Hi there everyone, I have decided to join after getting some great tips from here over the last five weeks!
My life changed five weeks ago when on a cliff/rock jumping/climbing trip to the beach resulted in a very tiny mallard duckling abandoned at the bottom of a cliff with hungry sea gulls all around!
After an extensive search resulting in no other ducks we took him home, Estimated age was about 1-2 days old how he got there is any ones guess! Luckily I have always loved ducks but never kept any so after Internet research resulted in 'duckie needs company' the search was on to find a 'friend' for little 'Rocky' After endless phone calls I tracked down someone with week old ducklings told her I wanted one to be told she had two so what could I do! Then there were three!
The two newbies are call ducks and have been named Smudge as he looks like he's been playing in an ink pad! and Psycho who as the name suggests was psychotic running around and panicking at everything! Luckily he's now much better and settled in nicely.
They are about five weeks old now, Have most of their feathers and have run me ragged! So far they have had two inside houses (first a big plastic box) Now they have upgraded to a kiddies frame pool in the conservatory to keep them in at night! During the day I have had to build them a big covered run now with duckie pond (plastic box) Every morning I am greeted with the yells to go outside they do not stop till they get what they want and the same in the evenings to come back in the house!
They are great fun and it's been great watching them grow up, They have me well trained now from gathering slugs/flys to providing the contents of the salad draw they have me running around all day!
Luckily we have a big garden (just over 1/2 an acre) so last weekend construction work started on the duck pen this measures 12 mtrs X 6 mtrs so they should have enough room! Yesterdays exercise for me was to start digging the duck pond, Four hours of digging and re-landscaping the support from the ducks was astounding, Splashing noises from their box pond to sleeping in the sun! Who is the fool!!
Well we would not be without them now, Even my cross husky has been renamed the 'duck mother' she gets very protective when the other dog (German Shep) goes near their run and chases him off teeth bared!
This weekends tasks include finishing the pond and building a big duck house VW Campervan shape is the current idea so will see how that goes! The roof netting is ordered and coming next week as we have three buzzards and several owls living in the woods at the back of us! (these ducks are costing me a fortune) but we love them and lose hours every day just watching them and their antics!
My life changed five weeks ago when on a cliff/rock jumping/climbing trip to the beach resulted in a very tiny mallard duckling abandoned at the bottom of a cliff with hungry sea gulls all around!
After an extensive search resulting in no other ducks we took him home, Estimated age was about 1-2 days old how he got there is any ones guess! Luckily I have always loved ducks but never kept any so after Internet research resulted in 'duckie needs company' the search was on to find a 'friend' for little 'Rocky' After endless phone calls I tracked down someone with week old ducklings told her I wanted one to be told she had two so what could I do! Then there were three!
The two newbies are call ducks and have been named Smudge as he looks like he's been playing in an ink pad! and Psycho who as the name suggests was psychotic running around and panicking at everything! Luckily he's now much better and settled in nicely.
They are about five weeks old now, Have most of their feathers and have run me ragged! So far they have had two inside houses (first a big plastic box) Now they have upgraded to a kiddies frame pool in the conservatory to keep them in at night! During the day I have had to build them a big covered run now with duckie pond (plastic box) Every morning I am greeted with the yells to go outside they do not stop till they get what they want and the same in the evenings to come back in the house!
They are great fun and it's been great watching them grow up, They have me well trained now from gathering slugs/flys to providing the contents of the salad draw they have me running around all day!
Luckily we have a big garden (just over 1/2 an acre) so last weekend construction work started on the duck pen this measures 12 mtrs X 6 mtrs so they should have enough room! Yesterdays exercise for me was to start digging the duck pond, Four hours of digging and re-landscaping the support from the ducks was astounding, Splashing noises from their box pond to sleeping in the sun! Who is the fool!!
Well we would not be without them now, Even my cross husky has been renamed the 'duck mother' she gets very protective when the other dog (German Shep) goes near their run and chases him off teeth bared!
This weekends tasks include finishing the pond and building a big duck house VW Campervan shape is the current idea so will see how that goes! The roof netting is ordered and coming next week as we have three buzzards and several owls living in the woods at the back of us! (these ducks are costing me a fortune) but we love them and lose hours every day just watching them and their antics!
