My Love Affair With Ducks...

[TJAnonymous]

Mine do the same they absolutely love digging in the mud when I dump my pool. That one looks pretty nice, how solid are the sides of it? They kinda look like just fabric

It's a heavy mil vinyl that is segmented with a thick MDF type board inside. It helps give the sides some stiffness so they don't "fold over" if pushed on from the outside like you might see with some kiddie pools. I put a tarp under mine since I had some stout woody weeds I had cut down and I didn't want it to puncture the bottom.... But I haven't had any problems with leaks or anything. The pool has made it 8+ months so far like a champ. I fill mine about 9-10 inches deep. Enough to cover the top of the concrete block I have on the inside to help them climb out....

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I bought the two kiddie pools for the duckies in September 2018 at KMart for just $5 each. They wanted to get rid of them b/c the "season is over".

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

This thread is very interesting! I just wanted to share a pic of my boy.
View attachment 2466906

Bali or crested Pekin?

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Bali or crested Pekin?

White Crested

 

[Mimi13]

This thread is very interesting! I just wanted to share a pic of my boy.
View attachment 2466906

I love him. I have read that crested birds could possibly have skull problems. Is that true? Have you noticed anything?

 

[Mimi13]

I bought this 63" pool from Amazon for my ducks this summer. I did have to use concrete blocks to make steps so they could get in and out of it, but my ducks LOVE their pool... Of course I think ducks love ANY pool. But I do like that it has a drain plug which makes cleaning it much easier. The ducks also love when I drain the water.... They play in it while I refill the pool and then they all jump in the clean water so they can dirty it up from the mud from the drained water.....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PXKQ1BN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_kHP6FbJANH64M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Mine do exactly the same thing. And clean water is always an invitation for uh, you know!

About your pool, I love it! How sturdy is it? Are the walls squishy, or padded I guess is the better description?

ETA: Sorry. I should have read farther before asking about the pool. You don’t have to answer again.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I worry about my crested hen. I didn't want crested but adopted a crested drake. He was a very accomplished rapist and I had to rehome him. But I ended up with one of his chicks.

 

[Mimi13]

I bought the two kiddie pools for the duckies in September 2018 at KMart for just $5 each. They wanted to get rid of them b/c the "season is over".

Here, those little pools don’t even last the entire season. The stores are out of them right after July 4th, if they make it that long.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

I love him. I have read that crested birds could possibly have skull problems. Is that true? Have you noticed anything?

It is true. It’s mostly when they are developing in the egg. Most of them don’t hatch because there skull grows in the wrong spot. It there brain grows in the wrong spot, I forgot which one. I haven’t noticed anything besides one of his eyes are VERY small. It’s just a deformity.

 

[Mimi13]

I worry about my crested hen. I didn't want crested but adopted a crested drake. He was a very accomplished rapist and I had to rehome him. But I ended up with one of his chicks.

That is so sad. My Ralphie Dux is very nice to the girls. They are actually rougher on each other than I’ve ever seen him be.

However, on the chicken side of my feathered friends, I hate to see the up and coming cockerel, Dooley, now 8 mos, trying to catch one of my still-molting hens late in the day before going to roost. And then, my poor sweetheart of a roo, Rusty, now 2 yrs, trying to mate. For some reason, his left leg has tremors, like Parkinson’s, which I guess is what is hindering him from a successful and quick, mating! He tries to make the connection and obviously he knows he didn’t get the job done, so he will continue to stand on my poor hens until he can muster up another shot. If I’m anywhere around and see this, I will escort him off. I feel sorry for the girls as he is way too heavy to just stand on their wings.