The khaki-Campbell duck Thread !!!!!!!!

[lynss94]

Odd, very odd. The top one for sure looks like a drake but that bottom one doesn't have me convinced. Do you have any more photos of the bottom one you can share?

 

[wannahomestead]

Odd, very odd. The top one for sure looks like a drake but that bottom one doesn't have me convinced. Do you have any more photos of the bottom one you can share?

I can get more. He sounds like a frog though, lol

 

[walker1229]

if the bill is yellowing like in your top one does that normally mean its a male? Mine are 6 weeks now, and some of them have slightly yellowing bills while some are still all gray.

 

[AA Maple]

This morning my remaining male was having relations with one of his girlfriends

Hopefully this means eggs will start coming shortly.

 

[OldMissionChick]

Mine didnt get their drake feathers until about 20 weeks I think

 

[feasel]

My Khaki Campbells are currently outside in their enclosure in the rain and the night... it's my fault because I put some egg-shaped stones in their duckhouse, kind of thinking that it might help them lay, like the rubber and ceramic eggs I have seen my pals put in their chicken houses. But the stones have just blown their minds. I'm not sure what to do, of course I have removed the stones now and feel silly that I didn't realise they would upset the ducks... I think they might just have a wet night and hopefully it won't rain again all day tomorrow, or they will calm down enough to re-enter their wee house at some point in the night.

Also, one of the ducks is definitely slightly humping another one in the water; does this mean we might have a drake or do girls sometimes do this to each other?

 

[Carcajou]

Is your enclosure completely predator proof? If not, I would definitely coax them inside. Lots of furred and feathered animals delight in a nighttime duck dinner.

 

[feasel]

The enclosure is predator proof but I was extremely worried about the ducks, nevertheless. We live in an urban environment and there are foxes around. I had 3 tries at getting them in, but eventually at half past midnight I got it to happen. (Was working on it from 9pm!)

I tried rounding them up, steering them, ushering them, saying my normal goodnight cue of "bedtime, ladies!" but they were completely spooked by the stones. Eventually I crouched down outside their enclosure, at duck level, and moved closer and closer to them until either they understood or felt threatened enough to go up on their own. 3 and a half hours! I won't put anything new in their house again in a hurry!

 

[lgcatwoman19]

Hello fellow duck lovers.
I have two surviving Mallards of the 4 bought last spring that are loose in the pond. I got 4 Khakis this spring and two were attacked somehow in their cage--the vet said probably a weasel that could get hallway in but couldn't get the ducks out. One had to be put down, one recovered with minor nerve damage in one leg. The other two were unharmed. My ducks are now about 20 weeks old. I put them up at night by corralling them in an enclosure around their swimming pool. I was going to release them into the pond but they don't fly and I am worried about their safety after losing my Mallard drake (he may have been shot though) and the 9 Pekins that were originally living in that pond when I moved to this trailer park. I may have no choice but release them since I have been threatened with eviction by the groundsman if I don't release them asap, and stop feeding them on my lot.
My questions, how safe will they be on their own?? and how does everyone else catch them in the evening to put them up for the night. I will have to take the pool and enclosure down very soon as I cannot avoid it. Maybe I can still put them up at night after he leaves the property if I could catch them! There is a fox in the area that walks right by on his way to the pond to look for eggs and ducklings among other things, and a raccoon which I have been feeding so that he will loose interest in the ducks for dinner.
And when will my ducks lay eggs? Do I have to make some sort of area for this or will they naturally just leave eggs around? I think I have one drake and two females. They are colored the same except one has a green bill and his head is turning dark green. His tail is also starting to curl--but then so is the others tails. But the two are smaller and have taupe colored bills. When will I see the buff color on the male (?) if he is indeed the male.?
Any info on these particular questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Amiga]

From what I have seen, releasing domestic ducks to fend on their own is a death sentence. There may be some who manage for a while. But many perish quickly from predators, illness, starvation.

There are ways you can rehome them. Some vets will take them in - it's called a surrender. Or there are waterfowl rescue groups here and there. You might find a new home for them through the Where Am I Where Are You forum, or the Free Rehoming forum.