Goatgurl - life goes on at someday farm

....since I can't post a link this may help in the explanation.

We have wood ducks, teals, and an occassional Canadian honker land in the pond here. I would like to get the ducks we have over there, but they would be just prey for many things too, so we just keep them on this side of the ditch.

NH homesteader said:

@Devonviolet duck eggs take 28 days, except muscovies I believe. They're 35. I've never had muscovies but I always found that interesting.

My husband had a broody hen hatch out duck eggs when he was a kid. All was well until the ducklings found the pond and mama hen nearly had a heart attack from shore, ran around squawking and carrying on!

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I've read that about Muscovie eggs taking loger to hatch. I'm not sure how this is going to work out yet. We have 3 Pekin hens & 3 Muscovy hens. I know we have a mix of both, because the first day we got 6 duck eggs.

Love the story of the ducklings going on the pond & mama hen frantic on the shoreline. No problem with that here - no pond. We just have a kiddie pool & a concrete mixing tub, for water, that we change every other day or so.

I could have sworn @ Latestarter posted that Muscovies are more of a goose than duck. But now I can't find it.

That may well be. I was just sitting out here, in the shade, watching the ducks. The Muscovies do sound more like a goose & their body shape is more like a goose. Except for the red flesh around their beak & eyes, the would look like a small goose. I would like to get a pair of geese some day.

Wasn't me posting about ducks... I shot a few one time (wild) and learned how difficult they are to de-feather Then I tried a couple and found I didn't really care for the taste much. Then I heard and have witnessed what a mess they make, and decided ducks just aren't for me.

Latestarter said:

Wasn't me posting about ducks... I shot a few one time (wild) and learned how difficult they are to de-feather Then I tried a couple and found I didn't really care for the taste much. Then I heard and have witnessed what a mess they make, and decided ducks just aren't for me.

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Ah, so now that you say that, I looked back and see that @CntryBoy777 is the one who posted it.

As far as ducks making a big mess . . . Yes, they do produce more poop, and when they eat, they drink a lot more water, which gets splashed around the water bowl, and then they like to play in the mud they make. They love a pool to swim in, which needs to be cleaned out every couple days. But, if you keep it to smaller pools, or cement mixing tubs, as we have done, they actually use less water, and are easy to clean. The Pekins and Muscovies tend to take turns bathing in them. You will never see a Pekin & Muscovy bathing together. But, you will see at least 3 or 4 of one breed splashing in the pool at the same time. It is SO cool to watch!

I LOVE our ducks, and am so glad I didn't listen when people warned me off, by them being noisy and messy. DH really likes them too. He likes their personalities and how they stick together. Not like chickens that tend to go off by themselves. He loves to see the Pekins waddling along in a line, going from point A to point B, and how they all start flying low, heading for the coop, when the dogs sound an alarm bark.

I agree @Devonviolet , they are messy, sometimes there is work involved, but we really Love our ducks too. Ours talk to us and really aren't very loud, most of the time...but, I have been around guineas so I know what noisy is. We have some real characters in our flock, and they have really great personalities. We can't wait to see them out and about chasing bugs....."Dotties" too.

CntryBoy777 said:

We have some real characters in our flock, and they have really great personalities

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Yeah, I know what you mean. The Muscovy hens have figured out we are the source of all food, and wherever we go, they are right at our feet, looking up, like they adore us. It's sooo cute!!!

Gosh @Devonviolet I wish you weren't so far away. We have several Brown Chinese geese we are getting ready to slaughter. They are beautiful animals and their eggs are even better than duck eggs! They pretty much just live off of grass.

@greybeard we have that problem too. They want to hang out on the porch.

@goatgurl hope you are feeling better today!

thanks for the info on the muscovies @CntryBoy777 . I didn't know that about them, geese, hummm gonna have to search out more. and yes they do take 35 days to incubate instead of the 'normal' 28 for most other ducks. and I also know they are hard as heck to hatch in an incubator, all to do with time, moisture and such. I just let the mama ducks do it. so much easier for me.
and just so youall know I was an innocent bystander when the wasp stung me. 7am, laying in bed thinking about getting up and wham. someone pounded a hot nail into my forehead. and yes he did die a slow and painful death after I had doctored myself.
will start having lambs in about 2 weeks. looking forward to it. Dstr#1 has already has lambs but since the ram came to my house after he left hers I am or they are running late.
youall have a blessed day. i'm going to go mow the lawn so i'll see you later

goatgurl said:

I was an innocent bystander when the wasp stung me. 7am, laying in bed thinking about getting up and wham. someone pounded a hot nail into my forehead.

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That just isn't fair! Never saw one of those (don't need to either).