Beautiful new feathers on her wings, back, chest and tail.
30/07/2010
27/07/2010
all penned in
Day 24. Monday 26th July 2010
Ella, Alex and Lex with Evan, Violet and Jake (who is hidden by the hutch.
Ella, Alex and Lex with Evan, Violet and Jake (who is hidden by the hutch.
26/07/2010
preening
Ducks spend a lot of time preening themselves. They preen to remove parasites, to remove scales which cover newly sprouting feathers, to spread oil on their feathers and to comb the barbs on their feathers so that they interlock. The oil comes from the preen gland on the rump. The duck picks up the oil with its head and beak and rubs it over its feathers.
wings and feathers
25/07/2010
mad ducks
Day 23. Sunday 25th July 2010
Mirror reflection.
Deep preening.
Legs on upside down.
A dive and a shake.
Duck drawing.
Duck's drawing (bottom left).
Mirror reflection.
Deep preening.
Legs on upside down.
A dive and a shake.
Duck drawing.
Duck's drawing (bottom left).
four poses
Day 22. Saturday 24th July 2010
Swan neck.
Fluffball.
An awkward spot.
A beautiful bird.
Note those lovely female legs and feet, now becoming orange.
Fluffball.
An awkward spot.
A beautiful bird.
Note those lovely female legs and feet, now becoming orange.
22/07/2010
mealworms and 'angel wing'
Day 20. Thursday 22nd July 2010
We feed the ducklings on a mix of oats and chick crumbs and occasional chopped boiled egg, with various greens thrown in throughout the day: lettuce, chopped green leaves from the veg. garden, chickweed, white clover flowers and dandelion. They also have a turf dug up and placed in the pen for them to forage in.
They chirp for food throughout the day, but no matter what they're fed, nothing satisfies them - and shuts them up - like mealworms. Mealworms are quite expensive, at £4 for 500ml, but we're anxious for the ducks to grow strong to have the best chance of survival when they're set free.
Eager for mealworms, the ducklings rush to the fence.
Ah, mealworms!
We have now learnt, though, that too much protein in their diet can cause a problem - 'angel wing', where the wing feathers grow out from the body instead of folding flat. So, like it or not, they're going to have less protein in their diet; which, basically, means a whole lot more chirping.
There's more about 'angel wing' and how to correct it, here.
We feed the ducklings on a mix of oats and chick crumbs and occasional chopped boiled egg, with various greens thrown in throughout the day: lettuce, chopped green leaves from the veg. garden, chickweed, white clover flowers and dandelion. They also have a turf dug up and placed in the pen for them to forage in.
They chirp for food throughout the day, but no matter what they're fed, nothing satisfies them - and shuts them up - like mealworms. Mealworms are quite expensive, at £4 for 500ml, but we're anxious for the ducks to grow strong to have the best chance of survival when they're set free.
Ah, mealworms!
We have now learnt, though, that too much protein in their diet can cause a problem - 'angel wing', where the wing feathers grow out from the body instead of folding flat. So, like it or not, they're going to have less protein in their diet; which, basically, means a whole lot more chirping.
There's more about 'angel wing' and how to correct it, here.
21/07/2010
20/07/2010
first night outdoors
Day 17. Monday 19th July 2010
With the pen close to the house, the ducklings spent their first night outdoors last night. We left the house lights on, shining out through the windows, to discourage any predators, like foxes or badgers. After some squeaking and squawking at first, they soon settled down.
This is Petal.
This is Evan, the biggest.
With the pen close to the house, the ducklings spent their first night outdoors last night. We left the house lights on, shining out through the windows, to discourage any predators, like foxes or badgers. After some squeaking and squawking at first, they soon settled down.
This is Petal.
This is Evan, the biggest.
18/07/2010
duck names
Day 15. Saturday 17th July 2010
Lexi has names for all the ducks. Evan is the biggest. He took to Lex on the first day, squeaks for her to come and runs to her when he sees her.
Their names and descriptions are:
Tom - little
Petle [Petal] - big
Jake - middle
Rosemary - little
Violet - middle
Evan - big
Their names and descriptions are:
Tom - little
Petle [Petal] - big
Jake - middle
Rosemary - little
Violet - middle
Evan - big
a new pen
Day 14. Friday 16th July 2010
First tryout of the new pen, made to keep the ducks safe outside until they're ready to go back to the wild.
First tryout of the new pen, made to keep the ducks safe outside until they're ready to go back to the wild.
16/07/2010
ducks' first dip
Video from Day 2, showing the ducks preening and using their flippers for the first time.
15/07/2010
mad for mealworms
Day 12. Wednesday 14th July 2010
They can devour a lettuce in double-quick time and they go mad for mealworms. Just a shake of the packet gets their attention and brings them all running.
They can devour a lettuce in double-quick time and they go mad for mealworms. Just a shake of the packet gets their attention and brings them all running.
staying in
The weather has been rainy and windy for the past few days, so the ducklings have had to stay in their pen in the kitchen.
Looking more like ducks.
14/07/2010
08/07/2010
six orphaned mallards
For the last three years, a mallard duck has been laying and hatching her eggs outside our kitchen. Until this year, she laid them in a large wooden planter with a fig tree in it outside the back door. This year, she moved around the corner a bit and in to a plant pot. She laid eight eggs and six of them hatched: three drakes and three hens.
Day 1. Saturday 3rd July 2010
A day after the hatchings, the mother was nowhere to be seen. We presumed she'd left the nest for food and been taken by a fox, perhaps.
After searching the internet for advice on what to do and what not to do, and rejecting some of it, we set up a pen from some perspex sheets which were used for giving the hamster a run and fed the ducks on oats and water and finely chopped boiled egg. We gave them some shallow water to play in and some small turves of grass to peck at.
Bedtime.At night, and during the day if the weather is bad, the ducklings live in their perspex pen on the kitchen floor, with a low-wattage desk lamp over them in one corner and a warm hot water bottle underneath.
Day 2. Sunday 4th July 2010
Fast asleep.On a sunny day, we move the pen outside, with wire netting over the top to keep them safely in and any predators out, and with a towel over a corner for shade. (The hose pipe in the picture has nothing to do with it. In fact, we use rain water from the butt for the ducks, and there are a few mosquito larvae flicking about in it, much to the ducks' delight.)
Some advised that young ducklings should not have water to play in, only to drink, because their feathers are not yet waterproof, but we felt that this would only be problem if they weren't able to dry out easily. When we put them outside in the sun we give them a bowl of water that they can swim in, with some rocks in and around for them to get out. They love it, took to it like 'ducks to water', and gave us many laughs as they tried to figure out how to use their flippers: paddling like mad, but standing still; trying to go forwards, but going backwards; and zipping across the water at high speed, right across and out the other side.
Day 4. Tuesday 5th July 2010
Another sunny day spent outside in the pen. Three adult males come and wait close to the pen. We assume that they have heard the chicks and are waiting for the mother to come back.
Day 5. Wednesday 7th July 2010
Eating more and more.Day 6. Thursday 8th July 2010
In for a huddle.The females have that dark stripe across their eyes and a patterned back; the males have a plain dark back and a bright yellow chest.
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