She was a she up until the adult male colors started coming in last week -- a white ring around the neck, and the head turning green. Apparently the juvenile form looks exactly like a female. The voice should've given it away though -- the male has a quiet, muffled quack, as Frenchie has.
If the voice is a dead giveaway, then Princess Snowball the Pekin is actually Prince Snowball. Oops. So much for the exam I gave him/her a couple of months ago. I'm giving it another month to be sure though -- the tail feathers also curl up to indicate drake instead of duck.
It also appears that 5 out of 6 muscovies are drakes. What bad luck! At this rate I'll be having roasted duck earlier than I thought. When there are too many drakes, there is a lot of fighting, and the female gets ganged up on if you know what I mean. And sometimes they get killed because of the excessive attention.
2005/05/25
2005/05/22
No bug can escape the patrolling guineas:
By the sound of it, the girls are about to start laying again. They make the most interesting noise while making preparations, sort of like a low-tone chirp. The whole group seems to get involved in locating the nesting site. This time they are just 15 feet from the coop door, in some tall brush/weeds. It's not such a bad hiding place -- a quail has also set up house nearby and is setting on a dozen or so eggs already.
The rest of the animals are making their own new noises. Frenchie the Rouen is sounding like an adult female should -- a quiet, rapid quack. Snowball is still a bit rough around edges, but she's getting there. The geese still chirp most of the time but today I heard Fois and Gras honk for the first time. Pate is still chirping, and is still a lap-goose, but not for long. Here's Kerrie and Pate:
In other animal-related news, we're constructing an outdoor pen for the ducks and geese. They (the ducks) are too messy to have inside the coop. They way they use up water and splash it around combined with the most horrific smelling poo makes indoor housing a bad idea. The shelter will be enclosed on every side, top included, so they'll be safe from predators. The location next to the existing coop gives them plenty of shade during the hot summer months. They will handle the cold and rain with no problem.
By the sound of it, the girls are about to start laying again. They make the most interesting noise while making preparations, sort of like a low-tone chirp. The whole group seems to get involved in locating the nesting site. This time they are just 15 feet from the coop door, in some tall brush/weeds. It's not such a bad hiding place -- a quail has also set up house nearby and is setting on a dozen or so eggs already.
The rest of the animals are making their own new noises. Frenchie the Rouen is sounding like an adult female should -- a quiet, rapid quack. Snowball is still a bit rough around edges, but she's getting there. The geese still chirp most of the time but today I heard Fois and Gras honk for the first time. Pate is still chirping, and is still a lap-goose, but not for long. Here's Kerrie and Pate:
In other animal-related news, we're constructing an outdoor pen for the ducks and geese. They (the ducks) are too messy to have inside the coop. They way they use up water and splash it around combined with the most horrific smelling poo makes indoor housing a bad idea. The shelter will be enclosed on every side, top included, so they'll be safe from predators. The location next to the existing coop gives them plenty of shade during the hot summer months. They will handle the cold and rain with no problem.
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