Baby Flock~

Happpy Halloween! I am going to veer off track for a bit. This morning, I was out with camera and coffee enjoying a peaceful Halloween morning. Suddenly, a small flock flew over me making the strangest sounds. It was a flock of 4 young Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, obviously calling wildly for a lost Mama. I couldn't believe it! Thanks again to Crafty Amanda for her finding this species. Here they are! I will keep you posted if I can. (no pun intended).

Aren't they cool???

Freedom!

How cool is it to be out of the play pen guys? You can swim in the big pool whenver you want and get far more excercise. You are too big for a hawk to come by and pick you up. I think its time we kept you out in the yard. Go Be Ducks!

Who knew patio furniture cushions could be a swimming ramp?

Get Out Of Jail Free Card

The Peepers are growing, & getting them into the play pen is becoming a challenge. They can see other ducks running free around them, and they really don't want to be penned up all day. Can't blame them! This is their first morning of partial freedom. We let them run around a bit.

They really didn't do much, but they're free. That's the most important thing.  

Duck Decor

A friend of mine and the Blog, Crafty Amanda, sent me a present yesterday. She lives in a darling town in the midwest and found this in one of the second hand stores there. I just got it yesterday! This darling hand crafted duck will don my bed after I make it today. I have other ducks thru the house. I will have to submit them later - the house is still asleep! :) Here is my special gift from C.A. Thanks Amanda!!! I love it.

Here are some other ducks around the house. The decor was here before The Peepers!

Duck Condo

What do ducks do?

They grow! 

The brooder is quickly becoming too small for The Peepers. They're starting to jump out during the morning venue change. Additonally, it's getting to be messy. What else do ducks do? Doo-doo, and lots of it. I need something for them to sleep in, that will keep them safe from predators, and is easier to clean. I also want them out of the garage. They need fresh air and start getting used to being out in the elements. They are going to be grown once January comes and they can't be too pampered. The Engineer comes to their rescue again. Enter the Duck Condo~

Between 6-7am I get up to let them out.

I go around the side of the house and say

"Good Morning Peepers"! They can't see me yet because of the tarp, but they hear me and start peeping like crazy.

So cute!!!

I love seeing their faces first thing in the morning!!! The yellow one in front is Spentie and the one on the right is Angel. See the beak? That's the hatching injury. What a way to wake up! 

^_^

Bad Parenting

A friend of The Engineer gave this card to us. If you can't see it, the title is "Bad Parenting".

OMG! :)

Drooling Ducks

Here they are as seen from the pool. They want in!

Let's face it, ducks are not supposed to be in a play pen!

It almost seems like jail.

:(

From Kiddie Pool To Adult Pool

Whenever I'm not working, taking care of my folks, cooking, cleaning, or any of my other domestic chores, I am in the pool. Day or night - matters not. During the day, I put the play pen right next to the pool and Mom and I would spend our day swimming.


The Peepers would all gather in the corner closest to the pool. I swear I could see them drooling. :) They wanted to be in the big pool.

After a few weeks, and their growing malaise of their own pool, with The Engineer's assistance, we introduced them to the adult pool. I will let the pictures do the talking here (as I have been...). But I have to say, this was the most fun I have had with the babies. 


These ducks are hilarious!


When I would get out of the pool and walk to the other end, they would all swim like mad to get to the other end, where I stood. I wish I had a video camera and taken this in real time. They had me in stitches!!!

My neighbor, (you will get to hear more about him later), had an exchange student staying with him. Unfortunately they were out back trimming hedges and saw us teaching the ducks a new lesson.  He kept saying to the guy, "Gabriel, this is NOT normal. Americans (he's a Brit) do not swim with ducks. Please do not think that this is common practice. It's not normal". What a grouch. :(

Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Crafty Amanda, one of my followers and a friend, took this challenge and had it solved within just a few moments of the last post. This bird is called a Black Bellied Whistling Duck or Dendrocygna Autumnalis. You can read more about this amazing bird on Wikipedia.


Thanks Crafty Amanda for finding this for us and the readers. I am even more thrilled that I caught such a great shot, and that I got to hear it's waa-chooo call!

Now That's A Weird Duck ~

What the heck is this bird???!!!!! We have never seen (or heard) anything like this before. It is so colorful and had personality plus. It was only seen this one time. If anyone reading this blog has any idea what this bird is, let us know. It  pals around in a pack of 17 ducks, and makes a honking sound, that's all we know. It's a lovely specimen, whatever it is.

The "17's" - Again

One morning - I went out to get the paper and here is the bulk of the 17's (you met them earlier), sitting on my porch waiting to be fed. I only fed them one time. Ever since then, whenever they see, hear, or smell me, they run down and across the street! They can be so aggressive - even chasing me into the garage. Ok dudes, that is quite enough. I have my own mouths to feed. :)


(What can I say? I was endeared to them - their mother looks just like Mama Elsa, doesn't she??) Sap, sap, sap.

Who's Your Daddy?

Since it is my ultimate goal for this tale to be for inner city kids or any kids for that matter - I am trying to keep this Rated G. However,these ducks did not get here by osmosis. Speck, the mama of these darlings, had to, well, have her way with a male. Trying not to be too graphic, but these ducks don't know who is related to who. This is O.P. (Oinko Piggo), Runtie and Speck's brother, and last remaining dude of their clutch. I have to be honest, I have witnessed incest.    :(

"He" is either Uncle O.P. or Pappa O.P. In my mind, he's the uncle. (BTW - this is taken right after he became a yearling and his feathers and appearance totally changed. He is quite handsome!) You can see he is related to Mama Elsa.

Never A Dull Moment

After work and on the weekends, I hang out with The Peepers. When I open the patio umbrella, I always get a surprise. This particular morning, a frog landed in between my sunglasses and my eyeball. Yuck. The one that fell in my eye is related to these two. Are they napping? I think they are making more frogs to land on my face or in my beverage!

The Duck Whisperer

Now my friends are calling me The Duck Whisperer, sending pictures of mama and baby ducks with captions "Here is Jodi in her Halloween costume". My BF's sister sent the following two photos. One is me as mama for Halloween, and one is me taking the baby ducks to the store.


She also wanted to know if I was registered at Baby Ducks R Us, Weeds, Seeds, and Feeds, Baby Duck Booties, and Furry Lil Duck Bill Baby Clothing Emporium.

Thanks Kiki - :(

Do I seem like the kind of person that would take duckies to the store???? o_O

Happy Birthday Peepers!

On The Peepers two week birthday, The Engineer went shopping for the perfect gift. Let's see, they outgrew a paint tray (albeit the large size tray), the cement mixing tray was getting confing. The perfect gift had to be their very own pool. Happy Birthday Dear Peepers, Happy Birthday To You! And Many Mooooooooooore! :)

We built an island so when they got tired, they could take a break and preen!

Spoiled!

Mom! We Need A Bigger Pool Please!

Within a week, they outgrew the paint tray. "The Engineer" gave them our cement mixing bowl. A roof tile, covered with a towel worked as their ramp. BTW, you notice the play-pen has a cover. Since no one is sitting out there all day with them, we wanted to make sure that lurking hawks & snakes didn't think we set out baby bird Hors d'oeuvres!

Bananas!

I don't feed the ducks bananas. ^_^  (although there is a papaya tree across the canal and the wild ducks peck at the hanging fruit in the late summer and devour it).


Since I have so much, I feed bananas to the iguanas. And I make banana bread at least once a month. I am blessed to have this luscious fruit growing in my yard. When they fully ripen, I keep them in the freezer, so when the tree is dormant in winter, I have organic fruit, at the ready.

Feeding Time At The Zoo

As I said, I did quite a bit of reseach on what to feed these ducklings while they are in my care. I am using Purina Start & Grow. I mix 50% feed and 50% water. The instructions say to feed Star & Grow to them for the first 6 months. I supplement their diet with Romaine lettuce. There's really no need for the Romaine (except that they love it) with all the grass they consume and all that it contains. This is not a product endorsement - this is the only starter food my feed store carries. How are they doing on this food? Stay tuned. You aint seen nothin yet. :)

Just Hangin'

The routine around here (duck wise) - was every morning I got up at sunrise and got the babies out of the brooder in the garage. I took them out to the play pen, fed and watered. I cleaned the brooder, washed the towels, and set it up for that night's use. While I worked, they splashed & napped. Other canal ducks wandered thru the yard and checked out the play-pen, peeped at the The Peepers and moved on. If we had a storm, I put a tarp over part of the play pen, to try and emulate the ducklings being protected under Mama's wings.

Such Love Bugs!

Experts - BAH!

Every day I did research. What to feed ducks, when, how, why. Water. Excercise. The "experts" said that the duckies couldn't swim without Mama.

Don't get them near water, except for drinking because they'll sink.


The Engineer, said "They're ducks"! He bought a large paint tray and put it in the play-pen. He barely got the thing out of his hand and they jumped in. PARTY IN THE POOL!

Like a duck takes to water as they say.





(My folks always told me, don't believe everything you read. This is so true here. Go with your gut)

Duck Speak

How are you today? Just "ducky"!

How corny! But it's fun - here are some other quacky things you may need to know, should you find
 yourself in my position. 

o_O

*WTF? = What the Flock?
*Cooped Up
*Lame Duck
*Don't fowl your nest
*And you my fine feathered friend….
*WebTV
*Don't get your bill in a snit
*Goose bumps
*What's good for the goose is good for the gander
*DUCK!!!!
*Silly goose
*Like a sitting duck
*Waddle like a duck
*Lucky duck!
*A quack
*Get your ducks in a row
*Goosed
*Don't get your feathers ruffled
*Water off a duck's back
*The goose that laid the golden egg
*Like a duck out of water
*Like a duck takes to water
*Loose as a goose
*If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it must be a duck
*Wild goose chase
*Your goose is cooked
*Bottoms up!
*Take a gander
*Going quackers


And my personal favorite:


AFLAC!!!!


^_^