The Quack Shack

[Miss Lydia]

my group of 3 @7 -8 week olds are now living outside and at night they are crated in duck manor.
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my 2 @2 weeks old are -I think- cute combinations of their Mom and Dad - ( Cayuga & Fawn-white Runner , respectively)
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Adorable

 

[Jenbirdee]

it’s “feels like” 90 degrees at 9PM ——
therefore everyone has water and a window fan in their houses for the night. YaY and I’m thankful to be able to provide that for them!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

What I'm seeing (unrelated to temps) is that while they are fluffy they are like a single organism. Then they get feathers and with that, they also become individuals. It's been an interesting thing to observe.

Very good observation! - That's exactly how they grow up, from a pile of ducklings into individual ducks.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

I have a friend up here that I met through the emus, and he keeps ostriches. Now he has money money, so he can heat them through the winter with no problems, which is the reason I won't keep them - they have to be fully heated through winter here.

But, his birds started laying and he didn't have his incubators ready. And the eggs incubate at the same temperature as emus, and I thought, why not hatch some ostriches? So I did, haha. They went back to him a couple days ago. But they are such neat babies, very curious and friendly.

And big. This was when this one was a day old and just fluffed up:

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How fun!! What a cool experience for you. They are cute babies

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Oh man Very sorry to hear that. We haven't yet had such a situation (newbie duck owners) and it's hard even to think about it. And if I do I'm sure it doesn't come close to experiencing it.

Thank you very much! I wish you never have to experience this. It is hard, if a predator takes one of the ducks and it is just gone. But fin ding a mauled dead duck and having to see one of your babies slowly die due to its injuries is particularly difficult. On Thursday evening i was sure he had just a small injury on his leg and by Friday morning he was even able to walk again.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Well, here's a twist.
She's off -- went for food and drink and to socialize with the others.
So I went to check and...

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WOW! She must have been building this for a week!

But this also means that she's treating the nest as a hobby - she sits a bit, rejoins the others, maybe sits for a while again the next day, but definitely not overnight ... Today is a national holiday in Slovenia so she took the time to go and sit for a while

So these eggs don't have a chance of hatching anyway, right?

I've had eggs incubate thrmselves in summer heat...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

my group of 3 @7 -8 week olds are now living outside and at night they are crated in duck manor.
View attachment 3876962
my 2 @2 weeks old are -I think- cute combinations of their Mom and Dad - ( Cayuga & Fawn-white Runner , respectively)
View attachment 3876965View attachment 3876966

Wow! - That looks like the inside of my dream-duck house!
Solid walls with no drafty cracks, hardwood cloth on all windows, i bet the roof is not leaking too?
As much as i love to live on the side of a green hill, sometimes i wish i had some more flat land. I would build the ducks a palace with a run so large they would not even want to come outside where all the hungry predators are...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I've had eggs incubate thrmselves in summer heat...

The whole day, Sunny Sunshine was hovering over her fourteen eggs, poor girl was panting and could not even sit down because that would have cooked the eggs. Only when i sat down in the recliner and told her that i will watch over her nest she took off and jumped into her private bathtub.
And yes, she means business: Fourteen eggs!
I candled them all and they all look promising, some even show signs of imminent internal pips.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Hi Friends, with great sadness i have to tell you that the Sharp Dressed Drake took his last breath shortly before noon. He spent his final hour sitting on my lap cuddling his head under my hand, as he did last year as a duckling. He slipped away peacefully and i promised him that i will bury him side by side with the Black Swedish Duck.

My heartfelt sympathies to you, Frank. Really sorry to hear this. But he was lucky in that he had you there for him until the very end.

 

[Supercow]

my group of 3 @7 -8 week olds are now living outside and at night they are crated in duck manor.
View attachment 3876962
my 2 @2 weeks old are -I think- cute combinations of their Mom and Dad - ( Cayuga & Fawn-white Runner , respectively)
View attachment 3876965View attachment 3876966

Oh wow, what a nice space. If there are ever no ducks you can probably rent it out