Date: 11/10/2008 11:57:35
From: bluegreen
ID: 34537
Subject: Can you see what I see?
awww cute :D
Just the one so far ?
Happy Potter said:
awww cute :D
Just the one so far ?
that I can see without lifting up the mum. don’t want to do that as I upset her yesterday having a look and she hisses at me now if I go near.
bluegreen said:
Happy Potter said:
awww cute :D
Just the one so far ?
that I can see without lifting up the mum. don’t want to do that as I upset her yesterday having a look and she hisses at me now if I go near.
Oh congrats…. your a nanna of the quacker kind:D
Oh I’m all clucky…….baby ducks are just to cute
bluegreen said:
bluegreen said:
What a beauty. Love the colouring.
Lovely! Do you think her nest is big enough!! :P
cackles said:
Lovely! Do you think her nest is big enough!! :P
impressive, isn’t it?
another duckling on view this morning :)
aww how cute.
i see two – so far.
thanks for sharing
3 at lock up time :)
bluegreen said:
Awwww. Number 2 is here. They are just gorgeous BG. Wish I could hold one.
pomolo said:
Awwww. Number 2 is here. They are just gorgeous BG. Wish I could hold one.
3 now, wish I could hold them too but at sight of me they run to mum and I don’t want to upset her.
bluegreen said:
pomolo said:
Awwww. Number 2 is here. They are just gorgeous BG. Wish I could hold one.
3 now, wish I could hold them too but at sight of me they run to mum and I don’t want to upset her.
Are they all the same colouring??? How cool 3 babies. Is this the first load of ducklings for you Bluegreen???
Lucky1 said:
bluegreen said:
pomolo said:
Awwww. Number 2 is here. They are just gorgeous BG. Wish I could hold one.
3 now, wish I could hold them too but at sight of me they run to mum and I don’t want to upset her.
Are they all the same colouring??? How cool 3 babies. Is this the first load of ducklings for you Bluegreen???
yes, they are all brown. This is the second batch we have had. The first was a long time ago when our original ducks Oxy & Moron had a clutch of 9 ducklings. How long should I leave the unhatched eggs before I take them away? Mum won’t leave them but the ducklings are finding the food and water OK by themselves. I don’t want to take away the eggs too early in case they are still viable though.
bluegreen said:
Lucky1 said:
bluegreen said:
pomolo said:
Awwww. Number 2 is here. They are just gorgeous BG. Wish I could hold one.
3 now, wish I could hold them too but at sight of me they run to mum and I don’t want to upset her.
Are they all the same colouring??? How cool 3 babies. Is this the first load of ducklings for you Bluegreen???
yes, they are all brown. This is the second batch we have had. The first was a long time ago when our original ducks Oxy & Moron had a clutch of 9 ducklings. How long should I leave the unhatched eggs before I take them away? Mum won’t leave them but the ducklings are finding the food and water OK by themselves. I don’t want to take away the eggs too early in case they are still viable though.
still only 3 babies this afternoon. had a quick look at the remainder of the eggs and there is no sign of activity so I suspect this will be our lot. Will leave them until Wednesday as Lucky suggests then remove them – very carefully! lol!
bluegreen said:
still only 3 babies this afternoon. had a quick look at the remainder of the eggs and there is no sign of activity so I suspect this will be our lot. Will leave them until Wednesday as Lucky suggests then remove them – very carefully! lol!
Due to Mrs. Duck setting herself I figured a couple of days leeway for late bloomers …. how sweet though…. 3 baby duckies to drool over:D
Lucky1 said:
bluegreen said:
still only 3 babies this afternoon. had a quick look at the remainder of the eggs and there is no sign of activity so I suspect this will be our lot. Will leave them until Wednesday as Lucky suggests then remove them – very carefully! lol!
Due to Mrs. Duck setting herself I figured a couple of days leeway for late bloomers …. how sweet though…. 3 baby duckies to drool over:D
the nest is starting to smell off so I am definitely going to be removing the eggs tomorrow.
you have heard of the adage, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Well, I’m going to amend that to: “Don’t count your ducklings UNTIL they’ve hatched!”
I equipped myself with a plastic bag, and braced myself to face the wrath of mumma duck, and went into the pen fully determined to remove the remaining eggs (now assumed rotten) from the nest….
….only to see FOUR ducklings and another two eggs pipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this must be the longest hatching clutch of eggs in history!!! Not that I’m complaining mind you :D
bluegreen said:
you have heard of the adage, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Well, I’m going to amend that to: “Don’t count your ducklings UNTIL they’ve hatched!”I equipped myself with a plastic bag, and braced myself to face the wrath of mumma duck, and went into the pen fully determined to remove the remaining eggs (now assumed rotten) from the nest….
….only to see FOUR ducklings and another two eggs pipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this must be the longest hatching clutch of eggs in history!!! Not that I’m complaining mind you :D
Oh that is so cool:) I am so glad you asked about removing them or not…….Sooooooooooooo glad I said to hold off removing them:D
Oh how cool is that :)
Just as well you waited. Why are some hatched quicker than others ?
Lucky1 said:
Oh that is so cool:) I am so glad you asked about removing them or not…….Sooooooooooooo glad I said to hold off removing them:D
well I think I’ll leave the rest there until they bust!! just in case :D
Happy Potter said:
Oh how cool is that :)
Just as well you waited. Why are some hatched quicker than others ?
more eggs may have been added to the nest by the other hen after she started sitting. Because she is isolated in the pen from the other ducks and there is crumbles and water within reach she doesn’t have to leave the nest to fend for them.
bluegreen said:
you have heard of the adage, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Well, I’m going to amend that to: “Don’t count your ducklings UNTIL they’ve hatched!”I equipped myself with a plastic bag, and braced myself to face the wrath of mumma duck, and went into the pen fully determined to remove the remaining eggs (now assumed rotten) from the nest….
….only to see FOUR ducklings and another two eggs pipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this must be the longest hatching clutch of eggs in history!!! Not that I’m complaining mind you :D
six – thats a nice surprise to come home to.
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
bluegreen said:
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
orchid40 said:
bluegreen said:
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
Haha, no, Heronswood would be amazed! They’ve got their own ducks anyway :)
Oh a visit on Cup Day would be lovely . You’d get plenty of help catching them!
Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
Lucky1 said:
Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
:D :D
hey Lucky, can you give me advice on getting these babies used to being handled, when the mum goes into an absolute flap if I go near and creates panic among the offspring?
When Oxy had her babies I couldn’t go near them and they grew up semi-wild. It would be nice if I could at least get these used to me being around. Problem is of course is that I am at work most of the day :(
Lucky1 said:
orchid40 said:
bluegreen said:
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
Haha, no, Heronswood would be amazed! They’ve got their own ducks anyway :)
Oh a visit on Cup Day would be lovely . You’d get plenty of help catching them!Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
Oh Puleeeze Lucky, who on earth would be tipsy on Cup Day ?? LOL
bluegreen said:
Lucky1 said:
Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
:D :D
hey Lucky, can you give me advice on getting these babies used to being handled, when the mum goes into an absolute flap if I go near and creates panic among the offspring?
When Oxy had her babies I couldn’t go near them and they grew up semi-wild. It would be nice if I could at least get these used to me being around. Problem is of course is that I am at work most of the day :(
Only way is to remove them from mum and feed and handle them often. You become their mum instead.
orchid40 said:
Lucky1 said:
orchid40 said:
bluegreen said:
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
Haha, no, Heronswood would be amazed! They’ve got their own ducks anyway :)
Oh a visit on Cup Day would be lovely . You’d get plenty of help catching them!Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
Oh Puleeeze Lucky, who on earth would be tipsy on Cup Day ?? LOL
Not me ….. I don’t drink;P
orchid40 said:
Lucky1 said:
orchid40 said:
bluegreen said:
orchid40 said:
Oh that’s so good BG, how about bringing them to the lunch on Saturday ?????
Not to eat, you understand! LOL
not sure mumma duck, or Heronswood, would approve! But I am having a little think about a ducky visit to Thee’s on Cup Day. She has often said she would like to borrow my ducks to clean out the slugs and snails from her garden. Problem would be catching them again though…
Haha, no, Heronswood would be amazed! They’ve got their own ducks anyway :)
Oh a visit on Cup Day would be lovely . You’d get plenty of help catching them!Visions of ducks chasing tipsy ladies around the garden at 3.30 pm on the first Tuesday in Nov;P
Oh Puleeeze Lucky, who on earth would be tipsy on Cup Day ?? LOL
Oh Orchid your halo’s slipping LOL
Not Lucky, but another “duck lady” (as I have also been called). With my broodies I bring them inside at night in a “cat carrier” and talk to them ( whispers – often beside my bed) and they soon get used to me and all the household noises etc. A thick towel on the lap and firm hold while watching TV too, gentle handling and soothing talk. Uhmm 3 bubs and a duck too might be more than a lapful though. I have done one or the other, at separate times. Tame mum, tame the kids.
Funny – one of my ducks with 8 babies is very, very protective and I am getting charged every time I even go to top up feed or change their water, yet her mother with 9 bubs is as laid back as ever and mother and ducklings come to greet me.
Might have to take my own advice with the younger mum – lol :D
cackles said:
Uhmm 3 bubs and a duck too might be more than a lapful though.
4 now and 2 more eggs pipping – just when I thought it was all over!
Lovely! She must be a good mum to stay with the eggs and not abandon them as well as care for the older ones. Hope the later ones are able to keep up…
cackles said:
Lovely! She must be a good mum to stay with the eggs and not abandon them as well as care for the older ones. Hope the later ones are able to keep up…
I think it’s because they are by themselves in a pen with crumbles and water nearby. the babies can go and eat and drink without going far from mum and she doesn’t have to go find food for them. But she is certainly being dedicated to those eggs.
Hi BG,
If you haven’t heard of it already, i just stumbled on a little trick to check egg viability = candling. it’s a featured article (right down the bottom of the web page) at aussies living simply website.
aquarium said:
Hi BG,
If you haven’t heard of it already, i just stumbled on a little trick to check egg viability = candling. it’s a featured article (right down the bottom of the web page) at aussies living simply website.
thanks, I know about candling although I am not yet proficient at it. Also I risk life and limb by gong near a duck while she is on eggs!!!
good news and bad news…
the bad news is that I removed the rest of the eggs today as mum was spending most of the day off the nest and with the babies. I broke them open and every one had an almost fully developed duckling in it, and one was still alive :(
I can only assume that the hatching period went over such a long time because more eggs were added to the nest while she was sitting, rather than them all starting at the same time.
I suppose it is good news to know that I am getting such a high fertilisation rate, if not a hatch rate which if it were a controlled sitting they would have all hatched within a few days. And five healthy ducklings is still something to be happy about.
But the best news is I got to hold one of the ducklings :D :D :D
hard to get pictures of them at the moment as they are very good at hiding behind mum, but managed to get these.
But the best news is I got to hold one of the ducklings :D :D :D
———————————————
Oh aren’t the just so adorable to cuddle??? Next time…… you’ll do better. Maybe some under a broody hen
Lovely photos BG. What a shame about the other eggs, still it’s all a learning curve I guess.
orchid40 said:
Lovely photos BG. What a shame about the other eggs, still it’s all a learning curve I guess.
it’s the risk you take when you go away for a couple of weeks I guess.
i got some baby ducks as well.
veg gardener said:
i got some baby ducks as well.
have you? did you buy some? how exciting for you :D
bluegreen said:
veg gardener said:
i got some baby ducks as well.
have you? did you buy some? how exciting for you :D
they are wild ones but on our dam :P
veg gardener said:
bluegreen said:
veg gardener said:
i got some baby ducks as well.
have you? did you buy some? how exciting for you :D
they are wild ones but on our dam :P
that’s even better :) I dream of the day when I can live somewhere where wild animals will visit. doesn’t happen much in the suburbs.
first outing, or look how much we’ve grown!
I did cull the photos, truly!
Aw they are gorgeous BG!! Yes they’ve grown quickly haven’t they? Very cute :)
well I had a bugger of a time getting the ducks to bed last night. Too much excitement! had to get some help and physically catch mum & the babies! Still they have nice clean straw in their pen now – for a day at least! It was getting pretty mucky.
i love to see the ducks roaming like that.
everyone looks healthy – well done BG.