Show off your house ducks!

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Twin 1 reclaimed her nest yesterday, although the moment she gets off to bathe and hang out with her sister Missy steals it back.
I moved Shorty and the big goslings into the big pen to start the transition for the goslings to being out with the big birds during the day.
The ducks bully the much larger geese, and Shorty just stood in the middle of the pen screaming like someone was killing her. I reminded her that no one was around her or even looking at her. Apparently, she thinks other ducks are really scary..
Yesterday I picked up a beautiful O Shamo stag. He is still just a little baby, relatively speaking, but the woman who hatched him socialized him the way I socialize my birds. I brought him into the hatchery so he wouldn't be stuck in the crate, and he was up on the couch, in my lap, and asleep in minutes. He gets bored in the kids pen with the orpingtons, and hops the fencing to sass the Easter Egger cockerels through the wire of the big pen, which, at 10' high, he can't fly over..
Missy, surprisingly, was very submissive towards him. She terrorizes the chickens, but apparently in her mind, game fowl are cool...

Cuddling on the couch..

I gave him a blankie, and he happily hangs out on the top of the couch.
Missy is preoccupied with the eggs and babies in the pen and hasn't asked to be let into the hatchery. I have a feeling if she realized that he was in here making himself comfortable she would not be nearly as friendly....

 

[Julie Birb]

I think so. On both

Good to hear with Julie. She will do it.

 

[Julie Birb]

Twin 1 reclaimed her nest yesterday, although the moment she gets off to bathe and hang out with her sister Missy steals it back.
I moved Shorty and the big goslings into the big pen to start the transition for the goslings to being out with the big birds during the day.
The ducks bully the much larger geese, and Shorty just stood in the middle of the pen screaming like someone was killing her. I reminded her that no one was around her or even looking at her. Apparently, she thinks other ducks are really scary..
Yesterday I picked up a beautiful O Shamo stag. He is still just a little baby, relatively speaking, but the woman who hatched him socialized him the way I socialize my birds. I brought him into the hatchery so he wouldn't be stuck in the crate, and he was up on the couch, in my lap, and asleep in minutes. He gets bored in the kids pen with the orpingtons, and hops the fencing to sass the Easter Egger cockerels through the wire of the big pen, which, at 10' high, he can't fly over..
Missy, surprisingly, was very submissive towards him. She terrorizes the chickens, but apparently in her mind, game fowl are cool...

Cuddling on the couch..

I gave him a blankie, and he happily hangs out on the top of the couch.
Missy is preoccupied with the eggs and babies in the pen and hasn't asked to be let into the hatchery. I have a feeling if she realized that he was in here making himself comfortable she would not be nearly as friendly....

Wow. He looks huge. Is he quite a bit bigger than Missy? I love how he made himself at home and cuddled with you. Poor little terrified little Shorty. Will she be afraid of ducks for the rest of her life?

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Wow.  He looks huge.  Is he quite a bit bigger than Missy?  I love how he made himself at home and cuddled with you.  Poor little terrified little Shorty.  Will she be afraid of ducks for the rest of her life?

He will top out around 30" tall. By breed standard any O rated Shamo is above 8.8 pounds. He is only about 10 weeks old, and definitely as tall as Missy, but he doesn't have her weight yet.
Shorty will settle I'm sure, but she will probably stick with the geese. A smart strategy for a medium sized duck in a world of heavy ducks, geese, and giant breed chickens and game fowl...

 

[Julie Birb]

He will top out around 30" tall. By breed standard any O rated Shamo is above 8.8 pounds. He is only about 10 weeks old, and definitely as tall as Missy, but he doesn't have her weight yet.
Shorty will settle I'm sure, but she will probably stick with the geese. A smart strategy for a medium sized duck in a world of heavy ducks, geese, and giant breed chickens and game fowl...

30" tall is not trivial at all. Wow, he is a big bird. At that point will he move outside?

A world of heavy ducks. I really like that description along with giant breed chickens. I reckon then the geese will help run interference for Shorty amongst those other birds.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I got Missy to sit out back with me! Granted, I had to physically put her out and provide her with plenty of familiar friends, but she is out for some sun! I'm sure she will be more than happy to come back in, but she got to swim in the pool and has been dutifully watching the younger goslings, along with..... Narcissus. He, like Missy, is fascinated with the babies, and has been quietly walking around with them...
I think my head is going to explode...

 

[Amykins]

Awwwww, Narcie the gander duck mama! I love it!

 

[Julie Birb]

I got Missy to sit out back with me! Granted, I had to physically put her out and provide her with plenty of familiar friends, but she is out for some sun! I'm sure she will be more than happy to come back in, but she got to swim in the pool and has been dutifully watching the younger goslings, along with..... Narcissus. He, like Missy, is fascinated with the babies, and has been quietly walking around with them...
I think my head is going to explode...

Haha. Missy and Narcissus, two very powerful birds being fascinated by the babies. How will they feel towards them once they get bigger? Missy is a very unique webbed bird. Has such a mind of her own. Very cool.

 

[Amykins]

Haha. Missy and Narcissus, two very powerful birds being fascinated by the babies. How will they feel towards them once they get bigger? Missy is a very unique webbed bird. Has such a mind of her own. Very cool.

Yeah, I love how each has their own wildly different personality. Missy is a headstrong big mama, Bean's a demure little scaredypants, and Wobbles is my hopeless klutz who thinks he's god's gift!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Yeah, I love how each has their own wildly different personality. Missy is a headstrong big mama, Bean's a demure little scaredypants, and Wobbles is my hopeless klutz who thinks he's god's gift! 

And Missy is not the worst of her brood! Her sister charms you with her sweet little face and short beak... Then she body slams you. She takes flying leaps onto other ducks, and tries to dominate any errant arms or legs she comes across. She uses her size and weight to literally push the other ducks around!
Narcissus stole the goslings and recruited his partner Echo to play parents. While Missy stayed with the older goslings and Shorty, the little goslings were carefully supervised by their surrogate gander dads. I could actually go inside and clean pens with the babies asleep outside with their babysitters.

Missy enjoyed her afternoon out, but was happy to get back inside, with a newfound appreciation for the goslings. Shorty still thinks there are too many ducks in the pen, so I took her inside where she is sleeping with the younger goslings.
Khan still hops out of the kids' pen at night, and so once again, he ended up on his blankie on the couch...

Missy likes him, but there are too many cockerels in the big pen for me to feel comfortable putting him in there at night...