June 6, 2013

• Baby Ducks

  Today we were going to go to Richmond Virginia VA for them to look at Rick’s back. It was raining so it was the perfect time for me to scrub out the ducks’ little swimming pools this morning first. Which I did. And then filled them up. Last month, my little Mallards mated. One, the pretty tan one, built her nest way over at one end of the pen in a corner. (All pictures can be clicked on to see a bigger size.)

  

  Another one built hers inside one of the little houses Rick made for them. The big old Muscovy duck stole her nest and ran her off, and sat on the eggs.

  

  The little Mallard’s eggs hatched first. (May 28th) But two of them had tried to hatch too early and it literally broke off the end half of the top of their beak. They lay there and died and there was nothing any of us could do. Broke my heart. But five of them were very healthy and active. I separated her and the babies from the rest of the ducks.

  

  

  

  

  One of them was colored slightly different, with a yellow band around the back of it’s neck, and a mostly orange beak (not black). You’ll notice in the video here:

   

  And I made another one:

   

  I began to think that the Muscovy’s eggs were just duds until a few days later when she had five little baby Mallards running around under her feet. One of hers had that yellow band also, and one was solid black. She was super protective of them, so I figured they’d be okay in there with the other ducks. Only, yesterday, 3 of them were in with the Mallard and only one was with her, and the fifth one was just gone. (bad sign) It was so much fun separating them out while trying to keep her from attacking me. Then, this morning, another one – the one she had with the yellow band around it’s neck – was dead, and the solid black one was really wet. (They are supposed to share their oil with them so that the water rolls right off. The Mallard has been doing a wonderful job, her babies hop in the pool and swim around. I learned the hard way that without a mother to do this, they get water logged and freeze to death.) The black one was in the duck house and not with her and the other two still living. The one with the yellow band around it’s neck was laying there dead in the middle of the pen. I am fairly sure it got wet and froze to death last night. After I cleaned (scrubbed) rinsed and filled the pools, I had to shower to go to the VA with Rick. I decided to check on the ducks one last time, and there lay the solid black one on it’s back, soaking wet, and trying unsuccessfully to get up. And the Muscovy off away from it, doing nothing. Well, that was it! Little miss Muscovy has proven herself a bad mother. So, all showered and dressed nice and smelling pretty, I had to climb in the duck muck and fight her for the last two and gathered up the black one too. Of course she splattered mud on my nice clean clothes. But not very much and as soon as it dried it brushed off. I did an amazing feat of not even slipping and falling on my butt, even though I was wearing my (slippery) dress boots and it is so muddy in there! Anyway, I dried off the black baby, and Rick set up my heat lamp and we put him and the other two under it. I wasn’t sure if he’d make it, but we had to leave. It turned out we had an automatic draft from our account, so we didn’t have as much money for gas as we thought, and Rick was (rightfully so) worried we’d run out of gas and end up stranded if we went on to the VA, so we had to turn around and come back. I was very happy to find that the little black baby was dry and chipper with the other two, so I think he will live!

   

  

  • 6:54 pm
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