The Quack Shack

[Miss Lydia]

This is the second session.

What we liked best was that I had a hard time catching her to put her in the tub. Until now it was a given that she would run for a while and flop down; this time around she was unusually persistent and even when exhausted she would quickly get up and continue running.

So I guess things are going in the right direction.

She looks great and even her fock thinks so.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Greeting everyone. We have rain!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Its been so long since I raised geese I had forgotten how much fun they are. I tell them hello, whatcha doin and they run out from under the warmer and jump up and down until I put my hand in for nibbling. They love shiny things.

 

[DuneDucks]

Hello everyone! Hope you've all had a nice week so far.

Came into possession of a new drake yesterday courtesy of fellow BYC member @R2elk. Great guy if you've never had the chance to speak with him on here before. Bob raises some beautiful birds (turkey, chicken, guinea) and grows his own oasis here in the Wyoming desert. From what I gather the drake had to be rehomed because he was getting too frisky with the chickens, so he ended up with Bob, and then Bob contacted me knowing I have my own flock of ducks out here.

I guess the previous owner told Bob it was a Runner duck prior to dropping it off, but he said he immediately knew that wasn't the case. I'll be honest, I had to do a bit of a double take when I first saw the drake myself, this duck is absolutely massive. I've wondered before if one of my girls might be a Jumbo Pekin because she has a few good pounds on the others, but this drake absolutely dwarfs her. Easily a good 6/7 pounds bigger.

If I had to guess, I would probably say he's about 2/3 years old. Maybe an impulse buy during the pandemic. I struggle to think of how else somebody could be so poorly researched as to think this duck was a Runner all this time. That said, he could probably be in far worse condition considering the breed. He has a bit of a limp and a spot of bumble, but nothing that wouldn't be unmanageable there.

One thing that has caught my eye and I'm a bit unsure of is that he occasionally pumps his tail as he walks around. Almost looks like one of my girls when they need to lay an egg. His feather quality is pretty poor too. There're a few spots that almost look picked at towards the tail end, and the spot around his vent is bare. I wonder if he wasn't the target of another drake himself, or does that sound like it could be worms or something? I checked him over pretty thoroughly for mites/lice/etc and didn't see anything external.

Health aside, I'm left with the question of what to do with the big guy. Like I told Bob, I'm not too keen on raising male Pekin. I gave it a try for the experience last year, and to see if it was something I'd want to do going forward, but ultimately I decided raising meat birds wasn't for me. Dry picking the one was enough to turn me off the idea haha. So, there's no place for him in my main flock, and while I do have a drake flock, I'm not big on the idea of this sexually aggressive giant getting in fights with ducks less than half his size. Not to mention how much food and other dietary supplements a bird his size is bound to need.

I know some of you won't like to hear it, but right now it's looking like he'll be headed to the dinner pot once I have him in a bit better shape. The only thing possibly saving him at this point is my nephew who wants to keep him for himself and named the drake "Monster". The only alternative I'd really have for him is letting him free range by himself, but outside of the run it would only be a matter of time before he turned into fox food, and I'd prefer to eat him myself before that happens.

Anyways, I know I've wrote a lot here, so I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. The angle/comparison isn't perfect, but you can get a rough sense of scale. Really doesn't do him justice though. But the girls would only get so close to the duck statue!

 

[Canadian Wind]

Hello everyone! Hope you've all had a nice week so far.

Came into possession of a new drake yesterday courtesy of fellow BYC member @R2elk. Great guy if you've never had the chance to speak with him on here before. Bob raises some beautiful birds (turkey, chicken, guinea) and grows his own oasis here in the Wyoming desert. From what I gather the drake had to be rehomed because he was getting too frisky with the chickens, so he ended up with Bob, and then Bob contacted me knowing I have my own flock of ducks out here.

I guess the previous owner told Bob it was a Runner duck prior to dropping it off, but he said he immediately knew that wasn't the case. I'll be honest, I had to do a bit of a double take when I first saw the drake myself, this duck is absolutely massive. I've wondered before if one of my girls might be a Jumbo Pekin because she has a few good pounds on the others, but this drake absolutely dwarfs her. Easily a good 6/7 pounds bigger.

If I had to guess, I would probably say he's about 2/3 years old. Maybe an impulse buy during the pandemic. I struggle to think of how else somebody could be so poorly researched as to think this duck was a Runner all this time. That said, he could probably be in far worse condition considering the breed. He has a bit of a limp and a spot of bumble, but nothing that wouldn't be unmanageable there.

One thing that has caught my eye and I'm a bit unsure of is that he occasionally pumps his tail as he walks around. Almost looks like one of my girls when they need to lay an egg. His feather quality is pretty poor too. There're a few spots that almost look picked at towards the tail end, and the spot around his vent is bare. I wonder if he wasn't the target of another drake himself, or does that sound like it could be worms or something? I checked him over pretty thoroughly for mites/lice/etc and didn't see anything external.

Health aside, I'm left with the question of what to do with the big guy. Like I told Bob, I'm not too keen on raising male Pekin. I gave it a try for the experience last year, and to see if it was something I'd want to do going forward, but ultimately I decided raising meat birds wasn't for me. Dry picking the one was enough to turn me off the idea haha. So, there's no place for him in my main flock, and while I do have a drake flock, I'm not big on the idea of this sexually aggressive giant getting in fights with ducks less than half his size. Not to mention how much food and other dietary supplements a bird his size is bound to need.

I know some of you won't like to hear it, but right now it's looking like he'll be headed to the dinner pot once I have him in a bit better shape. The only thing possibly saving him at this point is my nephew who wants to keep him for himself and named the drake "Monster". The only alternative I'd really have for him is letting him free range by himself, but outside of the run it would only be a matter of time before he turned into fox food, and I'd prefer to eat him myself before that happens.

Anyways, I know I've wrote a lot here, so I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. The angle/comparison isn't perfect, but you can get a rough sense of scale. Really doesn't do him justice though. But the girls would only get so close to the duck statue!


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All he needs are caruncles and he'd be a Muscovy!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

This is the second session.

What we liked best was that I had a hard time catching her to put her in the tub. Until now it was a given that she would run for a while and flop down; this time around she was unusually persistent and even when exhausted she would quickly get up and continue running.

So I guess things are going in the right direction.

Eggcelent progress! She is paddling strong with both legs! That is a very good training eggcercise. Did she poop into the water? If not you have a very rare duck: Its common practice for ducks to poop into their swimming water before washing themselves and drinking their soup.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Greeting everyone. We have rain!

That will help somewhat with the air-quality! - Forecast says we'll get rain here on Sunday.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Its been so long since I raised geese I had forgotten how much fun they are. I tell them hello, whatcha doin and they run out from under the warmer and jump up and down until I put my hand in for nibbling. They love shiny things.
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And as far as i understand, they will not have this humon = axe-murderer phase like ducklings have, right? And they will stay friendly with you even as mature birbs. - Unless they go broody that is.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hello everyone! Hope you've all had a nice week so far.

Came into possession of a new drake yesterday courtesy of fellow BYC member @R2elk. Great guy if you've never had the chance to speak with him on here before. Bob raises some beautiful birds (turkey, chicken, guinea) and grows his own oasis here in the Wyoming desert. From what I gather the drake had to be rehomed because he was getting too frisky with the chickens, so he ended up with Bob, and then Bob contacted me knowing I have my own flock of ducks out here.

I guess the previous owner told Bob it was a Runner duck prior to dropping it off, but he said he immediately knew that wasn't the case. I'll be honest, I had to do a bit of a double take when I first saw the drake myself, this duck is absolutely massive. I've wondered before if one of my girls might be a Jumbo Pekin because she has a few good pounds on the others, but this drake absolutely dwarfs her. Easily a good 6/7 pounds bigger.

If I had to guess, I would probably say he's about 2/3 years old. Maybe an impulse buy during the pandemic. I struggle to think of how else somebody could be so poorly researched as to think this duck was a Runner all this time. That said, he could probably be in far worse condition considering the breed. He has a bit of a limp and a spot of bumble, but nothing that wouldn't be unmanageable there.

One thing that has caught my eye and I'm a bit unsure of is that he occasionally pumps his tail as he walks around. Almost looks like one of my girls when they need to lay an egg. His feather quality is pretty poor too. There're a few spots that almost look picked at towards the tail end, and the spot around his vent is bare. I wonder if he wasn't the target of another drake himself, or does that sound like it could be worms or something? I checked him over pretty thoroughly for mites/lice/etc and didn't see anything external.

Health aside, I'm left with the question of what to do with the big guy. Like I told Bob, I'm not too keen on raising male Pekin. I gave it a try for the experience last year, and to see if it was something I'd want to do going forward, but ultimately I decided raising meat birds wasn't for me. Dry picking the one was enough to turn me off the idea haha. So, there's no place for him in my main flock, and while I do have a drake flock, I'm not big on the idea of this sexually aggressive giant getting in fights with ducks less than half his size. Not to mention how much food and other dietary supplements a bird his size is bound to need.

I know some of you won't like to hear it, but right now it's looking like he'll be headed to the dinner pot once I have him in a bit better shape. The only thing possibly saving him at this point is my nephew who wants to keep him for himself and named the drake "Monster". The only alternative I'd really have for him is letting him free range by himself, but outside of the run it would only be a matter of time before he turned into fox food, and I'd prefer to eat him myself before that happens.

Anyways, I know I've wrote a lot here, so I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. The angle/comparison isn't perfect, but you can get a rough sense of scale. Really doesn't do him justice though. But the girls would only get so close to the duck statue!


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He is a beautiful drake! - I wouldn't know what to do with him either. Ralphi Dux, my unplanned Black Swedish drake is a package… Fortunately the Runners are able to outrun him.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hello everyone! Hope you've all had a nice week so far.

Came into possession of a new drake yesterday courtesy of fellow BYC member @R2elk. Great guy if you've never had the chance to speak with him on here before. Bob raises some beautiful birds (turkey, chicken, guinea) and grows his own oasis here in the Wyoming desert. From what I gather the drake had to be rehomed because he was getting too frisky with the chickens, so he ended up with Bob, and then Bob contacted me knowing I have my own flock of ducks out here.

I guess the previous owner told Bob it was a Runner duck prior to dropping it off, but he said he immediately knew that wasn't the case. I'll be honest, I had to do a bit of a double take when I first saw the drake myself, this duck is absolutely massive. I've wondered before if one of my girls might be a Jumbo Pekin because she has a few good pounds on the others, but this drake absolutely dwarfs her. Easily a good 6/7 pounds bigger.

If I had to guess, I would probably say he's about 2/3 years old. Maybe an impulse buy during the pandemic. I struggle to think of how else somebody could be so poorly researched as to think this duck was a Runner all this time. That said, he could probably be in far worse condition considering the breed. He has a bit of a limp and a spot of bumble, but nothing that wouldn't be unmanageable there.

One thing that has caught my eye and I'm a bit unsure of is that he occasionally pumps his tail as he walks around. Almost looks like one of my girls when they need to lay an egg. His feather quality is pretty poor too. There're a few spots that almost look picked at towards the tail end, and the spot around his vent is bare. I wonder if he wasn't the target of another drake himself, or does that sound like it could be worms or something? I checked him over pretty thoroughly for mites/lice/etc and didn't see anything external.

Health aside, I'm left with the question of what to do with the big guy. Like I told Bob, I'm not too keen on raising male Pekin. I gave it a try for the experience last year, and to see if it was something I'd want to do going forward, but ultimately I decided raising meat birds wasn't for me. Dry picking the one was enough to turn me off the idea haha. So, there's no place for him in my main flock, and while I do have a drake flock, I'm not big on the idea of this sexually aggressive giant getting in fights with ducks less than half his size. Not to mention how much food and other dietary supplements a bird his size is bound to need.

I know some of you won't like to hear it, but right now it's looking like he'll be headed to the dinner pot once I have him in a bit better shape. The only thing possibly saving him at this point is my nephew who wants to keep him for himself and named the drake "Monster". The only alternative I'd really have for him is letting him free range by himself, but outside of the run it would only be a matter of time before he turned into fox food, and I'd prefer to eat him myself before that happens.

Anyways, I know I've wrote a lot here, so I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. The angle/comparison isn't perfect, but you can get a rough sense of scale. Really doesn't do him justice though. But the girls would only get so close to the duck statue!


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I vote nephew gets him. He’s already been through so much and look at that smile