Thread formerly known as Hatch day is today

[JulieNKC]

Hi Everyone

 

[Goin Quackrrs]

Breed maybe? I remember my mallard Beaker just one day looked at me and said, "Quack!". But then the Apple was like the old man blowing the nose thing.. and THEN quack. I happen to think the mallards are faster at quacking and getting feathers... etc. But then again, they are smaller and "wild".

I need to look for a drake feather on my boy Apple. And then remember when it happens for next time.

This is probably a good place to inform everyon that I came home from work today and received a gift from hubby: a duck call! He thinks if I get good at it and any of them runs off, I can call it back. LOL.

My mixed girls were quacking very clearly at 3 weeks, but their daddy didn't get his drake feather until 7 months. My calls have been a lot slower at quacking but I have a drake with a drake feather at 7 weeks. I think it's a breed/individual duck thing too.

My pekins will be four weeks tomorrow and not one quack. If I vent sexed them right, I have two boys and a girl which is what I was hoping for. I think I started getting good quacks about 5 weeks last time with ducklings...

New question from my hubby.

Hubby would like to build a double size outdoor pen and combine our 4 nine week old ducks with our 4 six week old ducks. Do you think this is a good idea? What is the best way to introduce the two sets of ducks?

I have a puppy play yard that I can take apart and configure. So for the first few days, the kids get a doghouse inside the puppy fencing right next to the adults. After day three, they get let out to see how things go. If they do well, they stay with the adults.

I also use this setup for quarantining adult ducks. Though I shouldn't ever need to do so again now that I've established my starter flock.

What would be even funnier is to hear them actually make the sounds to each other in audio. Oh wait...howabout a duckling quacking competition?

Hey, I have a duck call and a goose call. It may sound like an unfair advantage, but I need lots of practice because I sound more like a duck deflating than a duck quacking.

I have recaptured 2 of the 3 coturnix. They truly are not the brightest birds. I heard my quail roo crow, look out and see him standing at the door of the run. Walk down there, he flies in the coop and I put him back in his cage. Hear him crowing while I am playing with the babies, and hear a bird answer. Look and see one of my hens standing next to the fence line (grass is over a foot tall in neighboring yard) by the dog kennel. Walk over there hoping she isn't smart enough to turn and run through the grass. Nope, she FLIES across the yard about 30 feet up (never had one fly that far) and landed in the firewood stack and sat and waited for me to pick her up.

Glad you got two of your quail back! Hope the other one follows suit.

That's great. I hope the third comes back too.

So I have the 4-3 day old quail in my brooder and decided to bring my docile/sweet italian hen in to meet them. Watching her like a hawk of course. She has been around juveniles before but never babies. She did very well. I left for a couple minutes, came back and I couldn't find 3 of the 4 babies. Then, they started popping out from underneath her. Aww, it was so cute. They just love her. She seems to be enjoying them too.

I have never had a hen go broody before but this kind of fills that void for me. LOL

Me too, its the little one, Julia. I don't know what lesson this will hold for her, but she likes to go whisper encouragement to it.

My son prayed for Pocket many, many times. When she didn't get better, he was confused, so I told him that Jesus needed a duckie.

 

[Kevin565]

How have you been Julie?

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6076929/id/5024834/sort/display_order

Sorry it took soooo long. But 2 babies made it out nice! there were 2 girls and a boy, but one of the girls died. So I have a cute little pair. I love my little babies! The girl (Daisy) is standing up, and the boy (Arty) is laying down. Also, they both have different parents! The other girl was Daisy's sister. And these 2 are already extremely friendly! The seller had 5 girls hatch out of 7 eggs! Wowza! Im lucky I got a pair! Lol

 

[Iain Utah]

Quackers, that's funny about your husband and the anaconda and call ducks!

Hey Kevin, how's it going?

 

[Goin Quackrrs]

Hi Kevin!

Time for me to go clean up after pekins and see if they respond to the duck call hubby bought for me. Silly guy.

Then I'm going to do a massive candling. Both bators. I know one of the WH I got locally blood ringed on me. Hope that's the only casualty.

By day 3 I should be able to see something, right? I'm antsy to see if any of my personal eggs are doing anything this time around. I can't possibly be doing something wrong? But how can I continually blame the drakes when I technically have one more than I should out there. They can't ALL be missing the bullseye!

 

[Kevin565]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6076929/id/5024834/sort/display_order
Sorry it took soooo long. But 2 babies made it out nice! there were 2 girls and a boy, but one of the girls died. So I have a cute little pair. I love my little babies! The girl (Daisy) is standing up, and the boy (Arty) is laying down. Also, they both have different parents! The other girl was Daisy's sister. And these 2 are already extremely friendly! The seller had 5 girls hatch out of 7 eggs! Wowza! Im lucky I got a pair! Lol

Quackers, that's funny about your husband and the anaconda and call ducks!

Hey Kevin, how's it going?

My week has been alot better than lasts. How about yours?

 

[JulieNKC]

How have you been Julie?

Great, except for chasing escapee quail. Busy with all the birds and babies and eggs.

How've you been?

 

[Chicken Crazy12]

I just watched War Horse today and the goose in the beginning cracked me up

. It made me think of all of you with geese on here.

 

[Iain Utah]

DG, congrats!!!!!!! They look great!!!!

Kevin, pretty good, thanks. I think I'm caught up on sleep and work, enjoying all my new babies, and ready for my next set of hatches next week.