The new ducks are keeping me busy. Lots of water changes, dish fillings, and of course box cleaning -- yech.
2005/07/27
2005/07/24
Fighting, more ducks
This is Roy:
This is Roy a la Confit:
Any questions?
Roy and Hannibal, both Muscovy drakes (males), were fighting the other day. If you've been reading along, you'd know that I have way too many drakes. They fight quite visciously as they mature, especially when there's only one female around. Roy and Hannibal were jumping in the air and trying to gut the other with their sharp claws (Muscovies have claws for climbing in trees). Something had to give. Roy was the biggest, so he became food. His carcass and giblets weighed in at 5.5 lbs, post eviceration. How is he? Delicious! If you want more information (this is Alpine Learning Series Online, afterall), leave me a comment and I'll add some of the gory details (with pictures!)
On a lighter note, Kerrie and I "rescued" three Pekin ducks yesterday. I'm guessing these are were an Easter duckling gift (4 months old, so said the owner) which became too big for their Sunnyvale home. Kerrie and I knew right away that two were ducks, the third a drake. The girls make a distinctive, loud "quack" when being picked up; boys have a much quieter voice. Guess what Foie Gras comes from? The (liver of) Moulard, which is a hybrid between Muscovy drakes and Pekin ducks! We have a match made in heaven! Learn all about Foie Gras here.
The Runners had their first bath today:
Oh, and I forgot to mention... along with all the new Runner ducklings, there are also 6 Rouens (gender unknown) and two female Muscovies. The lesson here is don't drink and purchase ducks online at the same time. The thinking at the time (we were pretty soused, so I'm not sure if there really was any thinking) was that we needed more Muscovies for all the drakes we had; and the Rouens make better general-purpose ducks. (Why do I need general-purpose ducks?! Oh well.)
This is Roy a la Confit:
Any questions?
Roy and Hannibal, both Muscovy drakes (males), were fighting the other day. If you've been reading along, you'd know that I have way too many drakes. They fight quite visciously as they mature, especially when there's only one female around. Roy and Hannibal were jumping in the air and trying to gut the other with their sharp claws (Muscovies have claws for climbing in trees). Something had to give. Roy was the biggest, so he became food. His carcass and giblets weighed in at 5.5 lbs, post eviceration. How is he? Delicious! If you want more information (this is Alpine Learning Series Online, afterall), leave me a comment and I'll add some of the gory details (with pictures!)
On a lighter note, Kerrie and I "rescued" three Pekin ducks yesterday. I'm guessing these are were an Easter duckling gift (4 months old, so said the owner) which became too big for their Sunnyvale home. Kerrie and I knew right away that two were ducks, the third a drake. The girls make a distinctive, loud "quack" when being picked up; boys have a much quieter voice. Guess what Foie Gras comes from? The (liver of) Moulard, which is a hybrid between Muscovy drakes and Pekin ducks! We have a match made in heaven! Learn all about Foie Gras here.
The Runners had their first bath today:
Oh, and I forgot to mention... along with all the new Runner ducklings, there are also 6 Rouens (gender unknown) and two female Muscovies. The lesson here is don't drink and purchase ducks online at the same time. The thinking at the time (we were pretty soused, so I'm not sure if there really was any thinking) was that we needed more Muscovies for all the drakes we had; and the Rouens make better general-purpose ducks. (Why do I need general-purpose ducks?! Oh well.)
2005/07/20
Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp...
What sounds like "chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp"? Fifteen Indian Runner ducklings!
These are, again, from my now favorite hatchery, Metzer Farms. It's the Indian Runner Assortment near the bottom.
Kerrie posed with Pate the other day to show how he's grown. Compare against a few posts earlier. He's not quite full-grown yet; up until about the first full year, his neck will thicken a bit, the nob on his bill will grow more, and a dewlap will form under his chin.
These are, again, from my now favorite hatchery, Metzer Farms. It's the Indian Runner Assortment near the bottom.
Kerrie posed with Pate the other day to show how he's grown. Compare against a few posts earlier. He's not quite full-grown yet; up until about the first full year, his neck will thicken a bit, the nob on his bill will grow more, and a dewlap will form under his chin.
2005/07/11
I am a bad parent
The Muscovy females have been outside at night the past week, now that they know how to fly. They have been perching in a tree as they would in the wild. I couldn't get them down and so let it go. And so they've been outside all day when I'm at the office, because, well, I can't catch them easily in the mornings.
Today I came home and I see only Sally. Cannibal is gone. Probably a hawk got her. So that I don't lose another, I chased Sally for 20 minutes until she was so tired she couldn't get away. She's now safely cooped up and will soon get her wings clipped.
This is one of the silkies, now two weeks old:
Today I came home and I see only Sally. Cannibal is gone. Probably a hawk got her. So that I don't lose another, I chased Sally for 20 minutes until she was so tired she couldn't get away. She's now safely cooped up and will soon get her wings clipped.
This is one of the silkies, now two weeks old:
2005/07/10
Sick birds, more females
The two-week old keets are getting sick. So far four of twelve are losing their strength to stand and use their outstretched wings for balance. I've consulted every source I know, from online guinea groups to feed store owners. The symptoms don't seem to match anything well-known. So all I can try is the usual antibiotics and see what happens.
Thought I had five male muscovies and one female, but it turns out there are two females. "Cannibal" was the largest muscovy at one time, and earned the name by being top dog, eating all the others' tail feathers. Her feathers were perfect. It was assumed at the time that the biggest, baddest would be a male. Not so. She's not the biggest anymore, and she is no longer top dog, but she flies, and has the female trilling vocalization.
Snowball is destined for the cookpot. Not only is he a Pekin, which is the fattiest, best eating duck around, but we have too many males already; and he's also feeling his oats and is mounting anything that moves. The other ducks don't like going into the coop at night as a result. Anyone have any favorite recipies?
Thought I had five male muscovies and one female, but it turns out there are two females. "Cannibal" was the largest muscovy at one time, and earned the name by being top dog, eating all the others' tail feathers. Her feathers were perfect. It was assumed at the time that the biggest, baddest would be a male. Not so. She's not the biggest anymore, and she is no longer top dog, but she flies, and has the female trilling vocalization.
Snowball is destined for the cookpot. Not only is he a Pekin, which is the fattiest, best eating duck around, but we have too many males already; and he's also feeling his oats and is mounting anything that moves. The other ducks don't like going into the coop at night as a result. Anyone have any favorite recipies?
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