I got my Metzer Farms babies today! They arrived safely, and seem perky. There are all girls: 1 cayuga, 1 blue swedish, and 2 WH. I know they are not show quality, but that is making it easier to tell them apart--1 of the harlequins has a pink beak with a charming black stripe down the middle The black one has been named Princess Luna by my 6-year-old daughter, and we are working on the rest. I know there were going to be other new duck parents this week--post 'em if you got 'em!
Oooh exciting! Congrats!! Please keep us posted. I want WHs next and have been debating Metzer (where I got my Pekins from). I'd love to see them as they grow and hear about your experience!
Ha, you could always keep up the My Little Pony theme - how 'bout the Swedish become "Octavia" and the Harlequins "Flim & Flam"?
I will update as they grow, and let you guys know how they turn out. Today they are a lot more mellow than last night--yesterday, if one was taken out, it would peep a lot and seem distressed. Now they are quieter when they are out. Overall, all of them have a much calmer temperament than our rescue mallard. Now that I can compare the two, she was truly a wild duck from the very beginning, and I am glad we did not try to domesticate her. This is my brooder setup--through a lot of trial and error over the summer, this is the best setup I have found to keep the babies mostly dry and the water mostly clean: They like to play king of the hill and push each other off the waterer, but they had no problem figuring out how to use it. The towel has a puppy pee pad under it just in case there is a spill, but so far it has stayed dry so it might have just been overkill. I will use towels for the first few days, and then I will be switching to horse stall bedding pellets. The water looks orangeish because it has an electrolyte powder mixed in--I wanted to give it to them for a few days just in case they were stressed from shipping. Also, our kitten, Tukachinchilla, likes to visit. I supervise closely, but Tuka has been on excellent behavior, and hasn't been aggressive, or even playful with them really. She just likes to be near them and watch. She slept on top of the brooder when the mallard was in there, so I think she is happy to have new friends: We will continue to work on names. My 9 year old daughter says she wants to get to know her Swedish before she names her.