Ducks - Weeks 4 & 5

At only about a month old, our mallard ducklings are almost completely feathered out and our beginning to show some of their adult colors. They love being outside, spending their day swimming, foraging in the grass, and grooming themselves.

It takes allot of work for a duck to stay looking good!

In order to keep up, we had to upgrade to yet another even bigger watering can (5 gallons).

This one’s testing out his newfound wings.

It’s truly amazing how acutely aware they are of what’s going on in the sky above them. They react instinctually to the dark silhouette of a big bird or plane flying above. A distinctive cheep from one of them quickly silences them all. Then they all squat down or sometimes run for cover.

They spot danger in the sky; often times before we notice anything flying above!

Run for cover.

Is it safe yet?

Every evening we corral them into the wagon for a short commute back their “duck box”. They squawk the whole way, but once back inside they get settled in for the night.

They are quickly outgrowing the duck box so we’ve began work on a new duck house.

Once we have their new home finished we will be moving them outside full-time. Hopefully we get it done before their ready to fly south for the winter.

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You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

I’ve never had much use for a gun, until early this spring when we had to rid our pond of some pesky varmints.

We first spotted the stout bucktoothed critter swimming along the bank of the pond. After watching it a few days, we determined he was a muskrat living in a burrow along the pond’s edge. Resisting the urge to give him a cute little name like “Bucky” and letting it stay; we thought it would be best to remove the critter before he could do any more damage. After considering the possibility of catching a skunk by mistake, we quickly abandoned our initial plan of using a live trap. We had no luck snaring him with a spring loaded game trap, and he continued to elude us for several days. To make matters worse, we soon noticed it was more than just one muskrat that had taken up residence in the pond.

In the end a .22 rifle with a scope (on loan from a friend) became the weapon of choice. The style of the gun was classic, something more befitting in the hands of a cowboy than a sniper. It had a rich wooden stock with a black steel barrel and trigger. The lever-action added to the old-time western feel of the gun. Most importantly, it was effective. My father-in-law bagged one with his first shot. After that we missed more times than not, but we did manage to hit a couple of the critters. We sent one of the poor devils scrambling through the trees behind the pond, and we haven’t seen any sign of them since.

I have to admit I really got a kick out of shooting the old gun. After returning it, I wanted to get a gun for myself. I considered a few different options, but finally decided on a .22 lever action rifle. It was the same traits that I enjoyed with the borrowed rifle that drew me to getting one of my own. Unfortunately that exact model (a Winchester I believe) is no longer manufactured. What I did find was a comparable version from Henry Repeating Arms. It’s an American made western-style lever action .22 with a walnut stock and blued steel barrel. I just brought it home the other day, and look forward to taking it out to the shooting range.
This just may be the beginning of a newfound favorite pastime.

Ducks - Week 3

It will soon be another week since we started raising our flock of mallard ducks. The changes over the last few days have been dramatic. They continue to grow at a steady rate and have began developing more feathers on their tails and wings. Their distinctive yellow markings have started to fade, giving way to a light brown color. We have also noticed with a few of them that their chirp is sounding more like a faint quack.


We built them an outdoor pen so they can spend their days grazing in the grass (weather permitting). Using zip-ties we secured poultry wire to a frame we made out of PVC tubing. We tried to keep it lightweight enough that we can move it around, that way one spot doesn’t’ get “over fertilized”.

Now that they have started feathering out, we thought it would be okay to let them go for their first swim. We put out a shallow tub of water for them.

Red Truck

Ducks - Week 2

We’ve had our mallard ducklings for a little less than two weeks and they’ve already more than doubled in size. At this rate they will outgrow their brooding box very quickly. It will be several weeks before they are ready to be set loose, so we will need to build a new enclosure soon.

If the top of their box is left open, some of the more courageous ducks will take the opportunity to try and jump out.

Our nephew helped feed the ducklings a special treat of shredded lettuce, which they seemed to enjoy.

Looking closely you can see their tail feathers beginning to grow in.

One of the ducklings is noticeably smaller than the others. Our niece picked the name “Little-Dude”, which fits it’s very well.

Ducks - Week 1

It’s not quite been a week since the arrival of our Mallard Ducklings. They have already grown noticeably, and have become much more active. Sometimes when they hear our voices they’ll burst into excitement, rushing around in a mad frenzy.

They have a voracious appetite and a seemingly unquenchable thirst. We leave fresh water and feed out for them, and they will spend 30 or 40 minutes at a time running between the two. We’re feeding them a starter/grower feed that is labeled for chickens, geese, and ducks. They sure are thirsty little guys; I’d started with a quart size drinker (watering can) and quickly had to switch to a gallon size in order to keep up.

They have a natural curiosity, immediately rushing to investigate anything new in their box. When my brother and I took a trip to the pet store he insisted we purchase one of those hamster running wheels. Despite my skepticism the ducklings have actually run on it, although I think it’s been mostly by accident. A small wooden box with holes in it also seems to keep them entertained.

We had to make some adjustments to the brooding box (duck crib). They are messy drinkers and spill water everywhere. In an effort to keep the bedding around the water can from getting soaked, we cut a section out of the floor and stapled a piece of mesh wire hardware cloth over it. A plastic bin underneath the box catches what runs through. This has helped some, but I still have to replace wet bedding a few times a day.

Another challenge was keeping the temperature consistent. We started with a 150 watt lamp, but it wasn’t staying warm enough. A stronger bulb (250 watt) placed directly above the box has done the trick. I use bricks to raise and lower the height of the lamp to adjust the temperature. I’ll be reducing the heat level over the next few weeks as they begin to grow their feathers.

We took the ducklings on their first trip outside today. They seemed to really enjoy foraging in the grass and playing in the sun.

They aren’t sure what to make of us yet and are more chicken than duck when we get close. After sitting with them a while, they started to get a little more courageous.

Our nieces and nephews have been helping us pick names for them. So far the list includes: Little-Dude, Kidd, Stew (that one’s just wrong), Leland, Zipper, and Skeeter, Ham, and Beans.

Ducks

On occasion the pond out back is graced by the presence of visiting waterfowl. We’ve seen geese, mallards, wood ducks, as well as a few other varieties. Watching them is always enjoyable and a few ducks swimming around the pond can be a tranquil sight. So I figured why not raise a flock of our own?

After making a few phone calls, 16 Mallard Ducklings landed here today. Actually I ordered them by mail from Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Ohio, and they are arrived this morning at our local post office. At first I’d hoped to get them in time for Easter, but they weren’t available until now. We will raise them, set them loose out back, and see if they stick around.

In preparation for their arrival we built this brooding box.
This will be their home for the first few weeks.

Living Life Out Front

Backyard patios and decks are nice, but there’s something to be said for a big front porch. They’ve been gracing the facade of American houses for centuries, serving as welcoming entries to homes ranging from stately mansions to rustic cabins. But porches are meant to be more than just a place for greeting guest; they're a place of shade and shelter, where grandpa widdled wood, jug bands played, and family photos where taken. The front porch is a place for sipping iced-tea, waiting-out a summer shower, and watching fireflies, a place for having warm conversations, a place to watch the world go by, a place for living life.

In recent years however, porches have become a diminishing part of modern architecture. They have been downsized and demoted. Often much too small for comfortable social use, the porch has been relegated to nothing more than an esthetic visual element, if they exist at all Determined not to let this happen on our home, we tried to design our porch with the style and scale reminiscent of those built years ago. So when the weather warms, I hope to see our family, friends, and visitors stop by to sit a spell on our front porch.