Well, I am learning fast, that is for sure! We have had them for a full week now and this is what I know....
1. They poop A LOT!
2. They drink A LOT of water!
3. Between the pooping A LOT and A LOT of water mess they stink A LOT!
4. They grow FAST!
5. They are very sweet.
6. If you hold them near your ear they will nibble your earrings.
7. They have toe nails. Uhhh...flipper nails? Paddle nails? They don't really scratch but you can see and feel them. I had no clue!
8. If you have them in a cardboard box, their water mess will soak through it no matter how much bedding you use or what you do.
9. They enjoy field trips to visit preschool classes.
10. They are tolorant of being held, squeezed, poked, prodded, and dropped by thirteen 4 & 5 year olds. Well, at least 4 of them are anyway because that was all I could fit in the "nest box" that all 16 of them were mailed to us in. See #4 above.
11. If you brood them in the house to start, you will very soon be begging your husband to get the coop ready to get them out of the house!
12. They are really fun to watch.
13. If you stick them in the bathtub, the first thing they do is poop. Then they bathe themselves and they then get really daring and swim all around and dive under the water and swim!
14. When you reach into the box to get one, they all run to the other side of the box. When you go to the other side, they all run back. And repeat.
15. If you don't mind the poop and water mess, I think they are one of the neatest farm animals around.
16. We have NOT been pooped on. That is a plus!
17. Did I mention they poop...A LOT?
18. And did I mention they poop A WHOLE LOT? ;)
I am looking forward to getting their permanant home finished up in the next few days and getting them settled in and out of the house. And I am looking forward to seeing them continue to grow and hopefully begin laying eggs this fall. 
So, what to name this flock of ladies? I am open to suggestions! So far I refer to them as either The Girls or The Dirty Girls. :) Mostly the latter. Then I thought about The Dirty Dozen Plus Four. Or The Dirty Duckie Divas. I am pretty sure whatever they are named the word dirty just has to be in the title. Maybe I should do a poll.
I am by no means a duck expert, but if you have any questions about how we are doing things, ask! :)
What kind of ducks did you get? We're thinking of getting a batch of muscovy ducks when fall approaches (we have more natural ponds and springs then). I haven't decided whether we should get the eggs and have our chickens hatch them or if we should order the babies and get them ourselves. I don't want them sharing a coop with the chickens (do they even need one?). See, I know nothing. lol.
ReplyDeleteHappy Earth Day!
http://hotbellymama.blogspot.com/
Oh my goodness. I'm jealous. I love my hens, but I seem to just be craving new animals lately!
ReplyDeleteWow they are pretty big already! Did you say they are all females? That would be the way to go so you don't have any bossy males around. It is always a bummer to get straight run chicks and end up with 15 roosters!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about a good name for them, I like what you've been calling them. Around here everything is named after what they do. The Baaers (sheep), little Mooers, Neighers (horses), etc. Our friend's kid always want to "come see the Baas!!" That naming tactic worked fine until I was watching the turkeys peck around their cage and almost called them little peck***. Lol. Luckily I realized it before it came out of my mouth, I don't need kids asking about that!! :)
I'd call them the dirty dozen even if they were 20 of them. Its a good name!
ReplyDeleteYou could always call them the Little Stinkers!! Lol I know real original...
ReplyDeleteMama: They are are Khaki Campbells. We got them to be egg layers, so we need to keep them housed. They will have a play yard with their coop, but I do hope to be able to let them out to roam around during the day when they get bigger. Since they will eat a lot of bugs, I am hoping they eat ticks too. And fleas.
ReplyDeleteBethany: Run. Right now. Right down to the feed store. And get you some baby ducks!! ;) LOL
Jena: Yes, they are all females. I hope anyway, because that is what we ordered! And I'm not about to attempt to sex a duckling! We'll just have to wait til their big duckie feathers come in to know for sure. I was ROFLMBO about the turkeys *almost* name! :) I love how you named your critters.
Patrice and Tonia...The Dirty Little Stinky Diva Dozen ;) LOL