My Love Affair With Ducks...

[Madhouse Pullet]

Absolutely correct! - For nothing in the world would i abandon Goggle Maps and navigation, but that avalanche of (fake-)news and meaningless communication can go where the sun never shines.

Exactly!! And Google search.

That's the way ducks are! - Even with each other, grown up ducks rarely cuddle or lay close together. - Except for broody ducks and their ducklings.

Well that makes me feel a lot better! I've spent so much time with them, hoping they'll warm up. One thing is for sure, they'll follow me to places of the yard that are unsafe for example.... if I'm in the dog run with the dogs, they will waddle on over to me like it's nothing and I'm freaking out that they sense no danger learned that yesterday

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am the same way. I have a smaller closet than my husband; less clothes all together compared to just his shirts alone. I grew up pretty fortunate, always had what we needed and a lot of what we wanted (within limits). But I never cared for the expensive name brands. My sister on the other hand... she loves her name brands.
I will buy a purse at Walmart for $10 and use it until it falls apart. She will buy at least 2 coach purses that cost well over $400 each (if not more), and they will sit in her closet because she doesn't want to lose their value. But that's her thing, I can respect it if even I don't feel the same way.

The same here: I buy a pair of shoes at Walm@rt and use them until a hole develops in the sole, then i buy the same pair again…
My wife has bought tons of shoes, slippers, flop-flips, whatever footwear, expensive and cheap and in the end she is wearing that one pair of sandals that her feet got used to. She has recently started to sell of the excess on a local flea market, some footwear is still in the original box, never worn.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Exactly!! And Google search.

Well that makes me feel a lot better! I've spent so much time with them, hoping they'll warm up. One thing is for sure, they'll follow me to places of the yard that are unsafe for example.... if I'm in the dog run with the dogs, they will waddle on over to me like it's nothing and I'm freaking out that they sense no danger learned that yesterday

I have to be so careful when i use my electric tiller! - That thing doesn't make much noise (that's why i bought electric!) and the ducks do not understand how dangerous it is for them. Recently i was digging up a new piece of land and threw all the rocks and pebbles i found over the fence in front of the patio - the idea is that all those rocks may come together to form a gravel path - anyways, i was throwing rocks and pebbles when suddenly a softer "thud", followed by an angry "QUACK!" occurred and a duck ran off ranting like a sailor…

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

The same here: I buy a pair of shoes at Walm@rt and use them until a hole develops in the sole, then i by the same pair again…
My wife has bought tons of shoes, slippers, flop-flips, whatever footwear, expensive and cheap and in the end she is wearing that one pair of sandals that her feet got used to. She has recently started to sell of the excess on a local flea market, some footwear is still in the original box, never worn.

sounds a lot like my sister. She will buy a pair of shoes just to match a dress she is going to wear.
I have 7 pairs of shoes. I bought 4 of them... $10 tennis and 3 pairs of flats that are about 7 years old (and look like it). I was always like that as a kid though. My mom says I was 2 years old, fighting her on wearing cute dresses and screaming "I'm not feminenenen!"

I have to be so careful when i use my electric tiller! - That thing doesn't make much noise (that's why i bought electric!) and the ducks do not understand how dangerous it is for them. Recently i was digging up a new piece of land and threw all the rocks and pebbles i found over the fence in front of the patio - the idea is that all those rocks may come together to form a gravel path - anyways, i was throwing rocks and pebbles when suddenly a softer "thud", followed by an angry "QUACK!" occurred and a duck ran off ranting like a sailor…

D'awe!

 

[duluthralphie]

The same here: I buy a pair of shoes at Walm@rt and use them until a hole develops in the sole, then i by the same pair again…
My wife has bought tons of shoes, slippers, flop-flips, whatever footwear, expensive and cheap and in the end she is wearing that one pair of sandals that her feet got used to. She has recently started to sell of the excess on a local flea market, some footwear is still in the original box, never worn.

But what purse to you carry? How many do you have?

 

[jaykayhuff]

The way they are all acting now I swear they are scoping out a nesting site. They LOVE the dog house I made for our ancient catahoula that’s on his last leg, poor boy. He is about to turn 13 and he’s deaf as a door nail. With all this heat he is usually either in the big coop under the poop board or where the ducks stay...because of the fans I have going. That’s why the ducks are looking for another nesting spot I think. They never know if their spot is gonna be occupied or not. I haven’t done anything about him going in their lot honestly because I didn’t think he’d really be here this long. I’m gonna have to think of something to keep him out, but I don’t know what.

My plans are to move the dog house up the hill (currently on my back deck) once Tuff dies. I built it for him so I could provide a heated space for him during the cold. But I obviously built it with something else in mind since I put hinges on one side of the roof so I could raise it. And I put a front porch on it. It really looks like something ducks would live in. I still have not made final plans for the duck area, but I think I’m gonna make something on the hill next to where they are currently located. Right now they are insisting they are hanging out on my deck as evidenced by this picture I just took. View attachment 2259737
They are mucking up the dog water, eating my flowers, and pulling up my lily bulbs and decimating the entire stalk. My poor old girls (chickens) no longer can hang out on the porch. The ducks have definitely taken over.

ETA: I also meant to mention that the feed they’re on is 20%, but I can give them a little cat food too. Their recent behavior prompted me to look up when Ducks begin laying. Most everything I read had a timeline similar to chickens so I thought I had a little bit of time since they are almost 17 weeks old now. I guess I need to go ahead and give them access to oyster shell.

Bwahahaha! They are now out there rattling against my back glass door. (I have a reflective film on the door to help keep the sun and heat out of the house.) When they stand at the door all they can see is themselves and the out of doors.

Back when my boys were free ranging, my momma’s boy, Petrie, would just sit at my back screen door and tap.... and tap.... and tap.... ”Mom, let me in! I know you’re in there!”

 

[jaykayhuff]

My experience is that with one drake on three ducks there are very few issues, everything below is just bad. (I need 15 more ducks, but first have to expand the duck-house, somehow)

Yeah that’s why i was so excited to get rid of some boys and it was sooo peaceful.... but that didn’t last real long. One of my drakes is messed up physically and I’m pretty sure mentally as well so I don’t count him as a drake. He just wants to follow everyone and has no interest in mating. He is strange. So I really only have three drakes now but that is still one too many for what I want.

 

[Mimi13]

I am the same way. I have a smaller closet than my husband; less clothes all together compared to just his shirts alone. I grew up pretty fortunate, always had what we needed and a lot of what we wanted (within limits). But I never cared for the expensive name brands. My sister on the other hand... she loves her name brands.
I will buy a purse at Walmart for $10 and use it until it falls apart. She will buy at least 2 coach purses that cost well over $400 each (if not more), and they will sit in her closet because she doesn't want to lose their value. But that's her thing, I can respect it if even I don't feel the same way.

I grew up very similar to you. I was an only child and usually got anything I wanted, within reason of course. However, I wasn’t one of those kids who asked for everything under the sun...and, I took care of what I had! Now, especially since I don’t work, my closet consists of the bare minimum.

Jump ahead to my kids — and a completely different time — in high school, both boys had to wear Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, yada, yada, yada! Now that they have kids of their own I believe they purchase their kids’ clothes at Wally World or second hand.

I wish I had all that money back that I spent on their clothes...I could buy a bunch more chickens!

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

I grew up very similar to you. I was an only child and usually got anything I wanted, within reason of course. However, I wasn’t one of those kids who asked for everything under the sun...and, I took care of what I had! Now, especially since I don’t work, my closet consists of the bare minimum.

Jump ahead to my kids — and a completely different time — in high school, both boys had to wear Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, yada, yada, yada! Now that they have kids of their own I believe they purchase their kids’ clothes at Wally World or second hand.

I wish I had all that money back that I spent on their clothes...I could buy a bunch more chickens!

Omgoodness and in high school, brand matters. I was made fun of for wearing Airwalks from the flea market and I'm like "shoes are shoes" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lol at least more chickens would probably benefit more.

 

[Mimi13]

Exactly!! And Google search.

Well that makes me feel a lot better! I've spent so much time with them, hoping they'll warm up. One thing is for sure, they'll follow me to places of the yard that are unsafe for example.... if I'm in the dog run with the dogs, they will waddle on over to me like it's nothing and I'm freaking out that they sense no danger learned that yesterday

This afternoon when Ralphie was following me and weaving in and out of my legs (he’s gonna trip me up one of these days) I bent over and scooped him up, then sat down up in the chicken yard with him. He wasn’t thrilled to begin with, but I just kept on petting and hugging and kissing and talking to him. He tolerated it, so to speak, for about 10 minutes and the SQUIRT! Yep, he let out a big old juicy one. Shorts only this time, thank goodness. I should have known better.