Katra wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Mark) wrote:

...that's all baby ducks do. That, and they spend inordinate amounts
of time being cute as can be.

I got 4 White Pekin ducklings yesterday. They're in a big box in the
kitchen, and in 24 hours, they basically saturated their bedding with
dribbled water (from their feeder) and duck poop. The upside is that
they're generating lots of "organic material" for my compost bin.

We built an enclosed pen off the side of the garden shed for them once
the weather warms a bit and they're big enough to stay outside.
Eventually, I'm going to enclose the garden and let the little rascals
gorge to their hearts content on June bugs and slugs.

Just thought I'd share.

Mark

For the time being, put them in a cage with a raised wire bottom to keep
the little messies dry, and next time get muscovies. lol

Pine shavings will help in the meantime!
And it'll cut back on the mess somewhat by not allowing them water at
night, and it won't hurt them.

Do NOT use hay or straw for bedding! Aspergilliosis is common in baby
ducks kept on that type of bedding and it kills them.

Good luck!

K. (an experienced duckling momma)


I used straw for the first night, then I bought one of those big
compressed blocks of pine chips they sell in the pet store. Sorry to
hear about aspergillosis -- I'll have to keep an eye on them...I hope
one night isn't enough exposure.

Tell me about the muscovies. Are they inherently less messy?

Thanks.

Mark

In article ,
(Mark) wrote:



I used straw for the first night, then I bought one of those big
compressed blocks of pine chips they sell in the pet store. Sorry to
hear about aspergillosis -- I'll have to keep an eye on them...I hope
one night isn't enough exposure.

Tell me about the muscovies. Are they inherently less messy?

Thanks.

Mark

If the straw was only in there for a day, I doubt it had the chance to
grow any mold so you should be ok. ;-)

My muscovie ducklings always went thru less than 1/2 the water of other
breeds. _Much_ less messy, and quieter. They are my favorites. :-)


K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

In article ,
(Mark) wrote:



I used straw for the first night, then I bought one of those big
compressed blocks of pine chips they sell in the pet store. Sorry to
hear about aspergillosis -- I'll have to keep an eye on them...I hope
one night isn't enough exposure.

Tell me about the muscovies. Are they inherently less messy?

Thanks.

Mark

If the straw was only in there for a day, I doubt it had the chance to
grow any mold so you should be ok. ;-)

My muscovie ducklings always went thru less than 1/2 the water of other
breeds. _Much_ less messy, and quieter. They are my favorites. :-)


K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

Katra wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Mark) wrote:

...that's all baby ducks do. That, and they spend inordinate amounts
of time being cute as can be.

I got 4 White Pekin ducklings yesterday. They're in a big box in the
kitchen, and in 24 hours, they basically saturated their bedding with
dribbled water (from their feeder) and duck poop. The upside is that
they're generating lots of "organic material" for my compost bin.

We built an enclosed pen off the side of the garden shed for them once
the weather warms a bit and they're big enough to stay outside.
Eventually, I'm going to enclose the garden and let the little rascals
gorge to their hearts content on June bugs and slugs.

Just thought I'd share.

Mark

For the time being, put them in a cage with a raised wire bottom to keep
the little messies dry, and next time get muscovies. lol

Pine shavings will help in the meantime!
And it'll cut back on the mess somewhat by not allowing them water at
night, and it won't hurt them.

Do NOT use hay or straw for bedding! Aspergilliosis is common in baby
ducks kept on that type of bedding and it kills them.

Good luck!

K. (an experienced duckling momma)


I used straw for the first night, then I bought one of those big
compressed blocks of pine chips they sell in the pet store. Sorry to
hear about aspergillosis -- I'll have to keep an eye on them...I hope
one night isn't enough exposure.

Tell me about the muscovies. Are they inherently less messy?

Thanks.

Mark

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

On 14 Mar 2004 21:50:43 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

...that's all baby ducks do. That, and they spend inordinate amounts
of time being cute as can be.

I got 4 White Pekin ducklings yesterday. They're in a big box in the
kitchen, and in 24 hours, they basically saturated their bedding with
dribbled water (from their feeder) and duck poop. The upside is that
they're generating lots of "organic material" for my compost bin.

We built an enclosed pen off the side of the garden shed for them once
the weather warms a bit and they're big enough to stay outside.
Eventually, I'm going to enclose the garden and let the little rascals
gorge to their hearts content on June bugs and slugs.

Just thought I'd share.

Mark

watch out for the run off from the roof if that's a side of your shed
with run off. I put some baby ducks that were just getting too big to
be in the house, but not fledged, and it rained one day when I was
gone to work, and even though I'd put plastic over the box.. and
weighted it etc.. it got into the box and that equaled dead ducks..
muscovy ducks.. which aren't *really* ducks, they're a south american
waterfowl which do not have the oil glands that ducks do, so they can
and do drown if they get into water and can't get out easily. They
are funny so ugly they're cute and the don't quack!! So you can keep
them without the entire neighborhood knowing they're there. They're
prodigious producers of big eggs that aren't as pasty as duck eggs,
the whites are more like chicken egg whites, and overall they're
better than ducks. If you don't take them away from them, they will
(provided there is a drake available) hatch out 10 to 15 eggs, as many
as they can cover. If you're inclined to see them as livestock, not
just pets, they're quite tasty.. tastes like beef!

Otherwise if you gotta have ducks, india runner ducks or indian..
stand bolt upright like a surprised regular duck. They look like
animated bowling pins. ;-)

Janice

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

On 14 Mar 2004 21:50:43 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

...that's all baby ducks do. That, and they spend inordinate amounts
of time being cute as can be.

I got 4 White Pekin ducklings yesterday. They're in a big box in the
kitchen, and in 24 hours, they basically saturated their bedding with
dribbled water (from their feeder) and duck poop. The upside is that
they're generating lots of "organic material" for my compost bin.

We built an enclosed pen off the side of the garden shed for them once
the weather warms a bit and they're big enough to stay outside.
Eventually, I'm going to enclose the garden and let the little rascals
gorge to their hearts content on June bugs and slugs.

Just thought I'd share.

Mark

watch out for the run off from the roof if that's a side of your shed
with run off. I put some baby ducks that were just getting too big to
be in the house, but not fledged, and it rained one day when I was
gone to work, and even though I'd put plastic over the box.. and
weighted it etc.. it got into the box and that equaled dead ducks..
muscovy ducks.. which aren't *really* ducks, they're a south american
waterfowl which do not have the oil glands that ducks do, so they can
and do drown if they get into water and can't get out easily. They
are funny so ugly they're cute and the don't quack!! So you can keep
them without the entire neighborhood knowing they're there. They're
prodigious producers of big eggs that aren't as pasty as duck eggs,
the whites are more like chicken egg whites, and overall they're
better than ducks. If you don't take them away from them, they will
(provided there is a drake available) hatch out 10 to 15 eggs, as many
as they can cover. If you're inclined to see them as livestock, not
just pets, they're quite tasty.. tastes like beef!

Otherwise if you gotta have ducks, india runner ducks or indian..
stand bolt upright like a surprised regular duck. They look like
animated bowling pins. ;-)

Janice

On 14 Mar 2004 21:50:43 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

...that's all baby ducks do. That, and they spend inordinate amounts
of time being cute as can be.

I got 4 White Pekin ducklings yesterday. They're in a big box in the
kitchen, and in 24 hours, they basically saturated their bedding with
dribbled water (from their feeder) and duck poop. The upside is that
they're generating lots of "organic material" for my compost bin.

We built an enclosed pen off the side of the garden shed for them once
the weather warms a bit and they're big enough to stay outside.
Eventually, I'm going to enclose the garden and let the little rascals
gorge to their hearts content on June bugs and slugs.

Just thought I'd share.

Mark

watch out for the run off from the roof if that's a side of your shed
with run off. I put some baby ducks that were just getting too big to
be in the house, but not fledged, and it rained one day when I was
gone to work, and even though I'd put plastic over the box.. and
weighted it etc.. it got into the box and that equaled dead ducks..
muscovy ducks.. which aren't *really* ducks, they're a south american
waterfowl which do not have the oil glands that ducks do, so they can
and do drown if they get into water and can't get out easily. They
are funny so ugly they're cute and the don't quack!! So you can keep
them without the entire neighborhood knowing they're there. They're
prodigious producers of big eggs that aren't as pasty as duck eggs,
the whites are more like chicken egg whites, and overall they're
better than ducks. If you don't take them away from them, they will
(provided there is a drake available) hatch out 10 to 15 eggs, as many
as they can cover. If you're inclined to see them as livestock, not
just pets, they're quite tasty.. tastes like beef!

Otherwise if you gotta have ducks, india runner ducks or indian..
stand bolt upright like a surprised regular duck. They look like
animated bowling pins. ;-)

Janice

On 15 Mar 2004 14:39:46 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

Drake peking ducks are the ... ahem.. horniest creatures on earth!
They regularly rape hen mallards and any other duck they can. I've
seen 4 and 5 drakes chasing down frantic hens in the parks.

I don't know if you've ever seen America's Funniest Home Videos, and
all those "funny duck" shots of a dog and duck that are "great
buddies" where the duck would swim after a dog swimming in the water
and grab the dog's hair and hop on it's back or try.. every one I've
seen of a duck and anything...have been a drake trying to "mate" with
whatever it was, animal or object.

Muscovy ducks come in white, pied, and as I've seen blue and
chocolates, but white and pied are the ones I see the most. They have
warty looking skin around their eyes called Caruncles. The drakes are
much larger than the hens, and have more of the warty red skin. I
guess a muscovy equivalent of a chicken's "comb". They have a crest
they can raise and lower on their heads, and they do now quack. They
have quiet hiss conversations and they used to walk in a V formation
in my back yard bobbing their heads hissing rhythmically and bobbing
their heads.. made me laugh every time I saw them.

They need a good deal of grass to walk on not so much dirt or their
feet will get sore, the water you provide them needs to have rocks or
ramps that are not too steep so they can get OUT of the water as I
said before, they do not have the oil glands ducks have and they can
become water logged and drown. They get out of the water and preen
and fan their feathers out to dry their feathers. They're comical,
quiet without being voiceless, good layers, excellent mothers, and
tasty if you lean that way. ;-)

Some pictures of muscovy ducks

http://www.muscovy.co.uk/ pied
http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/waterfowl.htm white hens & fuzzy babies
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/D...RKScobies.html all
kinds of pictures, just keep scrolling down even when it looks like it
ended, that's where the pictures begin! Lots of them. Don't get
freaked out by the one that has so much gross red warty skin on its
head that you can barely see the duck, that is NOT the norm!
http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/dis...es/3/3219.html some info
about muscovies.

Anyway.. I like muscovies .. they're far more interesting than the
plain ol' duck with much more personality and manners.

Janice

On 15 Mar 2004 14:39:46 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

Drake peking ducks are the ... ahem.. horniest creatures on earth!
They regularly rape hen mallards and any other duck they can. I've
seen 4 and 5 drakes chasing down frantic hens in the parks.

I don't know if you've ever seen America's Funniest Home Videos, and
all those "funny duck" shots of a dog and duck that are "great
buddies" where the duck would swim after a dog swimming in the water
and grab the dog's hair and hop on it's back or try.. every one I've
seen of a duck and anything...have been a drake trying to "mate" with
whatever it was, animal or object.

Muscovy ducks come in white, pied, and as I've seen blue and
chocolates, but white and pied are the ones I see the most. They have
warty looking skin around their eyes called Caruncles. The drakes are
much larger than the hens, and have more of the warty red skin. I
guess a muscovy equivalent of a chicken's "comb". They have a crest
they can raise and lower on their heads, and they do now quack. They
have quiet hiss conversations and they used to walk in a V formation
in my back yard bobbing their heads hissing rhythmically and bobbing
their heads.. made me laugh every time I saw them.

They need a good deal of grass to walk on not so much dirt or their
feet will get sore, the water you provide them needs to have rocks or
ramps that are not too steep so they can get OUT of the water as I
said before, they do not have the oil glands ducks have and they can
become water logged and drown. They get out of the water and preen
and fan their feathers out to dry their feathers. They're comical,
quiet without being voiceless, good layers, excellent mothers, and
tasty if you lean that way. ;-)

Some pictures of muscovy ducks

http://www.muscovy.co.uk/ pied
http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/waterfowl.htm white hens & fuzzy babies
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/D...RKScobies.html all
kinds of pictures, just keep scrolling down even when it looks like it
ended, that's where the pictures begin! Lots of them. Don't get
freaked out by the one that has so much gross red warty skin on its
head that you can barely see the duck, that is NOT the norm!
http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/dis...es/3/3219.html some info
about muscovies.

Anyway.. I like muscovies .. they're far more interesting than the
plain ol' duck with much more personality and manners.

Janice

On 15 Mar 2004 14:39:46 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

Drake peking ducks are the ... ahem.. horniest creatures on earth!
They regularly rape hen mallards and any other duck they can. I've
seen 4 and 5 drakes chasing down frantic hens in the parks.

I don't know if you've ever seen America's Funniest Home Videos, and
all those "funny duck" shots of a dog and duck that are "great
buddies" where the duck would swim after a dog swimming in the water
and grab the dog's hair and hop on it's back or try.. every one I've
seen of a duck and anything...have been a drake trying to "mate" with
whatever it was, animal or object.

Muscovy ducks come in white, pied, and as I've seen blue and
chocolates, but white and pied are the ones I see the most. They have
warty looking skin around their eyes called Caruncles. The drakes are
much larger than the hens, and have more of the warty red skin. I
guess a muscovy equivalent of a chicken's "comb". They have a crest
they can raise and lower on their heads, and they do now quack. They
have quiet hiss conversations and they used to walk in a V formation
in my back yard bobbing their heads hissing rhythmically and bobbing
their heads.. made me laugh every time I saw them.

They need a good deal of grass to walk on not so much dirt or their
feet will get sore, the water you provide them needs to have rocks or
ramps that are not too steep so they can get OUT of the water as I
said before, they do not have the oil glands ducks have and they can
become water logged and drown. They get out of the water and preen
and fan their feathers out to dry their feathers. They're comical,
quiet without being voiceless, good layers, excellent mothers, and
tasty if you lean that way. ;-)

Some pictures of muscovy ducks

http://www.muscovy.co.uk/ pied
http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/waterfowl.htm white hens & fuzzy babies
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/D...RKScobies.html all
kinds of pictures, just keep scrolling down even when it looks like it
ended, that's where the pictures begin! Lots of them. Don't get
freaked out by the one that has so much gross red warty skin on its
head that you can barely see the duck, that is NOT the norm!
http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/dis...es/3/3219.html some info
about muscovies.

Anyway.. I like muscovies .. they're far more interesting than the
plain ol' duck with much more personality and manners.

Janice

On 15 Mar 2004 14:39:46 -0800, (Mark) wrote:

"Anonny Moose" wrote in message ...
Congratulations! Ducks are pretty darn sloppy but cuter than all get out.
They eat a fair share of the bugs and spiders and slugs and fertilize the
area, to boot. How can you beat that?? Did you get them sexed or will it be
a surprise?

Karen


Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)

I figure that they'll be fun no matter what sex they are, but if we're
going to eat duck eggs, I'd really rather not crack one open to find a
fetal duck inside.

I'm all over the idea of having these guys around to keep the slug 'n'
bug population under control. My kids eat stuff straight out of the
garden, so I don't use pesticide...the closest I come is laying out a
bowl of beer to kill a handful of slugs each night.

Mark

Drake peking ducks are the ... ahem.. horniest creatures on earth!
They regularly rape hen mallards and any other duck they can. I've
seen 4 and 5 drakes chasing down frantic hens in the parks.

I don't know if you've ever seen America's Funniest Home Videos, and
all those "funny duck" shots of a dog and duck that are "great
buddies" where the duck would swim after a dog swimming in the water
and grab the dog's hair and hop on it's back or try.. every one I've
seen of a duck and anything...have been a drake trying to "mate" with
whatever it was, animal or object.

Muscovy ducks come in white, pied, and as I've seen blue and
chocolates, but white and pied are the ones I see the most. They have
warty looking skin around their eyes called Caruncles. The drakes are
much larger than the hens, and have more of the warty red skin. I
guess a muscovy equivalent of a chicken's "comb". They have a crest
they can raise and lower on their heads, and they do now quack. They
have quiet hiss conversations and they used to walk in a V formation
in my back yard bobbing their heads hissing rhythmically and bobbing
their heads.. made me laugh every time I saw them.

They need a good deal of grass to walk on not so much dirt or their
feet will get sore, the water you provide them needs to have rocks or
ramps that are not too steep so they can get OUT of the water as I
said before, they do not have the oil glands ducks have and they can
become water logged and drown. They get out of the water and preen
and fan their feathers out to dry their feathers. They're comical,
quiet without being voiceless, good layers, excellent mothers, and
tasty if you lean that way. ;-)

Some pictures of muscovy ducks

http://www.muscovy.co.uk/ pied
http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/waterfowl.htm white hens & fuzzy babies
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/D...RKScobies.html all
kinds of pictures, just keep scrolling down even when it looks like it
ended, that's where the pictures begin! Lots of them. Don't get
freaked out by the one that has so much gross red warty skin on its
head that you can barely see the duck, that is NOT the norm!
http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/dis...es/3/3219.html some info
about muscovies.

Anyway.. I like muscovies .. they're far more interesting than the
plain ol' duck with much more personality and manners.

Janice

il 15 Mar 2004 14:39:46 -0800, (Mark) ha
scritto:

Well, it's going to be a surprise, I guess. I had wanted to make sure
I got all females, but the guy at the feed store couldn't guarantee
it. He didn't claim to know how to sex them beyond hearing somewhere
that the females have smaller heads than the males. (No sexist vibe,
either)
heh, he should try the other end.
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]