20 weeks of Buff Orpington Ducks, part 2

12 -20 Weeks
Whitney duck quacked around the yard, followed closely by her goon squad Nigella and Frankie with Stevie in the back quietly minding his own business. At this stage Nigella and Frankie made raspy boy noise, Whitney's voice was clearer and more 'traditionally duck sounding' like a hunters duck call. But Stevie was confusing. Sometimes he honked, making noises that didn't sound like a boy or girl, but mostly he was just my shy super quiet very stompy like dork.
We figured he was a he, but I held out hope that maybe Stevie was a girl... It wouldn't be fair to keep more than one drake with one duck hen. No matter what, Stevie was staying, but I liked Frankie too.
Frankie was beautiful.

7 weeks, from left Stevie, Nigella, Whitney and Frankie

12 weeks

 



By now they were moulting again in the Summer Heat, baby fluff and feathers everywhere like an explosion in a pillow factory. Exploring the yard, they spent most of their days pooping under the clothes line and pooping under the cherry tree.
A few of the chicks had suffered a serious illness, Coccidiosis. Head cockerel Roo boy didn't make it, but Lacey did. The ducks hid absolutely any symptoms if it affected them at all, resilient, but noticing the absence of their flock members. Whitney was the first to see Lacey and Roo out in the fenced off front yard, she called the duck clan over where they called through the fence, Lacey was too ill at the time to pay attention, but it was interesting to see the ducks telling her to get her butt back with them. Also probably jealous that she had access to tasty treats they couldn't get to!

13 weeks

Nigella Started getting his light gray drake face first, with Frankie getting a darker head second. In true Stevie style it took a few weeks more for him. I would blame it on head birds maturing faster, but honestly I've never really known what order if any the ducks hold themselves in. Chickens are more obvious, and one of Stevie's favourite pool time games was biting Frankie and riding in a circle. Pecking order or attraction? I'm not sure with him.

 

almost 15 weeks

 

For the last few nights it had been the same, Chuck the new head cockerel was the last in to the coop, but he didn't come all the way in. He stood in the doorway surveying, checking, turning and running away... coming back, repeat until he was encouraged to enter. He would scoot straight to the chicken pile corner (they wouldn't roost for a bit yet) bypassing the mass of birds digging for night time treats and hunker down for sleep. Poor little odd guy.

Then I received a text from T, 'When I let the chickens out this morning I couldn't find chuck, he had wedged himself under a pallet, couldn't lift it, had to poke him out. He's lost a few feathers but is ok'
What? the only pallet in the coop was under the unused nesting boxes and were much too small for a little cockerel to fit in? but he had... and the drakes were to blame...
Well, one drake..

at 15 weeks hormones were starting to surge, Nigella must have been starting to see Chuck as competition. Luckily a work mate of mine had incubated buff duck eggs just before I got mine and had been 'threatening' to give them to me. He found me at the right time.

'I've just sold part of my farm, and can't keep the ducks by the house. I don't like to give them up but you can have them if you want?'

Yes! a perfectly timed solution, I would swap two of my boys for what he assumed were his two girls. Sorry Nigella and Frankie, but Stevie is definitely a boy and he's staying.



The introduction of Bonnie & Clyde

just over 15 weeks
On the morning scheduled for the swap, the run had been set up again around the coop. The new birds would have to spend a week in it to get used to their new home, plus it would make catching the boys a lot easier. The chicks came outside slowly in a group, Nigella circled from around a tree, parting the chicks, singling out Chuck and chasing him! no wonder he's so upset (if I'd known it was that bad earlier I would already have organized some sort of solution)

The swap went smoothly, my work mate left with dinner and I still had four ducks, a little bit younger than ours. Unfortunately the voice of one gave away that he was also a boy, but the other sounded exactly like Whitney, so eventually we would only have 3 ducks. But that's okay it means there is room for ducklings at some point...

The new ducks were TERRORS! she pushed everyone around, shuttled between food stations chasing everyone away and hogged the pools. He followed her around like a love struck puppy. I was confused - Whitney was my bossy girl! but with her goon squad gone she didn't even fight back, now she spent her time pretending she was a chicken, hiding with them and Stevie never was one to push his weight around. The new ducks walked all over everyone.

 Miss A named them Bonnie and Clyde.

I know, You are supposed to separate new birds for a bit so they get used to each other first, even after the hard time Lacey chick got after being reintroduced we had been convinced by friends they would be fine. Besides everything I read suggested it would be the existing birds that would be pushy and territorial, the online sources also only brought up the males being the issue, but it was the Bonnie the new girl who crowned herself their new leader.
I had noticed for a while that Stevie was very skinny, his keel bone stuck out and felt a bit sharp. I was worried, but he had no symptoms of being ill. He pooped, ate, drank, preened, flapped his wings, chatted... all exactly like a healthy big boy. A trip to the vet and we were both stumped, he received a wormer just in case. I was told to keep an eye on his food intake and watch for diarrhoea to make sure he didn't have an infection as he seemed fine (he hasn't had diarrhoea, Stevie is just a slim boy it seems)
The point is, we couldn't have a food hog. We had the idea to separate Bonnie for a few days then re introduce her, hoping it would knock her down the pecking order. So out came the cardboard boxes!
She came inside, with food and water available and a soft toy for company (hey, it works for lonely baby chicks..) we spent as much time with her as we could and gave her plenty of bath swim time.
Did she calm down? heck no.
She cried constantly for Clyde.. we felt bad, but her behaviour with the other birds was not going to work out. That night she calmed down a bit. The next day she stopped calling for Clyde, I gave her a mirror so she could entertain herself with her reflection and she hissed at it, I've never heard a duck hiss! then she started hissing at A as well. By day 3 she hissed at everyone. On Day 4 she was placed in a fenced off area outside, the others could see her but they couldn't get to each other, Clyde hung around a bit but the others carried on like usual. Bonnie stayed separated for a week, although she escaped on day two to bite everyone else and chase Whitney from the food so she went back to her run.

17 weeks



 

I sit on the water tanks by the duck pool after work to relax and watch the birds sunbath and muck around, coming up to the ducks being 17 weeks old they were splashing around in their pool as usual. Whitney had been enjoying the attention of two drakes following her around the yard, flirty head bobbing and showing off for Clyde and on this day she head bobbed at Stevie then laid herself flat across the water surface... uh oh, if they are going to start trying to mate (if you've ever seen akward teenage duck love in action you will understand the -trying- part of that sentence) then it was probably time to reduce our duck flock, two drakes could injure each other and the girls during periods of raging hormones. I enlisted the help of another work mate to teach me how to cull and dress a duck, our interest in raising ducklings means knowing the processes involved would be a great skill to have. Drakes after all, like roosters can be difficult to sell or give away, and it is very unfair on a bird to dump it. Why not raise it for food if you are okay with that? give it a happy life and good, healthy things to eat first.

It went well, quickly, it was important to learn properly so the duck wouldn't suffer. His bird friends fell silent. Sorry Clyde (we did it well away from them, don't worry)

 

 

Bonnie climbed on the water tank the next morning, but by the afternoon she was clambering around the yard eager for Stevie's attention. She calmed down a lot! part of the flock now.

 

 

18 and a half weeks

As a drake I had wondered when Stevie would get his drake feather, at bang on 18 weeks of age we started seeing little curls. He was also enjoying his freedom as the only boy with two hens hanging off him. Whitney occasionally gets jealous of Bonnie flirting with him, but they get along fine now.

Stevie has become the watch duck, warning the others (ducks and chicks) when we approach or calling them to us when he thinks we have food although Whitney still seems to be the one to call them in for the night. He's a good boy though, he loves his girls and they love him!



20 weeks old

Chuck is now as big as the ducks, but they are still in charge. Mostly they are good leaders although occasionally they claim food sources or water for their group (like the Grandpa feeder..) Stevie is still skinny and they are all a crazy batch of feathers and hormones right now (the ducks anyway)! Head bobbing, wing flapping, water splashing hormones.      
There are no eggs yet, unless Whitney has found a secret hidey hole which really wouldn't surprise me. But it could still take a few weeks. Mostly I'm hoping they start closer to the chickens laying (if it happens before spring) so I don't have to worry about supplementing food just for them