*!squee!* The babies are coming! The babies are coming!!

[Danielle2017]

So freaking cute!!!!!

 

[Valntyn]

I could use some advice on how to handle something...

We've built a new duck pen. All our other ducks have been moved over there.
BabyDuck and the ten ducklings are still in the old pen.
Echo and her nest of eggs are still in the old pen. (Hatch Day = July 18)
BabyDuck keeps chasing Echo out of the nesting area.

My jumbled thoughts are thus:

-- I'm afraid that, after all this time, with only a few days left until Hatch Day, something will go wrong, where Echo doesn't seem to be on the eggs as much as she has been.

-- The ducklings love Echo. They crowd around her, nuzzle under her, etc. She seems to care for them well. If we move BabyDuck to the new pen, Echo would be able to lay on her nest for the last week before hatching. I wonder if Echo would continue to care for the babies, especially once her eggs hatch.

-- If we moved BabyDuck to the new pen, could we move the ducklings, too? Should we move the ducklings too?

OR... should we just leave well-enough alone this time 'round. Let things happen as they happen.

I'm almost temped to leave things as they are and call this a learning experience. I guess I'm pre-grieving over the potential loss of Echo's eggs.

Like I said... jumbled thoughts. *chuckle*

EDITED TO ADD: Well, we noticed Echo wasn't on her nest the next morning, even though she looked like she wanted to get to it. We decided to move her and her eggs over to the new coop. If it's too late for the eggs, moving her didn't hurt anything. But if there's a chance they'll survive, we felt this was the best way to go about it. So, feel free to disregard this post... but thanks for reading if you did.

I'll try to post new pics soon to make up for it.

 

[new2ducks]

I love the pictures! I couldn't help but notice that it looked like you have their nest in a truck cap...if that's so..how creative!

 

[Valntyn]

I love the pictures! I couldn't help but notice that it looked like you have their nest in a truck cap...if that's so..how creative!

*chuckle* Thanks. And yes, that is a truck cap. When we first got our ducks, we bought the fencing to give them their own lawn to free range/pasture on, but we didn't have much more money than that. We saw a truck cap free on the side of the road, hefted it up onto our truck and took it home. My husband built it up a bit, using scrap boards to make the walls... the cap acts as windows and roof!

Now we're just waiting to move BabyDuck and her ducklings over to the new pen. Not sure what we'll do with the truck cap house then... maybe get a pig or two...?

(My husband just gave me "the look" when I read him that comment. Hahahahaha!!!)

 

[Valntyn]

BabyDuck has the ducklings out of the truck cap, sitting on the grass in the pen for the first time.

So cuuuuuuuuute!!!

It's a lousy picture, taken from the house. I didn't want to freak them all out and scatter them to the winds. (And now that they go outside, we need to figure a way to collect them to go into the new pen!)

 

[Miss Lydia]

BabyDuck has the ducklings out of the truck cap, sitting on the grass in the pen for the first time.

So cuuuuuuuuute!!!

It's a lousy picture, taken from the house. I didn't want to freak them all out and scatter them to the winds. (And now that they go outside, we need to figure a way to collect them to go into the new pen!)

I'd say some kind of tasty treat would do it, If i bring out dried meal worms or even w/w bread I can get them to go just about anywhere.

 

[Valntyn]

Everyone's been moved over to the new digs, safe and sound! We were very easily able to herd everyone into a corner. We put the ducklings into a cat carrier, then carried BabyDuck right beside it while we transferred everyone, so she could see them the whole time.



When we built the coop/pen, we added an extra room that can be used when drakes need to be separated, ducklings are too small to be with everyone else, etc., etc. That's where they are now. We got a little nervous when the babes were sticking their heads through the poultry wire wall, into the main pen, so we took two clear roofing panels we had leftover and secured them as a low wall. Add a tote for shelter and they're good to grow!

And yes, if you're counting ducklings in the picture, you'll only find nine. We lost one over the weekend. BabyDuck accidentally crushed the dark baby that had black, brown and white coloring.

So now there's 7 white, one chocolate/white and one black/white.

 

[new2ducks]

What a great idea! I know what you mean about "funds". We got our dog run from a friend for free and for right now inside the dog run we just turned one of our recycling tubs on it's side and I have it up on stones to keep it off the dirt. Of course we have the chicken wire and tarp and my husband and I built a fence out farther so they can roam around. I just thought that truck cap would be something good for winter. For right now I'm just looking for a dog house but we still have time for that.

 

[new2ducks]

Sorry to read about the one baby ducking! .I noticed the picture of the rubbermaid container home...do you use that in the winter also? And how do your ducks fair in the winter. It's my first time with ducks(can you tell?) lol I was told that they are hardy

 

[Valntyn]

What a great idea! I know what you mean about "funds". We got our dog run from a friend for free and for right now inside the dog run we just turned one of our recycling tubs on it's side and I have it up on stones to keep it off the dirt. Of course we have the chicken wire and tarp and my husband and I built a fence out farther so they can roam around. I just thought that truck cap would be something good for winter. For right now I'm just looking for a dog house but we still have time for that.

Hey, I'm all for repurposing, recycling and using what you've got!!

Truck caps are a dime-a-dozen in Maine. Someone or his brother's always got one on the side of the road for free. I'd read a long time ago about someone using one for their chickens once and it stuck with me, so when we were about to get our ducks, we grabbed the first one we found and went with it! It did work great in the Winter, too. We kept plenty of straw in it for bedding, kept the opening away from the wind, so snow wouldn't drift in, and closed the windows to a crack (so there was still circulation, but they wouldn't get gusts).

Sorry to read about the one baby ducking! .I noticed the picture of the rubbermaid container home...do you use that in the winter also? And how do your ducks fair in the winter. It's my first time with ducks(can you tell?) lol I was told that they are hardy

When we first got our original three ducks, we didn't know their genders. Once we found out we had two males and a female, we turned that tote into a nesting box for BabyDuck, so she could get away from the boys and lay eggs when she was ready. Well, she never went for it. *chuckle* Anyway, we still had it, and the pen BabyDuck and the babies in didn't have a shelter in it, so we put it in there so the ducklings would have shelter from the rain. It probably won't be in there in the Winter... but then again, neither will the babies.

We now have both Anconas and Muscovies. We've only gone through one Winter with our original Muscovies. They did great through the Winter. They didn't mind walking in the snow... oftentimes they were still outside their shelter while it snowed... there were only one or two times I remember them staying in the truck cap during really bad snow storms. We haven't gone through a Winter with Anconas yet, however, they're listed as a hardy bird, and I bought ours from a fellow Mainer -- I'm going under the assumption they'll be just fine.

(P.S. I'm still a duck-newbie myself, but this has been cool, being able to actually help. *laugh* My opinion: the fact that you're asking the questions means you, and they, will do just fine.

)