The Quack Shack

[Canadian Wind]

So um.. this is how it's goingView attachment 3602499

Where there's a will, there's a way?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Could wild birds have dropped the seeds and they grew? I have netting over my duck pen but wild bird poop could still get in if they were doing a flyover. lol

Theoretically yes, i don't have any kind of netting over my garden. In early spring i had dumped the content of the duck-run into one of the corners of my garden area, planning to grow zucchini and cucumbers there. The ducks had other plans and planted tomatoes that have overgrown most of the zucchini and cucumbers since, hence that striped tomato.
Where would wild birds get butternut-squash seeds?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

No, those are a common ornamental sometimes called Chinese Lantern. The one I'm talking about is actually a native North American species. The one I have is either of these two species, I think. I'll know when the fruit is finally ripe, lol!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis_heterophylla
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis_virginiana

It does tend to try to take over though through it's underground rhizomes, so maybe plant it in containers. As well, the plant itself is toxic, being part of the nightshade family but the fruit is fine just like tomatoes to which it's related.

Well, the tasty plant that is able to withstand a flock of hungry ducks has not been found yet. My ducks have successfully destroyed a potato-patch, several tomato-plants, countless peppers and two rhubarbs. They should all have died from these plants but so far nightshade family zero, ducks five (at least)...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Like tomatoes and potatoes, it's the plant that is. They are all in the nightshade family.

That being said, my ducks destroyed the plants last year (ate them down to the roots!) and were fine.

About twenty ducks ate my first potato patch - i let them in to eat the nasty bugs and came back after about two hours to find a freshly tilled spot of land with neither bugs nor anything green left. My ducks think that potato and tomato plants are the same and that they are yummy. That includes the raw potatoes they dig out of the ground!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am sure they would be happy if they knew it was to keep them safe. I just pinioned two that jumped in my cart at our Rural King and they are fine. I said I would not do that anymore and I guess I lied. I should be banned from the store for sure. One looks like a Rouen Duck and the other one another fawn and white Runner. They were all supposed to be Runner Ducks but I am not so sure about the one that looks like a Rouen. They are just so stinking cute!!! I have no self control when it comes to the babies.

Why did you pinion the wings of ducks that are unable to fly anyways?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am shocked it can get that high. Did you only do one wing. I made the mistake of doing both years ago when I had Muscovy ducks and they could still fly just fine as I did not unbalance them.

You would be surprised how creative they are: Mr. Peaduck has used a ladder to get up the roof of my house, he is jumping into the wheelbarrow first, from there to the duckling-box and from there to the roof of my little storage shed where he likes to sleep when it is raining. He definitely can fly, even though when he attempts to do so he looks like a bust pillow right now due to moulting season...
Oh, and he tried the duckling ramp too!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Had some fun with the younglings over the weekend, together we ironed out the quirks of the duckling ramp... First attempt was a mess, the plywood i used is too smooth:

But after applying some spray-glue and some sawdust the ramp worked like a charm:

And in the end, everybody made it safe down and had a great time:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I bought a fake-grass carpet, 8x4', that i now use to cover the tarp in their overnight living-room brooder, it seems they love it. Its lightweight, so in the morning i roll it up, carry it outside, clean it with the gardenhose and throw it on the garage roof to dry out:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Some more pictures from the weekend, i try to spend at least one hour every day, sitting with them and handing out treats. - Today was miserable here, so i could not...

The oldest one is definitely a drake, just look at the sideburns:

Just hangin' out by the pool:

I said i have cold feet during the winter - not now!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

After stuffing duckling #12 with meal-worms, i tried to convince it that it is still a bay-duck and must sleep under my hand. It worked…

… for about 30 seconds.