UncleBimBim
Hatching
- Feb 3, 2025
- 3
- 0
- 9
We got our 3 birds (siblings - 2 x girls, 1 x boy) when they were just 1 week old. They're 22 weeks old this week. They're happy and healthy. Definitely look like there's some cross breeding. I can see Mallard traits.
They've been mating several times a day for the past 2-3 weeks and showing some signs of nesting behaviour but no eggs just yet. Our drake takes his role very seriously and protects his girls very well.
They share a coop and foraging area with 4 x Isa Brown hens.
The 2-storey coop is inside a steel cage so I can lock the birds away and keep them safe from predators. There's enough space for the coop and a small outside area for food and water. The chooks have the top level, and the ducks the lower level. When the ducks were younger they would get harassed by the hens, but not so much anymore, especially with the drake being so protective.
The birds also share a foraging area thats about 12m x 5m. This area is fenced off with star pickets and plastic mesh (we're in the process of building a more permanent fence).
We have a 4-month old kelpie pup who is obsessed with the birds. We've secured the foraging area as much as possible, but she can sometimes still find a way in. She doesn't hurt them, just wants to herd them or eat their food. It's rare that she gets in. Maybe once or twice a week. If she's not in there, she sits in one corner near the fence and watches them like a prison warden. She'll run back and forth along the perimeter if one of the birds does something exciting.
Sometimes I let the birds out into the backyard so they can forage some new stuff. I'll let them do their thing for a while then the pup and I will herd them back into the foraging area. Good training for her. The birds love coming out to the larger area but obviously get startled when we start herding.
It's currently early May in Western Victoria, Australia, so the days are shorter and colder.
I'm concerned that maybe the kelpie and the chickens might make the ducks feel unsafe and delay or prevent laying. Should I change anything or is it too soon to tell?
They've been mating several times a day for the past 2-3 weeks and showing some signs of nesting behaviour but no eggs just yet. Our drake takes his role very seriously and protects his girls very well.
They share a coop and foraging area with 4 x Isa Brown hens.
The 2-storey coop is inside a steel cage so I can lock the birds away and keep them safe from predators. There's enough space for the coop and a small outside area for food and water. The chooks have the top level, and the ducks the lower level. When the ducks were younger they would get harassed by the hens, but not so much anymore, especially with the drake being so protective.
The birds also share a foraging area thats about 12m x 5m. This area is fenced off with star pickets and plastic mesh (we're in the process of building a more permanent fence).
We have a 4-month old kelpie pup who is obsessed with the birds. We've secured the foraging area as much as possible, but she can sometimes still find a way in. She doesn't hurt them, just wants to herd them or eat their food. It's rare that she gets in. Maybe once or twice a week. If she's not in there, she sits in one corner near the fence and watches them like a prison warden. She'll run back and forth along the perimeter if one of the birds does something exciting.
Sometimes I let the birds out into the backyard so they can forage some new stuff. I'll let them do their thing for a while then the pup and I will herd them back into the foraging area. Good training for her. The birds love coming out to the larger area but obviously get startled when we start herding.
It's currently early May in Western Victoria, Australia, so the days are shorter and colder.
I'm concerned that maybe the kelpie and the chickens might make the ducks feel unsafe and delay or prevent laying. Should I change anything or is it too soon to tell?
