Protective

[RJKnott]

So my girl Peep is my oldest girl, about 2 years old and she is the Queen of the pen. Over the past couple weeks, Peep has taken to guarding the other girls while they lay.

She will stand over them protectively like she is here. Or lay next to them and nuzzle their necks and pull more straw around them til they lay their egg

My Muscovy Katniss was laying her first egg and Peep snuggled next to her and kept using her bill to bring straw closer and pile it up around them and just lay next to Katniss til the egg came out

Peep has become very motherly and protective of the younger girls in the pen

 

[IvysAnimals]

She must want to hatch some babies!

 

[RJKnott]

She must want to hatch some babies!

Maybe but she isn’t broody on her own. Once all the girls lay their eggs she just wanders off. She just stays with each girl to make sure they are safe and good and then wanders off to do her thing.

 

[KaleIAm]

What a sweetheart! I love her!

 

[RJKnott]

What a sweetheart! I love her!

Peep is my baby.

Last year I had to go back home to CT for a funeral and was gone for a week. When I came home all the ducks swarmed around me, but Peep ran up and pressed herself against my leg and wouldn’t leave me for a long time

Every day I being peas out to them for a treat and peep walks up and eats out of my hand before I toss it to the rest

She’s a sweetheart

 

[RJKnott]

So Peep was guarding the girls while they lay

I came out this morning to find everyone guarding peep while she lay her egg and Pita and his girlfriend Delilah on the far side of the coop area not able to come over

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wonder why they have been excluded? how sweet they are watching over Peep.

 

[RJKnott]

Wonder why they have been excluded? how sweet they are watching over Peep so sweet.

Pita is the male Muscovy I took in that is very aggressive in the morning trying to mate all the girls. Delilah is the only one that likes him and hangs out with him

 

[Miss Lydia]

I thought that was him. Aptly named Pain in the tush? Well at least he has one friend.

 

[RJKnott]

Ha that’s exactly why i named him that. When we tried to get him to bring him home we had to chase him for over a half hour. I said “I’m going to name you Pita because you are an amazing pain in my ***” he’s lived up to the name heh