1. These ducks are getting big, fast, and what they are going to look like when their feathers are fully in is more obvious.
2. These ducks love to forage in the yard. Bugs, grass, weeds, flowers - all these things are up for eating. Like people they are omnivorous. They especially love a muddy little hole to forage through. One of the girls caught her first worm yesterday - darn she was happy!
3. They love to duck (obvious to me now why we use this term for a quick submergence under the water) and dive in the little pool we have for them. One website suggested putting certain food at the bottom of about 4 inches of water so that they can "wash their eyes." These girls don't need any eye-washing encouragement.
4. They are pretending to be a little more independent. They will run off in some meaningless direction in the yard when we take them out, but after about 5 yards they will make a circle and come back to forage around my feet.
So what follows are a few of the eye-washing, feigned independence, and foraging pictures from the last few days:
This last picture shows what happens when I stand still. Please send shoelaces.
6 comments:
This is FASCINATING. Thank you for #1 taking the time to do this, and #2, for sharing!!! I love reading (and i have cried) about your girls.
Cool. They really are growing! :) Duckies stealing your shoe laces... possibly as worm substitutes?
BB
Mike
Hello Duck Daddy
I have so enjoyed your blog. I found it two days ago by Googling "Indian Runner Duck Association." not knowing if there even was one. How delighted I am to find your blog!
We live in Northern California on acreage in the Sierra foothills. We have two runners that came to us fully grown several years ago and we love them to death. Now we are waiting anxiously for next Tuesday when the post office will call us to tell us that our 10 assorted day-old "girls" have arrived.
The weather here is very warm, predicted in the low 90s for next week, so I'm not too worried about the chill factor, but we will keep a light on them at night.
We have set up a huge Igloo - one of those dog houses - in our yard under an apple tree. We've fashioned a door for the opening that stays closed with a bungie cord. We've sunk a black plastic cement mixing pan in the ground for them to swim in. We have two chicken feeders but no waterer yet. We're going to take a trip to the local farm supply store and see what kinds of goodies we can buy for the ladies.
I feel so unprepared after reading your blogs. You seem to have done everything right and I'm worried I'll do everything wrong. However, if love and attention will help them thrive, then we have it made.
I'm going to Amazon to order the Storey Guide you talked about. I just hope it gets here soon!
Will there be more girl stories?
Thanks again,
Barbara
Mara,
I am just back from Washington DC and back to the ducks and blogging again. Thanks for checking into my Duck Daddy stories. They are a hilarious and fun group of li'l ladies.
Hey Mike,
Just got back from DC. After 5 days away you should see how huge they look now!
Hi Barbara,
Don't look to us for the information on how to do it best! This is our first shot, and we are just tripping along blindly, and learning as we go - maybe even gaining a little sight.
I would make sure that your water-hole cement mixing pond is easy to empty and fill with clean water - filthy water is quite bad for the duckies., and don't let them go swimming by themselves when they are so young - they can get out of the water and they will drown. They can not float well until they have their feathers in.
Remember, when they are young they are also a great snack for birds of prey, and other creatures as well. They will need your protection - you are mama duck for awhile. :-)
I was away for a few days - more stories to come. Thanks for finding me!
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