The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[kangababy]

Ok first some sad news.. I lost my 11 year old frenchie last night!

Question... Where can I get shade cloths? My mind is not working now and i can't remember wher eI saw them. WE want to put one over the trellis in the pen and then one on top of the net... you know how the summer get here in the South!


We currently have eggs everywhere and only a few setting....
In the raised boxes we have 4 wood ducks/mandarins, 1 merganser, 1 ring teal. My Barrow's laid 7 eggs but since she wasn't sitting we gave them to a Broody Silkie/cochin who will pluck your eggs out if you try to get near them.. Keeping my fingers crossed becaus eI would really like some more Barrows!

On the ground.. What we have cught sitting is:
1 ring teal, 1 hawian, 1 bahama and 1 eyton
I have no idea whose eggs they are sitting on becuase I am having some serious next dumping problems. we are checking the boxes twice a week that we know are empty and if more are not laid we are pulling them and if more are laid we give them a few more days.

We new at this so any advice!

Could it be too early for them to be laying? it doesn't seem like it. I have 70+ pair of 30 different species and they have all been breeding . I would say it is 1/2 and 1/2 on year old birds and 2+ year old birds.

I know 3 pair of my mergansers, 3 pair of rubbies and my common Goldeneye I am not expecting anything out of since they are first year birds. Is there anything else that doesn't breed their first year?

Ruddy Ducks 5 pair (2 are breeders)
Wood Ducks 2nd+ year birds
Mandarins 2nd+ year birds
Marbled Teal 2nd+ year birds
Ring Teal 2nd+ year birds
Greenwing Teal 2nd+ year birds
Silver Teal year old
NA Pintail pair of each
Bahama Pintail year old
Hooded Merganser 1 breeder, 2 1st year
White Face Tree Ducks 3 first year but raised by parents
Canvasback breeders
Meller breeders
American Widgeon 1st year
Barrow's Golden Eye breeders
Buffleheads males are breeders, hens are 1st year
Cape Teal 1st year
Chiloe Widgeon 1st year
Fulvous Tree Duck breeders
NA Shovelers breeders
Tufted breeders
Ringbill 1st year maybe
Ferruginous white eyed duck 1st year maybe
Red Crested Pochard breeders
Hawaiian Duck breeders
Common Goldeneye 1st year
Eyton Tree Ducks breeders
Black Bellied Tree Duck breeders
Smew breeders
Hottentot breeders

and any description of what their eggs look like would be great!!

 

[exoticduckluvr]

oh I would hate to think one of my new Mandy Hens is a egg dumper especially with 3 boxes still up for grabs

So sorry Kanga. We just had to put down my 12 yr old Fiest which broke my heart. She was in such pain. Her body was shutting down. Kidneys & Liver the Vet said. She lived a wonderful life with lots of bunnies and squirrels to chase and with 2 very loving parents

 

[Dr. Todd]

Quote:
That's a Mandarin duckling without a doubt.

DT

 

[exoticduckluvr]

I'm so disgusted today. I found the other baby in the mud pit where the water from the Aviary pool drain to. It must have been under water and not floating yesterday. Found today when I drained the pool. Found 3 of my Cinnamon Teal drown this morning. I can see the 2 since they were in the big deep pan which had several inches of water splashed but out not the one in the duckling pan which is only 2" deep and is set to where it slopes to one end to make sure they could get out. I don't know if it is there roaring winds we are having or what disturbed them for Mom to keep them in the pools all night. I am just beside myself. I really didn't want a lot of babies this year but I certainly didn't want them to hatch out and die. I have never had this problem before. I hatched out Fulvous, 2 sets of Mandy and 2 sets of Ringed Teal with no problems what so ever last year!!!!
Chiloe was off nest when I went in this morning so guess the pipped eggs I found yesterday aren't going to finish unless she was just taking a break. I'll have to keep watching to make sure she is staying or just went back in when I cleaned her water pan.

Thanks Dr Todd

 

[KansasKid]

posted similar thing on the new mandarin thread in the ornamental fowl section but thought i would post here as well.
Weird thing happened, my drake went to having that dark bill color, then started molting, lost his sail feathers and some of his crown.... then the next thing i know he regrows them and his bill becomes bright pink again, weird huh?

 

[destinduck]

 

[newlifetax]

I posted this on another forum, but I really would like to get all the opinions I can.

I am new to raising waterfowl as this is my first season breeding them. I have a wood duck hen that has been sitting on her eggs since Apr 16 (11 days now). Today, I noticed my hen mandarin came out of the box the wood duck is using, so I checked the eggs. There were 15 eggs when the wood duck began sitting, now there are 17 eggs in there. 2 of them are a little larger and darker in color, so I am assuming they were laid by the mandarin. I don't have access to bantams or I would pull eggs and let the bantam do the work. My other options are use an incubator or put some of the eggs under my pintail hen who has been sitting for 2 days now on 10 eggs. To complicate matters, I am leaving in 3 days for a week long vacation. I have someone who will feed my birds while I am gone, but he has zero experience with them, so I would really not feel comfortable asking him to pull eggs. My thought was to pull the mandarin eggs (and maybe a few wood duck eggs) until I leave and put them in an incubator and hope for the best. My fear is that if the mandarin keeps laying in that box, there could be upwards of 25 eggs in the box, and the woodie will stop setting and leave the eggs. Should I be concerned about this? I would appreciate any advice that is offered.

 

[KansasKid]

Dr. todd, when i was on my phone earlier i noticed that your avatar was different than on my computer, was it a Silver/white Baikal teal?

And how is everyone down south? Everyone make it through?

 

[exoticduckluvr]

snatching my hair out here. 11:30 all ducklings fine. Got back at 3 and 1 drown in the bigger pool. Heard babies out in the Aviary. Found them and put them back with Cin Teal. She tried to eat them, then i see her other 2. So these 2 babies are from the Sterile Chiloes nest I thought I had locked up in the nursery. There was little crack about 2" under the door when the straw was matted down. I also found a curled up baby not quite fully developed in the Chiloe nursery that she must have opened so now I am just loss over what to think. I swear i feel like a beginner and I have 5 yr experience raising Exotic ducks. Any eggs she laid should have hatched a week before the 2 mystery eggs did hmmmm. I just don't know what to do about the Cinnamon Teal Babies. I guess I just need to pull their water pans tomorrow morning if they are still alive and not let them have bathing water. Maybe some plant pot bottoms will be shallow enough and Mom & Dad will have to make do with it. I guess they just all want to drive me crazy this year

 

[destinduck]