Stop looking at my ducks that way!

[Runner duck mom]

Your ducks are so beautiful! I can't wait to see what we will get with your chocolate and blue! My ducks are inbreds so it will be great to have new genetics introduced to my little flock. You are so kind and I thank you so much. Now I'm excited about spring! And trying hard not to be paranoid about protecting my remaining girls.

I'm excited as well! We've never hatched any of our own ducklings so I'm super excited just to see what they look like.
We originally had a pair of ducks. When our one girl passed away to a really stupid accident we added two more girls and our drake. It was so sad to see our one girl all alone and missing her sister, we didn't want her to go through that again.
If anyone had ever told me how crazy I would have been about these ducks before I got them I never would have believed them. Hope you and your girls stay safe & happy!

 

[DuckyDonna]

I'm excited as well! We've never hatched any of our own ducklings so I'm super excited just to see what they look like.
We originally had a pair of ducks. When our one girl passed away to a really stupid accident we added two more girls and our drake. It was so sad to see our one girl all alone and missing her sister, we didn't want her to go through that again.
If anyone had ever told me how crazy I would have been about these ducks before I got them I never would have believed them. Hope you and your girls stay safe & happy!

last May I had 11 eggs, some had been in the refrigerator and I marked those. 8 eggs hatched. Not bad for the first time. My neighbor had the incubator so she got 4 ducks and I got 4. We tried to "sex" them but that was a joke! I ended up with 2 boys and 2 girls which didn't work with my already 1 boy and 3 girl flock. So I gave away one of my little boys (which I wish I had back now) and the old boy who was a hateful "butt". As soon as I gave away the older boy my little young boy turned on his little brother and acted a fool so I put him on Craig's list and he's doing well so far. He's in Woodstock. What I'm thinking is that if you give me say like 12 eggs I can hatch them and we can split them. It will be so fun and we are so close to each other it will be an exciting time!

 

[LilyLoo]

Did the hawk attack Lily right through the netting? My netting is not good but I've got more on order which should be here soon. I have mended it a lot in many places with twine too. I think it starts to rot in the sun. I bought plastic this time which I'm hoping will hold out longer. In my case, I have 2 narrow runs but only one is covered with netting and I've been letting them have the run of both. Daisy got killed in the area where there wasn't any net in the middle of the afternoon. Now I've got the remaining 4 girls in the run with the netting and I hope I've buttoned it up good enough to keep the hawks out. I just about have to crawl on my hands and knees to get into the duck run but I'm going to work on making that a bit better today.

Did the hawk attack Lily right through the netting? My netting is not good but I've got more on order which should be here soon. I have mended it a lot in many places with twine too. I think it starts to rot in the sun. I bought plastic this time which I'm hoping will hold out longer. In my case, I have 2 narrow runs but only one is covered with netting and I've been letting them have the run of both. Daisy got killed in the area where there wasn't any net in the middle of the afternoon. Now I've got the remaining 4 girls in the run with the netting and I hope I've buttoned it up good enough to keep the hawks out. I just about have to crawl on my hands and knees to get into the duck run but I'm going to work on making that a bit better today.

Their net isn't big enough to cover yard to the left at their gazebo pen. Open space is a few feet with white nylon twine and curly ribbons everywhere. Hawk came in from behind us and flew up and out right here on the left side opening. So without all sides connecting I don't think it's safe for them. I thought they needed more free range outside time, but rethinking that whole idea.

 

[DuckyDonna]

View attachment 1602986
Their net isn't big enough to cover yard to the left at their gazebo pen. Open space is a few feet with white nylon twine and curly ribbons everywhere. Hawk came in from behind us and flew up and out right here on the left side opening. So without all sides connecting I don't think it's safe for them. I thought they needed more free range outside time, but rethinking that whole idea.

Knowing there are hawks cruising the area don't let them out to free range. They need to be safe. Your net is a whole lot better quality than mine but those hawks are smart and sneaky and find the holes I guess. I didn't use to think that but I sure do now! I spent hours this afternoon trying to get things buttoned down and mending some holes in my nets that are basically rotting but I'm still not confident in it holding. My new net is due to be delivered on Tuesday. I wish it were tomorrow. At least at night I know they are safe in their pen.

 

[Runner duck mom]

last May I had 11 eggs, some had been in the refrigerator and I marked those. 8 eggs hatched. Not bad for the first time. My neighbor had the incubator so she got 4 ducks and I got 4. We tried to "sex" them but that was a joke! I ended up with 2 boys and 2 girls which didn't work with my already 1 boy and 3 girl flock. So I gave away one of my little boys (which I wish I had back now) and the old boy who was a hateful "butt". As soon as I gave away the older boy my little young boy turned on his little brother and acted a fool so I put him on Craig's list and he's doing well so far. He's in Woodstock. What I'm thinking is that if you give me say like 12 eggs I can hatch them and we can split them. It will be so fun and we are so close to each other it will be an exciting time!

Apparently sexing can be tricky even for the experts. Our first pair from Metzer was supposed to be boys, quite the surprise when both our 'boys' started laying eggs
We live in an area with a lot of farms, lots of horses all around and cows across the street (we hear coyotes in the cow pasture all the time ) but unfortunately we live in a small subdivision. Thankfully our neighbors have never complained about the ducks even during their super loud teenage phase.
We plan to expand their run at some point but it's going to be some work, until then we can't add any more ducks to our flock Lol, you should have seen the look on my husbands face when I suggested it

 

[CrystaBub]

We plan to expand their run at some point but it's going to be some work, until then we can't add any more ducks to our flock Lol, you should have seen the look on my husbands face when I suggested it

Hey I know that look LOL!

 

[DuckyDonna]

Apparently sexing can be tricky even for the experts. Our first pair from Metzer was supposed to be boys, quite the surprise when both our 'boys' started laying eggs
We live in an area with a lot of farms, lots of horses all around and cows across the street (we hear coyotes in the cow pasture all the time ) but unfortunately we live in a small subdivision. Thankfully our neighbors have never complained about the ducks even during their super loud teenage phase.
We plan to expand their run at some point but it's going to be some work, until then we can't add any more ducks to our flock Lol, you should have seen the look on my husbands face when I suggested it

How many males/females do you have? Just curious about the eggs that the chocolate and blue lay. Are they a different color from the fawn/white? Daisy was pure white but the other 7 that I hatched turned out fawn/white and basically hard to tell apart. When they were molting it was easy but once their feathers came in its hard.

 

[Raenh]

I saw my first owl last night perched up on the utility pole by the house. Crazies were scared and the only reason I saw it was because sugar got out to come in the house with me and started flapping like a crazy girl.

 

[Runner duck mom]

How many males/females do you have? Just curious about the eggs that the chocolate and blue lay. Are they a different color from the fawn/white? Daisy was pure white but the other 7 that I hatched turned out fawn/white and basically hard to tell apart. When they were molting it was easy but once their feathers came in its hard.

Stuart is our only drake, he's the fawn and white in the left of the pic I had posted. The other 3 are all females.
The chocolate and blue both lay bluish eggs, the fawn and white lays the white

it's had to see the color well but the two on the left are the blue eggs. I can usually tell the difference between their eggs, our Chocolate is a tiny little girl so she usually lays smaller eggs.
I'd wanted to order all fawn and whites but thought I also wouldn't be able to tell them apart

 

[DuckyDonna]

Stuart is our only drake, he's the fawn and white in the left of the pic I had posted. The other 3 are all females.
The chocolate and blue both lay bluish eggs, the fawn and white lays the white View attachment 1603557 it's had to see the color well but the two on the left are the blue eggs. I can usually tell the difference between their eggs, our Chocolate is a tiny little girl so she usually lays smaller eggs.
I'd wanted to order all fawn and whites but thought I also wouldn't be able to tell them apart

Haha, you're right about not being able to tell them apart but if you had more than one chocolate or even all white I think that might be harder to tell. I have to really look and study on them to find a little spot of brown or something that is distinctive and then they go and molt and they totally change their looks. It's crazy how ugly they are when they molt. I really thought mine were dying they looked so bad. They didn't lay many eggs during that time either.

Well, the great thing is that if I hatch out your eggs you can take your pick of what you want and hopefully, I can "sex" them a little better than I did with my spring hatch. I need a BIG magnifying glass! Better get your husband moving on that new addition!