What the duck are my duckies doing there?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

So it was raining here in WV since the weekend, today (Thursday) without any pause. Tried to let my duckies loose and first they did not even want to come out of their enclosure - i can understand that when looking at my wet and dirty feet, but i am not a duck and as far as i know ducks like water, wet grass, rain and mud…
Anyway in the afternoon finally my ducks came out from their platform onto the grass, i served them some kitchen scraps which they usually fight over and - nothing. Instead my ducks are poking their bills into the ground, digging little holes which quickly fill up with mud and then they're sifting through that.

What are they eating there? Dirt? We have heavy red loam here, that's not tasty at all! They ignore even all the wet grasshoppers around them. Dig-ducks?
Oh yeah! It was quite a fight to get them back in tonight, me ankle-deep in the mud against ducks with their attached rubber-boots…

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mine do that in the spring. I assume they are looking for worms or any other drowning bugs.

 

[Conan]

They're dabbling
Siphoning out little worms and bugs and all sorts of things. Mine do it constantly in the rain. The sound cracks me up.

 

[Raenh]

Mine do it as soon as they are out of their coop - lol the only thing that distracts them is mealworms and oats! They love digging into the mud - little bugs and worms beware!

And yeah, they HATE going back into the coop at night when it's nice and muddy outside. But usually they realize it's dark, hop into the pool and splish splash, they're taking a bath! Then hop out, shake off, and into the coop the line goes.

 

[Jpat]

are those hook bill ducks???

 

[Cayuga momma]

Dabbling is cool, until they are doing it along the side of your metal house siding and your dog thinks its thunder. Oh the joys...

 

[Jpat]

Dabbling is cool, until they are doing it along the side of your metal house siding and your dog thinks its thunder. Oh the joys...

hahaha!

Or they look like they live in the dump

 

[Callender Girl]

My ducks go crazy even when I dump a water dish or one of their pools. The runner ducks have done so much digging, it looks like tiny "miners" have been excavating the yard.

 

[Rysktal]

It's been raining a lot where I live as well and my Muscovy ducks are doing the same thing. My lawn is full of duck bill shaped holes, lol!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have to join this crowd between the chickens making moon size craters and the ducks billing in the muds our bird property is a sight. They love it so that is all that matters.