Duck Raising 2007
Journals: A record of our journey raising Mallard Ducks from ducklings for the first time
June 23, 2007 (Day 1): 2007 is our first year experiencing the fun of raising ducklings from babies. We got them from a local farm supply store, where only three had survived the trip from Texas. When we arrived at home with the remaining three, one of them, Daisy, was not doing so well and spent most of his time lying down and nodding his head. When we checked back, we found him to be dead, so we gave him a formal burial in the back yard. Then, in order to keep the remaining two ducks company, we set out to find two to three more ducklings, which we found, and brought back. They mingled well with the two that were already there, and now we are starting the task of raising them.
June 24, 2007 (Day 2): Second day with our ducks. They seem to be very inactive and rarely move around. We gave them some hot dog pieces so they could peck at them, along with the usual duck feed, chopped lettuce, and water. Dad picked one up, and it ended up pooping on him. Still disgusting, but not as disgusting as the chickens.
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Week 1
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The first week with our ducks. They lived in a cardboard box for the first day, about 1' x 2', and spend the whole day walking in the food, stepping on each other, and sleeping in the water. We then moved them into our old box for chickens, which was larger (2' x 3'). Diagram of the coop; Picture of the coop
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Week two with our ducks. They have been traveling a lot, first
to Mount Saviour Monastery, and then to Washington D.C. for six days.
Raising ducklings is becoming very hectic and smelly, as they grow.
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Welcome to week three! We got home from Washington, with all the ducks surviving the trip well. They are getting very big, and are eating quite a bit. This week, we plan to modify an outdoor coop to accommodate them. | ||||
June 30, 2007 (Day 7): End of the first week with the ducks. Lately, we have been changing their brooder every day. They seem to enjoy splashing all of the water out of the water bowl instead of drinking them. We placed aluminum trays underneath their bedding, which helps to collect their water instead of it soaking through the cardboard. We've been busy taking care of our baby bunny, which I'll write about sometime soon.
July 2, 2007 (Day 9): The ducklings are coming with us to the Mount Saviour Monastery. It is a two hour car trip, without water, which is one of the longest times they have gone without it yet. Hopefully, they will travel well, as we are going to Washington D.C. with them from the Fourth of July. They are growing very rapidly, and two of them are the larger then two of my palms lengthwise.
July 3, 2007 (Day 10): The duckling are doing very well at the monastery, besides stinking up the place we are staying in. Luckily, with a can of air refresher, we will be able to de-stinkify the place. We feed them feed in their water three times a day, and leave the water bottle filled most of the time. We haven't changed their bedding for a day and a half, in which time they are stinking very greatly. They seem to spend the whole day sitting around, occasionally waddling around.
July 6, 2007 (Day 13): Today was the first day bathing the ducks in water. The only object that could hold water that we had at hand was a snow sled, which we filled with water. The ducks stayed in the sled for a while, until dad tried to convince them to go back into their box, at which there was an immediate jail brake, in which the ducks scattered in every which way. We were able to collect them successfully after which they were immediately put in a box (video coming soon…).
July 8, 2007 (Day 15): After last times complete jail brake from the sled, we tried bathing the ducks in a sloped wheel barrow. This worked very well, as one end was shallow and the other deep, and the bottom had some traction so the ducks didn't slip. After five minutes, I started emptying the wheel barrow by using a bowl we had specially for the ducks (the same bowl we use to feed them). They dried out quickly, because the temperature was 100 degrees, and the sun was shining.