duckling pictures

Clearly I'm using ducklings to distract me from other issues....

This thread makes me want to get ducks!

These guys hatched on 23 September 2019. They're Swedish Black and Swedish Blue. I'll post more pictures when they're old enough to take out of the brooder for a bit. These little ones seem to need more warmth than the Golden Cascade ducklings I received in April.

Cheers!

DUCKIES! Swedish Black and Blue at 1 week old.

So...

If you're thinking about raising ducks, and I really hope you do, YES, THEY DO GROW THAT FAST! YES, THAT'S ONE DAY OF POOP!

Swedish Black and Blue

They are out of the battery brooder! Short trips outside (the pool is for the bigger ducks and my dog and maybe me).

Ducklings are such groupies. I used to say that it's as if a group of ducklings has bungee cords attached. If one gets a little too far away, either the bungee reels it back in, or the whole rest of the group springs towards the outlier.

Jay Angler wrote:Ducklings are such groupies. I used to say that it's as if a group of ducklings has bungee cords attached. If one gets a little too far away, either the bungee reels it back in, or the whole rest of the group springs towards the outlier.

Right?! My outdoor ducks (Golden Cascades hatched April 11, 2019) looked at the ducklings when I brought them outside and were like, "Who are they? And why do they get food when they follow you?"

Now the older ducks put the bums' rush on me in the morning and in the evening. They've been angry with me for three months, and now they chase me for peas. I love it.

Duckling pictures, staring Flower (the gosling) and Dandelion, Bleeding Heart, and Cakes (the ducks)

The gosling is a surprise that our geese hid from us, and then abandoned (he hatched a day early). We nursed him back to health, and then frantically found him some buddies so he thinks he's a bird, and not just a human! The gosling thinks we're his mama, and the ducklings think he's their mama. It's too cute!

My latest crop of "challenges" are a group of 3 incubator hatched from rescued eggs Muscovy ducklings. They've spent waaaayyyy too much time pooping on the kitchen floor, and were just crying because I was out at my computer instead of working in the kitchen while they nibbled my ankles. Sigh... so now they are tucked between my vest and shirt having "cuddle time" while I type. They've been going out to the field for longer periods each day, and yesterday I tried *really* hard to convince a BWD to adopt them, but she politely declined. Monday we had some visitors, so I thought I'd post this picture:

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Well, our life just got turned upside down by this little fellow! Right before we left for a family reunion a state away, I noticed that Mama duck had abandoned her nest. I figured the eggs were all rotten--one was even cracked! For some reason, I decided to look closer on the presumed rotten egg, and saw a tiny beak moving!

The little guy's membrane was all dry and hard from Mama abandoning him, so we quickly set to trying to save him and build him an incubator and find someone to watch him while we were gone. We managed all three with a huge amount of help from our friends, and they were so wonderful for taking care of the little ducky.

Now we have a lone little ducky, who's imprinted on people, and is very sad when we're away. We're going to try to pick up another duck at the store tomorrow to keep him company. But, for now, he sits in our laps or hangs out with us outside. He's actually sitting in my lap right now as I type, so he doesn't peep and wake up the family.

I am sooo... glad I dodged that bullet, Nicole. I had a Muscovy fail to transition from "setting" to "brooding" and lost 2 healthy ducklings, but was able to rescue a single one. At the same time, I had a different Muscovy who had hatched 2 goslings, but had one egg left and hadn't come off the nest. I tucked little Khaki in the nest, took the last egg and checked it for pipping and then candled it, determining that it wouldn't hatch, and so BWD, the 2 goslings, and lonely khaki have been family ever since. They're bound to be somewhat confused... but better bird confusion than human imprinted for long-term integration.

Awwww, they're so cute! I'm glad you found a mama duck for them. I tried introducing the duck to our goose, who always wants babies. But this little one is already so imprinted on people, that I think we just need to buy him a little friend.

This is Donut, one of the first call ducklings I ever hatched! She sure was a cute duckling!