Show off your house ducks!

[Julie Birb]

Awww! Thanks sweets! Yeah, she was a very beautiful muscovy but I just may be biased

Oh, you are so welcome. Who wouldn't be biased? Just look at her and her personality sounds absolutely wonderful too.

 

[Julie Birb]

We were quoted at $500, most of which is just for the cost of anesthesia. It's basically a ducky caponization and is usually done via endoscopy. Neat, huh? ...As for the procedure itself, I'm not sure if it's just the, er...marbles, or if they amputate the. Um. Corkscrew. ...This is awkward.

You are so funny. Corkscrews and marbles.

 

[Julie Birb]

Been contending with a weasel here. My ducks are all huge and even the teenagers don't get harassed, but my skunkproof aviary was no match for a tiny weasel. I lost all my adult game birds with the exception of the kitchen quail. There is a bottleneck at the grow out pens until I trap the little bugger!!

The big birds are all unaffected by the tiny predator, and when I pulled Pale Girl in to give her a second round of antibiotic in her knee, I brought in Big Boy to keep her company. She finally is feeling well enough to start laying again. Big boy, however, got quite the surprise - Gunther took over the position as top drake while he was gone. He ran out to greet the rest of the Pekin crew, only to be intercepted by Gunther, who immediately administered a beating to assert his dominance. I never thought the old boy had it in him to take over the flock, but he did!

Missy has been surprisingly good with the influx of baby waterfowl for the season. She doesn't like the heat of the room while the babies are brooding though, so she made a nest under the end table in the living room. I miss her trying to eat my hair at night.. I can't coax her in when the room is hot. I have 3 incubators running and a ton of brooder tubs going though, and it's hot enough most days that the babies don't need supplemental heat. I have to plan some more special outings with her to swim in the local streams and rivers. I think I am more traumatized by her not being with me all the time than she is!

@Amykins : Here's hoping that Wobbles settles down by next season and is a gentleman to the little lady Bean!!! She's such a pretty girl, and he's such a character - I would love to see what that produce!! Perhaps he needs to experience a hen that doesn't put up with nonsense. Mama Saxony dominated any drake who approached her except for Gunther. One of my Khaki drakes used to chase the big girls relentlessly. Then Mama whipped him around like a rag doll. He began thinking twice about aggressively chasing the ladies after that...

Oh, man, these ducks are incredible. I am sorry to hear about your birds being wiped out by the weasel. Too bad Mama Saxony couldn't get ahold of it and throttle it and others like it to death. I hate hearing about people's birds being killed by other animals. It is sad but I guess it's the way the world is.

 

[Julie Birb]

Aww, a hike with Missy DOES sound lovely. Please take lots of photos tomorrow for us to see! We've tried taking Bean on trips but she's just such a wilting flower and a total spaz, she flips out and won't come to me. You should have seen her at the vet yesterday, a technician came in to say hi to her and she flipped out so much she toppled out of my lap and began tearing around the exam room like a whirling dervish! It was pandemonium. Oi. I really hope her "everything is terrifying" thing is just a phase. She's even scared of food. She's SCARED OF FOOD.

oh no, Poor little Bean. If she's afraid of food, can she eat though? I feel so bad now.

 

[18angovem]

I FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am done with my new aviary! Pics later tonight! I got some landscaping tomorrow but putting in more plants and stuff tonight. My doves LOVE it! They fly around like crazy! The entire thin is made with 2in by 4in wire, roof and all. Take that snow! It also has 2 foot high metal tin on the side with 1 foot buried in the ground so they cant dig under. Once my emus hatch hopefully my incubator will be finally full! My ducks STILL have not started laying eggs this year..... But hopefully will start soon. Now I just need snowflake bobwhite quail, more SQ call duck eggs, some red goldens, and some exotic waterfowl.

 

[Julie Birb]

I FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am done with my new aviary! Pics later tonight! I got some landscaping tomorrow but putting in more plants and stuff tonight. My doves LOVE it! They fly around like crazy! The entire thin is made with 2in by 4in wire, roof and all. Take that snow! It also has 2 foot high metal tin on the side with 1 foot buried in the ground so they cant dig under. Once my emus hatch hopefully my incubator will be finally full! My ducks STILL have not started laying eggs this year..... But hopefully will start soon. Now I just need snowflake bobwhite quail, more SQ call duck eggs, some red goldens, and some exotic waterfowl.

Eeeeee, your doves fly in it. I bet they love that. How exciting. Great job, Mitch. Do post pix when you can

 

[Amykins]

oh no, Poor little Bean. If she's afraid of food, can she eat though? I feel so bad now.

No, she'll eat, it just takes ten times as long because she has to periscope at it and give it the side-eye for a while before she decides that it's safe. This is a new thing, up until yesterday she didn't have this reaction. And last night I was up at 4:00 because she was flipping out at the hum of my air purifier. Which has been constantly running since she came home. And only now has she noticed it.

/facepalm

 

[18angovem]

Quote:
Yeah they like to fly down to the pond and dip their bellies in the water.... Its really funny to watch. They are ringneck or laughing doves so they make sounds that sound like someone laughing so its hilarious to see them sit on a tree in the aviary and watch the ducks and it looks like they are laughing at the ducks and their silly behavior.

 

[Amykins]

Yeah they like to fly down to the pond and dip their bellies in the water.... Its really funny to watch. They are ringneck or laughing doves so they make sounds that sound like someone laughing so its hilarious to see them sit on a tree in the aviary and watch the ducks and it looks like they are laughing at the ducks and their silly behavior.

AAAAHAHHHH I wanna see a dovey belly-dip!

 

[Deleted member 94844]

Marauders.