The Quack Shack

[Canadian Wind]

Came to check in with you guys, it's like we are in two different worlds. You're all in snow and we are sitting over 40°C or 104°F for those measuring that way. The peafowl, despite originating from a warm climate have basicly melted into green and blue puddles. The three remaining water fowl are doing well, and yep, two are drakes... sigh... maybe I am not ment to have live ducks and should just stick to my kitchen ducks

We should get together and have a happy medium so far as temps go!

As for the drakes, can't help there I have the same curse!

 

[Luv Ducks]

Came to check in with you guys, it's like we are in two different worlds. You're all in snow and we are sitting over 40°C or 104°F for those measuring that way. The peafowl, despite originating from a warm climate have basicly melted into green and blue puddles. The three remaining water fowl are doing well, and yep, two are drakes... sigh... maybe I am not ment to have live ducks and should just stick to my kitchen ducks

Your luck sounds like mine. Over three years time I think I have gotten 3 Hens out of over 30 ducklings. I always say I am not doing that again and then I find one that has been sitting hiding from me and I don't have the heart to destroy eggs that are developing. I pray that I can find them this Spring.

 

[Luv Ducks]

They say that they hate bright lights. If you can put a lot of lighting around your coop, even solar ones that will come on when something enters the area would help if you don't have power that will help. Also my Nite Guard lights are good for Foxes too. I don't know if you have access to any websites that sell things such as coyote urine as that scares them away if you put it around the coop. Also having a dog is a big help as they hate dogs even if it is not around the coop itself, just the smell of one keeps them at bay. Very strong fencing for your coop area will help deter them but they can climb so electric wire around the bottom of it would be a great way to stop them from climbing. Good luck in protecting your flock.

Frank where have you been???? I have been missing your posts. I hope all is well.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I really don't, at the moment... I refill the water in the afternoon before freezing temps start but after the ducks are already done with most of the mucking up. In the morning I kick and poke the buckets / basins to break the ice. If necessary I repeat this during the day.

I empty out the electric water pump every afternoon and set it up again the next day. Thankfully it's not a very involved process.

We're talking about 0 to -10 C temperatures for now so all of the above is manageable. The biggest DOH! moment so far was that I forgot water can also freeze inside the rubber hoses, so now I have one lying around in the (non-frozen) garage for such situations.

Sometime in Jan-Feb we will probably get to the point when there are 2-3 weeks of freezing temps all over the day - that might be somewhat trickier. In a pinch I can carry hot water from the house but I'm sure that will get old very very quickly. So I'm looking for a way to safely heat a basin or two, probably with a submergible low-wattage electric heater.

If you have electricity close to the duck's area, think about Aquarium heaters. They have become very reliable, available in all ranges of Wattage, can be submerges fully and easy to clean due to their Quartz-Glass outer hull.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi Friends,
trying to catch up here!
Mid last month i ended up in an ER without remembering how i got there. Side effects of a new medication that a Nut(t)ricion eggspert forced upon me. Now my metabolism is completely messed up and i am only able to focus for short periods of time, it feels like being an ant inside of the pit of an ant-lion…
I have a lot of questions and have discovered that i have uploaded a couple of videos - don't remember when and how.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Hi Friends,
trying to catch up here!
Mid last month i ended up in an ER without remembering how i got there. Side effects of a new medication that a Nut(t)ricion eggspert forced upon me. Now my metabolism is completely messed up and i am only able to focus for short periods of time, it feels like being an ant inside of the pit of an ant-lion…
I have a lot of questions and have discovered that i have uploaded a couple of videos - don't remember when and how.

*BIG HUGS TO YOU!*

I hope that these issues resolve themselves soon!

 

[Miss Lydia]

*BIG HUGS TO YOU!*

I hope that these issues resolve themselves soon!

X2

 

[Luv Ducks]

Hi Friends,
trying to catch up here!
Mid last month i ended up in an ER without remembering how i got there. Side effects of a new medication that a Nut(t)ricion eggspert forced upon me. Now my metabolism is completely messed up and i am only able to focus for short periods of time, it feels like being an ant inside of the pit of an ant-lion…
I have a lot of questions and have discovered that i have uploaded a couple of videos - don't remember when and how.

So sorry to hear this Frank. I was afraid something was wrong. I will keep you in my prayers and I pray you get better soon.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

All this snow will melt overnight and I shudder to think what it will look like tomorrow... mud, more mud and some additional mud

Welcome to my world!
In 2018 everything was covered in green grass around the house, then we got ducks. I think it was in the winter of 2019/2020 when i slipped and fell on the mud-flats for the first time. Ducks are ingenuous in turning every landscape into a field of mud using very little water. Maybe we should release some ducks into the Sahara desert equipped with a couple buckets of water…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

[Woken up in the middle of the night after falling asleep at 6pm...]

I said i have a lot of news and many questions, so here is one of the questions:
Taking a break from the exhausting potato harvest, i noticed two Mallards walking down from the pond to the house and one of them has a somewhat white belly:

I wonder if that is a natural variation of the Mallards plumage?
@Pyxis

And yes, Duckling #12 still loves to photo/video bomb…