The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
yep do it long enough and you can tell virtually all of them by species, some are a little tricky, but hooded are easy. Like waterdog said, see how white and golfball shaped they are. hooded all the way

Are all merserganders like thategg wise

no

 

[destinduck]

Quote:
You can put your plants in buckets with some bricks in the bottom so they wont get turned over. Its always good to get your birds from different sources if you can so we all have a varied gene pool. Like boggy said though Ducks love to dine on most plants.

 

[toejam]

Quote:
Are all merserganders like thategg wise

no

ok, thanks, just wondering.

 

[KansasKid]

Ok, i have a duckling problem. The other duckling already died on me, having a weak neck, wouldn't straighten his head kicked out of the shell on his own but died around 3 today. The other one i took out because he was strong enough to kick around and push around the eggs, but he holds his head kinda crooked to one side, he kicks and flops around all over the place but hasn't stood up on his own yet. Any thought on what i can do to make sure this little guy survives.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

sounds like wry neck to me.
Not really sure you can do anything about it.
Usually right out of the shell like that, it's from not getting turned properly, that girl a new setter or a tested one?
You can try some vitamin supplements, some times they help some birds come out of it.
Could also be genetic, but I'm thinking she wasnt turning them much

 

[KansasKid]

Ya she is just a first year bird. Little guy is still alive and literally kicking. He drank some water and gatorade out of a syringe for me a bit ago but still hasn't stood up for me. Question? seeing as how my one of my mandarin hens laid but never went broody and i took the eggs from the other, is there a possibility that they might lay again this year?
This batch of eggs really isn't going so well for me, guess its all part of the experience-

 

[destinduck]

yea maybe. Clean out your boxs real good and hopefully they might. I will say Ive had 10 times better luck double clutching if the hens dont hatch any babies. I always try to steal the eggs after about 10 -14 days.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yep what Shawn said. If you let them hatch, they are done. Thier biological need to reproduce has been filled and their hormones turn off more less. Even better chances at double clutching if you dont even allow them to set at all, once they have 6-8 eggs, pull them then before she goes broody. Dont wait til she's lined the box with down, she's already headed that way by then. Draw back is they are tuffer to fully incubate if you're new to it. Once you get the feel for it though, there's nothing to incubation on species like that.

 

[exoticduckluvr]

well this is the first time I have ever pulled eggs and my Mandy hen quit laying and I left one in there. I decided to sell eggs this year due to my health right now. I ended up with 5 of 6 eggs I needed from the first Mandy laying but the guy was nice enough to take 3 Ringed Teal eggs for the loss of 1 Mandy egg. Have Ringed Teal due next week and the other laying now unless she started sitting the 1 egg I left. She never came out of the box today. The i couldn't find my Cinnamon Teal for awhile. When i saw her again I checked the ground boxes. She laid at the very back corner of a rubber made container turned upside down. I didn't see them at first. She made a big pile of pine straw in frot of the nest to hide it. There were 5 eggs in it . I wish mine wouldn't lay this year except for the Hottentots and Falcated. My Chiloe is brooding to but it is the sterile one yea!!!! Although I did put 2 eggs in there I found on the ground and don't know who they were from. I just hated to see the poor thing sit 2 clutches for the 3rd summer in a row and have nothing hatch

 

[destinduck]

Dont always think she is sterile because you had 2 bad batches. You might be pleasantly suprised. Plus you can slip eggs from your other birds under her for hatching.