years old. She’s still a baby!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My birds are undermining my shed on the south side. I need to dump fill in the spot. But I want to do a little repairs to the building, now that they dug the footings up..

Careful! That is an attempt of the dark side xickens to get rid of their master! Once you start working on the building they will scratch the last support away and… poor Ralphie!