Show off your house ducks!

[Amykins]

Everybody has such cute ducks, I'm jealous! Also a question do you think that I could let my ducks be outdoor ducks in winter and bring them in for the summer?

Generally not. :/ Of course there will be exceptions, but if a duck has been raised either indoors or outdoors its whole life, usually they're unable to transition to the other.

 

[DuckLover1029]

Ok thanks anyways.

 

[EyeCandyQuilts]

Well I had a birthday today and my dear Deema gave me a gift....she had her 1st egg!!!!! I was shocked when I took her diaper off and there it was! Lol!!!!!

Sorry I haven't replied but so sad about the lost duck our male was attacked and I was crushed thats how Deema moved indoors, lol!

Bummer my avian fashions issue wasnt a 1 time deal.... I also found out that the person who was actually employed to make mine has his elderly mother doing them while he is out of state! It was a pretty rotten experience and yes, you are right.....as a fabric retailer, I can guess what they pay for materials and time making them based on quality and is NOT worth it! Sew Sammi is where Ill be getting mine

Quick question, now that she is laying eggs..... shes right now doing this thing where she almost looks like a dog panting or something! Its totally out of character and making me nervous. She keeps flapping her bill like shes panting but she wont drink and isnt hot, her belly is twitchy and shes making a really wierd honking sound. Is this normal for egg laying or is something wrong? ?
Thanks all and hope everyones ducks are well!!

 

[Amykins]

Wait, so was Deema an outdoor duck that moved inside? Do you think what Ducklover is asking could be feasible with a lot of training and a good indoor setup?

 

[DuckLover1029]

Sorry for double posting but I said the last one wrong I ment indor in winter and outdoor in summer. We have really brutal winters here.

 

[Amykins]

I sort of assumed as much, or at least thought you lived in Australia or something.

 

[DuckLover1029]

Lol no Virginia about a hour outside of dc.

 

[DuckLover1029]

Ok just curious are the time zones different or does everybody go on at like 11:00 pm.

 

[kukupecpec]

Everybody has such cute ducks, I'm jealous! Also a question do you think that I could let my ducks be outdoor ducks in winter and bring them in for the summer?

Most of these kind of questions depend completely on the individual bird. My goose was raised from hatch indoors but she didn't really thrive inside. She much prefers to live outside, but even after she became an "outdoor" goose she would still come in a visit for treats and seemed just fine as long as she could go back out. ChaCha (my current house duck) came to us as an adult. Someone dumped her at the local park (a popular dumping ground for unwanted ducks and geese) and she was attacked by the other birds and definitely imprinted on humans. She spends some time outside almost every day and seems to really enjoy her time outside, but she hates being away from her humans. She doesn't get along with the other ducks or the chickens so she is super lonely outside (although it sounds like you have a pair? So I don't think loneliness would be an issue for you), but she enjoys taking a dip in her water tub and basking in the sun afterward. She also looooves to play in the rain and will beg to go outside if it's raining. But at night if we leave her outside locked up in the extra coop she cries and cries and wants to be inside with her humans. I would say that if wintering them inside and summering them outside is what you would really like to do, you should give it a try! BUT (And this is a HUUUUGE but) you need to be prepared to make a change if it doesn't work out. Having a pair that can bond to each other will most likely do better when you are away - for example when they are outside - but RAISING a pair together will most likely lessen their individual bonds to you and the other humans in the house because they have each other, and another of their own species. I certainly wouldn't try switching them back and forth if it was only one bird, but with a pair you could always give it a try. You'd need to figure out what you would do if they decided they don't want to live outside?
As far as winter goes though, Ducks are generally SUPER winter hardy. They have this nifty mechanism with the circulation in their feet to keep them warm in winter! I can't recall all the specifics but snow and cold are really only a bother to them if they are in direct wind or sopping wet all the time. Their feathers are amazing insulaters (think of your favorite thick winter down comforter and how you would die if you used it all SUMMER long haha) and if it didn't work out in the house (for them, not for you, because once you raise a duck in the house you can never force them to live outside if they aren't comfortable with it) they would be just fine in the winters. Check out this awesome Winter Duck Care article by Fresh Eggs Daily http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/12/cold-weather-tips-for-winter-duck-care.html she has amazing other info too!

Thought I would share a picture of Misty's third egg laid in her nest I built her!

That is the cutest nest I've ever seen!!! Is that indoors?
ChaCha likes to lay her egg on the cement... or in her diaper. I gave up lol

Call duck! And just tell your husband a crazy person commissioned this, so there you go.

I thought "Call Duck" was just another way to say "bantam"? Is call duck and actual breed? Forgive me, my duck breed knowledge is extremely limited! I was more of a goose person, I've only recently gotten into ducks =)

Well I had a birthday today and my dear Deema gave me a gift....she had her 1st egg!!!!! I was shocked when I took her diaper off and there it was! Lol!!!!!

Sorry I haven't replied but so sad about the lost duck

our male was attacked and I was crushed

thats how Deema moved indoors, lol!

Bummer my avian fashions issue wasnt a 1 time deal.... I also found out that the person who was actually employed to make mine has his elderly mother doing them while he is out of state! It was a pretty rotten experience and yes, you are right.....as a fabric retailer, I can guess what they pay for materials and time making them based on quality and is NOT worth it! Sew Sammi is where Ill be getting mine

Quick question, now that she is laying eggs..... shes right now doing this thing where she almost looks like a dog panting or something! Its totally out of character and making me nervous. She keeps flapping her bill like shes panting but she wont drink and isnt hot, her belly is twitchy and shes making a really wierd honking sound. Is this normal for egg laying or is something wrong? ?
Thanks all and hope everyones ducks are well!!

Happy Birthday!
And what a great gift!!!!
OMG... the panting thing freaked me out too! I thought ChaCha was dying (have I mentioned I'm dramatic a vet assistant and think every tiny change in behavior is a sign of death? lol) ChaCha did that panting thing allllllll the time when she first started laying eggs. Now she only pants when it's hot - and I live in the desert, so that's not unusual lol. I think it must be because they are working so hard to make you that delicious egg! But I think I'm going to research it because it definitely scared me half to death!

She doesn't "pant" as much in this video because my weird attention to her was making her nervous - I still haven't caught the actual panting on camera because she gets wise to what I'm doing and stops. But she does the panting and the honking too!

 

[Amykins]

Awwww, 'Fro duck on a sink layin' an egg in a diaper, nothing to see here!

And yes, Call Ducks are their own breed! They are a bantam breed like Mallards. They are the smallest and cutest domestic duck (yes I may be biased but seriously that's what they're bred for these days) and are also the loudest and the worst egg-layers of the bunch. Which is probably why they're bred to be cute. Very cute. Face-meltingly cute. ...What was I talking about, again?

Seriously, look at this guy!

http://d1j96f25uhu3hg.cloudfront.ne...ures/White-Call-C-Downing-Best-White-Call.jpg (BYC image import thingy is borked at the moment)