DucksBySurprise
Chirping
Hi, I'm Courtney. My username is DucksBySurprise because that's exactly how I got into being a duck owner. My daughter came home one day from a trip to Tractor Supply. She had tears in her eyes and a small box in her hands. As I looked inside the box, she began to tell me the story: "There were all these ducklings in an enclosure and they were so cute!" I was looking at them all and playing with them when I saw three little brown ducklings that were getting stepped on and sort of trampled by all the other ones. I scooped them up as fast as I could and started drying them and warming them up. I found a store employee and showed her the ducklings and told her they were getting trampled. She told me that she would put them in the back, but I didn't know what she meant by that so I must've given her a funny look. She looked at me and asked, "Do you want them? You can just have them." So of course I said I wanted them! I was afraid she was going to just throw them in the garbage!!"
So I look in the box to see these three tiny little Khaki Campbell ducklings, one was on her side and I was sure she was already dead, but they were all fine, and adorable!! I'm a dog, cat, fish, hamster owner. I don't know anything about owning a duck! To try to shorten this long story, we pulled out a bin and got ready to raise some baby ducklings. Amazingly, all three were girls!! We raised them, loved them, built them a coop and have been enjoying them for the past 2 years.
Of course there have been lots of things that we have dealt with over the past 2 years. While our Campbells were growing up and getting bigger by the minute, we also get a 4th addition to the group: a Muscovy duckling that had a problem with her legs. She was only about 6 weeks older than the Campbells so we added her to the bin of babies, and she was right at home. She snuggled up with the younger ones and they loved her as if she was a mom. Everything was fine for a year or so until Mocha, one of the Khaki's got bumblefoot. I of course took her to the vet and had her on antibiotics and was sure to throw away any eggs she laid, etc, etc, etc. Not long after that noticed that Quacker, my muscovy female, just didn't seem to be doing well. She didn't seem to be thriving like the Khaki Campbells were. (Quacker is my "differently abled" duck - she is severely "pigeon toed" - and I am so sorry if that term offends anyone!) I brought her inside, gave her a long bath and looked her over. Again, she just didn't look like she was thriving, so I moved her inside and gave her a lot of love and special attention. We moved her coop into our basement eventually, and took her out of the bin, but not until she had made a huge improvement!! Last Spring she graduated to being in her coop in the garage with the Kahaki's. (The 4 girls spend all day together, but Quacker gets her own coop at night. We discovered that the Khaki's were sort of picking on her, and it was better to keep her safe than socialized 24 hours a day).
About a month ago, one of the Khaki Campbells was attacked and by a hawk. I scared the hawk away, grabbed Mocha, threw the other girls, Jane and Lucy, into the coop and immediately brought Mocha in and started looking her over. It was bad. It was really bad, and I knew it. My husband, the greatest in the world, rushed home from work and we rushed Mocha to our emergency vet. She had multiple puncture wounds, and her chest and belly were slowly filling up with air. We had to put her to sleep.
Our flock is now down to 3 females. Two Khaki's and one Muscovy, Jane, Lucy, and Quacker. They have been a challenge, sometimes a struggle, but always fun!
So I look in the box to see these three tiny little Khaki Campbell ducklings, one was on her side and I was sure she was already dead, but they were all fine, and adorable!! I'm a dog, cat, fish, hamster owner. I don't know anything about owning a duck! To try to shorten this long story, we pulled out a bin and got ready to raise some baby ducklings. Amazingly, all three were girls!! We raised them, loved them, built them a coop and have been enjoying them for the past 2 years.
Of course there have been lots of things that we have dealt with over the past 2 years. While our Campbells were growing up and getting bigger by the minute, we also get a 4th addition to the group: a Muscovy duckling that had a problem with her legs. She was only about 6 weeks older than the Campbells so we added her to the bin of babies, and she was right at home. She snuggled up with the younger ones and they loved her as if she was a mom. Everything was fine for a year or so until Mocha, one of the Khaki's got bumblefoot. I of course took her to the vet and had her on antibiotics and was sure to throw away any eggs she laid, etc, etc, etc. Not long after that noticed that Quacker, my muscovy female, just didn't seem to be doing well. She didn't seem to be thriving like the Khaki Campbells were. (Quacker is my "differently abled" duck - she is severely "pigeon toed" - and I am so sorry if that term offends anyone!) I brought her inside, gave her a long bath and looked her over. Again, she just didn't look like she was thriving, so I moved her inside and gave her a lot of love and special attention. We moved her coop into our basement eventually, and took her out of the bin, but not until she had made a huge improvement!! Last Spring she graduated to being in her coop in the garage with the Kahaki's. (The 4 girls spend all day together, but Quacker gets her own coop at night. We discovered that the Khaki's were sort of picking on her, and it was better to keep her safe than socialized 24 hours a day).
About a month ago, one of the Khaki Campbells was attacked and by a hawk. I scared the hawk away, grabbed Mocha, threw the other girls, Jane and Lucy, into the coop and immediately brought Mocha in and started looking her over. It was bad. It was really bad, and I knew it. My husband, the greatest in the world, rushed home from work and we rushed Mocha to our emergency vet. She had multiple puncture wounds, and her chest and belly were slowly filling up with air. We had to put her to sleep.
Our flock is now down to 3 females. Two Khaki's and one Muscovy, Jane, Lucy, and Quacker. They have been a challenge, sometimes a struggle, but always fun!
Welcome!
I am so very sorry you lost Mocha 
to have you join the family. Enjoy your time here at BYC! 
