The Indoor/Outdoor duck thread

[duckyfromoz]

Miss Lydia, Ollie loves to swim. He doesnt get very far too fast at all- but his tiny deformed legs paddle away. He cant balance too well- so we have to stay with him- My daughter watches him while I clean his cot- and then I come and sit with him a while. He gets cuddle time after his bath while I dry him off. He is such a sweet boy, nuzzling his face up onto my shoulder, and nibbling at my collar and earrings.

Its summer here now I am have to keep him extra clean and the smell to a minimun so he doesnt attract flies. I am about to buy a moscito net to put over the cot so the flies cant get near him.

dawnjoennikki98 8 would be a real task...but it could be done. We all find ways to cope with the things that are very important to us. The committment would be huge- but I can understand how important they are to your child.

 

[Snipes]

dawnjoenikki- You could maybe try a few at a time, to sort of ease things in and see if you can take on 2 ducks, 3, 4 ect inside. Are they tame enough to let you keep them indoors?

duckyfromoz- Are you worried about hip problems for Ollie? I know with dogs and cats that can't walk you really have to be careful with that! I love your websites!

Here are some recent pics:

 

[duckyfromoz]

Seeing those pics of three gorgeous boys melted my heart. I love the diaper harness!! Seeing one like that makes me think maybe I could try one. I think it would also have to have a very special print on it too though.

Snipes I do worry about hip problems. On the flat Ollie has his legs right out to the sides- but he seems more comfortable that way. In the dogs bed he holds them under him more. Being an Indian Runner- with the different placement of the legs- I think it is even more of an issue for him than it could be if he was a different breed.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I just found a book on the web, Has anyone else ever seen this book? I would be interested in knowing more about it or possibly buying it. Duck! There's a Goose in the House!, By Nancy Townsend Its all about how to raise and keep ducks inside the house. It has information on diapering and general care, as well as stories from people who do have house ducks.

 

[Snipes]

I wonder if you can make some sort of custom "holder" for him. You know those suspended seats that babies are put in and they can bounce in it and also swing? Or something like that (I'm not a mom yet lol), so that he can be upright. Maybe modify it until there is ever so little weight on his legs to where he is using muscle in them, but it is not hurting him? It would be neat if he could sort of push himself around if it was on wheels. I dunno, I'm no architect! I am also extremely distracted by the overpowering cuteness that it would make, especially if it did have wheels that he could move around with.....and the wheels have a little squeak to them.
squeak squeak squeak Quack!
Oh hi Olly, heading to the kitchen are we?
squeak squeak squeak

 

[Snipes]

Are you getting hit by the floods? Best of luck to you!
I'm having a house duck problem right now; their feathers are falling out because I think I am messing up their little ducky rhythms and making their bodies think that they are in the middle of Spring/Summer. They like to sleep right in front of the heater and they have the same satisfied, comfortable look on their faces as the warm breeze blows through and waggles their feathers as a cat does. It's hard to deny them that. I might have to start learning how to knit and make a large sock with a poo hole so they can go outside if their feathers keep coming out!

 

[newgoosegirl]

Great pictures!

My pilgrim goose is imprinted on me and she wears a diaper(and leash), goes with me wherever they allow geese, and sleeps on my bed.
In the daytime she stays outside and plays in her kiddie pool and does goose stuff, when I bring her in just to sit with me in the middle of the day she often just tries to get me to leave her alone so she can play.

But she comes in before it gets dark.

What started the whole thing was a runner duck hatched from some abandoned eggs...Similar arrangement but a possum or raccoon got her when she was out one night. Hence why I now have a goose who comes in when it's dark.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Quote:
Sorry I didnt see this post from so long ago until today.... Poor Ollie ....... he couldnt even use a skateboard. Because of his disability- he holds his legs up and is so flat. Thats one of my pet names for him. Flat Ollie- or just Flat Boy. It would be rather cute to see him being more mobile. But he gets tired easily too- so is more than happy to be carried around when going for cuddles, a bath or outside.

Are you getting hit by the floods?

Not so much where I live here in Melbourne- but my block of land has been badly effected. I was up there again yesterday trying to do some repairs. The carpet in my shed has been ruined so I took new rolls up - however the road just near the gateway to my place is now impassable - so my daughter and I had to carry the carpet rolls 400 metres to the shed.. We didnt get beyond taking the carpet in- as the thought of carrying the old carpet back again to dispose of was too much for one day. I did manage to fix the fences. A few trees had fallen down on them- luckily only fairly small ones that we could move by hand. I dont have a chainsaw- so couldnt have removed them any other way. But the fences are all fixed. The main problem up there is the erosion in my gulley. I had blocked off an area down towards the bottom end so my ducks could swim a while ago. It would just be a nice little pool for them normally when it rains- but due to the huge volumes of water - the water being unable to escape the dam- has ended of eroding the bottom of the gulley- for a stretch of about10 metres- a further 1 metre has been scraped out of the bottom of the gulley by the flood water. I am angry at myself for not removing the build up of small branches, gravel and organic matter I used to make the dam as previously it was a nice shallow place to cross over- now it looks like a mini ravine. I am very conscious of erosion being a problem up there- and the damage done in just one day will take about 50 hours of work and $2000 to fix. The duckies can stick to pools in the future when they come up with me for weekends away. The only good thing though- was that I did find a few very small pieces of gold. The water is still flowing gently through the gulley so once it dries up I will take up my gold detector and see what else may be able to be found washed down from the hills.

Newgoosegirl- your pilgrim sounds just adorable. Sleeping on your bed!!! OMG how wonderful. You must post some pictures of her. What is her name???​

 

[newgoosegirl]

Not the best picture because she looks yellow but the only one on this computer with her diaper.
Name is Sticky-Tack, my best friend as of 2 years ago thought of it and I thought it was neat.

Turns out when someone asks me what her name is, only half the time they can understand it.
I usually just call her goose when I talk to her, I dunno why but since there's no other geese here it works.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Sticky- Tack is beautiful. I have a chinese goose here at the moment that was raised inside with some ducklings- but she doesnt come inside the house anymore. She is very sweet- and acts like a mother to all the new ducklings when they go to live outside.

Pity they are old and not digital or I would try and post them- but I have some photos and video of a group of goslings I raised about 13 years ago. They would climb the back steps and tap on the glass door wanting to be let back inside the house - even when fully grown they would want to come inside for a visit.