MR DUCKS

Frances, Lucky, and Duckers are just over a month old and they have become big birds!  The're by no means babies anymore.  They still have a little bit of yellow duckling fuzz around their heads and necks...right now they kind of look like they've got a touch of the mange!  Ok, it's not that bad, but you can definitley see more big duck feathers than duckling fuzz.

We're in our awkward stage....



All three ducks are getting their big bird feathers.  Their tales, chests, and wings already have actual feathers.  Directly behind their wings and in front of their tail is more of a white down undercoat that is really soft.  If you've ever come across a bird feather you notice the base, or "quill" is a hollow stem-like shaft of the feather that is round and hard, almost like a fingernail.  Growing out of the quill is the inner and outer vain, which is essentially the soft part of the feather.  The quill and the inner and outer vain grow over time and depending on the size and type of the bird, can be extremely long, or more or less on the shorter side.  Right now the ducks have their actual feathers, but they're still growing so they're short and not full length.  As they grow out the white down will be covered up and will no longer be visible.

You can see the quills of their feathers growing out of the wing.

Soft down feathers.



There's a reason the term bird brain was coined.....where parrots might be considered intelligent, ducks, not so much.  Each of our 3 ladies (this is still an assumption, I still have no clue if they're ladies or gents) has it's very own personality that distinguishes itself from the others.  Although it might not be obvious in observing them from afar, you can tell instantly when you go to pick them up. So far in the order of niceness, Lucky would be #1, followed by Frances, and then Duckers.  They'll all run from you when you go to pick them up, but once you have Lucky, she pretty much rolls with it and will sit in your lap.  Frances isn't too much of a fan of being held, but sometimes she deals with it better than others. Duckers....she's the loud mouth of the bunch.  She squirms like crazy when you pick her up and then squawks her head off.  Not exatcly Miss Friendly.  And since they're getting pretty big, their little duck claws aren't so little anymore.  If they're really thrashing around when you pick them up they can scratch you pretty good.  Best to have long sleeves on for a little protection.

Killing some time in our new digs outside.

Big clumsy duck feet.

In sync preening

Now that they're getting big, the ducks have been spending a little quality time outside.  We've been getting them outside for about an hour in the evenings after work as long as it's not to cool and windy.  This past Saturday they had most of the day outside.  They really enjoy it.  Since they're getting so big they've almost outgrown their indoor pen entirely.  Getting them out gives them an opportunity to get out and stretch their wings, plus they get a chance to dig for bugs which they seem to like :)  This Saturday they also got their first taste of watermelon, which they weren't sure of at first, but seemed to enjoy after initial examination.



I just love the duck to the left in this picture...



3 Weeks Old!

The ducks are officially 3 weeks old today and my how they have grown!  They've gone from little fuzz balls to big quacks and they're still growing.  They're getting really friendly.  They still squawk when we stick our hands in their pen, but they quiet down pretty fast and have no problem letting us pet them.  They're not always that excited to be picked up and held, but I'm finding if I take them out and sit them on my lap, they're just fine and will lay down right in my lap and let me pet them.

Chillin in my lap

Ducks don't walk that well. They're pretty clumsy, mainly because they're more swimmers than they are walkers.  When they're walking around they're bumping into one another constantly and sometimes look a little wobbly, needless to say, because they're kind of klutz's they spill a lot of their water and are good at making a mess, but we still love them :)  When you pick them up they sometimes wave their feet like they're swimming.....it's pretty cool.  They're feet have gotten A LOT bigger  They got their first taste of the outdoors last week when my mom took them outside to a small enclosed area in the yard and put down a pan of water for them to splash around in.  At first they didn't quite know what to do.  When my mom walked away from them they squawked and ran toward her.  When they figured out that there was a pan of water they gladly hopped in and were content just standing and splashing around in it.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this.

We have big duck feet and wet bellies!



We're finally starting to see a significant change in their feathers.  White down feathers are starting to come in pretty much all over them.  They're still yellow, but they're yellow color is lightening and they're really fuzzy especially around their tales and wings.  They preen themselves a lot...i think it's one of their favorite activities next to eating.  Sometimes you see little yellow fuzzies stuck to their beak.  You can see real feathers starting to grow in...it's just a matter of time before they have big bird feathers!

White down feathers are starting to come in as are our wing feathers...

Preening is important business!

Now that they are 3 weeks old and their feathers are starting to grow in, they no longer need the heat lamp.  With their growing size and the increasing temperatures, they'll be moving outside soon, which has us looking at potential duck housing!

We're pretty attached to one another :)

Ugh...I hate it when she does this....



QUACK!

It's been almost two weeks and Frances, Lucky, and Duckers are growing fast!  We're starting to think of what kind of pen we may need to set up, as they're going to outgrow their current one before they're big enough to go outside full time.  They've more than doubled in size and they're feathers are starting to change.  You can't see any adult feathers yet, but they're starting to preen themselves a lot and their wings are shedding out their baby feathers so it's just a matter of time.

Their feathers are starting to show a texture where the adult feathers will come in.

The Quackers are getting very friendly.  They're pretty good with being picked up, held, pet, etc.  When you stick your hand in their cage they now run to it to see if there's food in it.  They like to eat out of our hands....

Chow time

I've heard that ducks like shiny things, and I'm finding this to be true.  I wear a silver bracelet most of the time and whenever they see it they start pecking at it.  Even if I have a handful of food, they will go for my bracelet and bypass the food.  My scientific thought on this is that maybe the shine makes it look like it's a bug or something but I have no idea.  I'm going to have to do some research on this!

They're definitely becoming ducks...they can't get enough of their water.  They're in it all the time and are pretty good at making a mess with it.  Apparently when they're babies they don't have enough oil in their feathers to be in too much water for too long of a period of time, so they're not going to get to see a pool yet.  Since the weather is warm this week we're going to try to get them outside for a few minutes so that they can dig around and find some good bugs.  They've been routing around in their pen like crazy so they're starting to learn the ropes of being ducks......

Being Ducks....



Since they're nearly 2 weeks old, it's time to turn down their heat lamp a little. They told us they were ready last night when they were sitting in their pen panting. Yes, ducks, chickens, etc....they pant when they're hot.  We lowered the temperature in their pen by about 10 degrees and they seem like happy birds.

Just chillaxing.....

We're getting huge duck feet!

Whatchu lookin at Willis?!



One Whole Week!!

The ducklings are officially a week old!  They're pretty good at doing what most babies do best.....eating, sleeping, and pooping.  They've grown A LOT in one short week...they're too squirmy to weigh, but you can tell by their size that they're growing by leaps and bounds, as are their appetites.  Although they're still skeptical when we put our hands in their cage they're definitely warming up.  They still run a little bit when we go to pick them up, but they'll let us pet them, will eat out of our hands, and seem to squawk a little bit less when we're holding them.  Hopefully they're on their way to being some of the friendliest ducks ever!

 

A day in the life......

Chillin at the watering hole

 

Although they haven't been swimming yet, as you can imagine, these quackers are big fans of the water.  They're pretty good at making a mess....

 



Meeting some of the family....man this guy is wrinkly....must be an old guy

 

These little guys are really growing.  They still have yellow duck fuzz, but you can already tell that the texture of their feathers is starting to change a little.  Not sure when they'll start growing in white feathers, but I hope it's not too soon!

 

 

We're getting so big!!

 

It wasn't easy getting that picture....hence the one wing hanging out.  This quacker wanted no parts of the paparazzi.

 

Birds of a feather.....

 

...flock together

PUT ME DOWN!



Other than Mallard's most people don't have a lot of knowledge on the many different breeds of ducks.  Prior to getting Lucky, Frances, and Duckers, I just called these guys white ducks, not having any idea of what kind they were.  Most people associate white ducks with the Aflac Duck and it is believed that Donald Duck is a Pekin Duck (fun factoid for you!) 

Here's a little insider information about Pekin Ducks....

http://www.avianweb.com/pekinducks.html