I never knew ducklings grow so fast!!! Now 16 days old, my little ducklings are significantly bigger and they seem to shoot up in size every day. Smokey, Bandit, Reese, and Sammy are such sweet little things but they are incredibly messy pets.
I can clean their brooder where they live and it'll be soaking wet within a few hours. I've been cleaning it out twice a day now. That means I take the ducklings out, drag the plastic tote outside, remove the wood shavings, and spray it down with a water hose to clean the poop. Once I do that I add new wood shavings, fresh water, and food. Dragging that tote in and out every day, twice a day has become a hassle.
There are my girls in their brooder
Sammy!!!
So far Sammy is the least afraid of me. She is a nice little duck and comes to me for treats and lets me take her out of the brooder with very little trouble. I think we'll be good friends. Reese is still terrified of me. I've tried everything but she's so skittish. She's been nicknamed Reese's Pieces because she falls to pieces out of fear very easily. Smokey and Bandit are doing well with me. They are learning quickly I usually have treats to bribe them with and are coming to me more easily.
Smokey and the BanDucks Escaped!
Okay they didn't escape in this picture but they would the next day. I let the roam around the kitchen for a bit to stretch their legs. Ignore the Pepsi cans. My daughter has this new fascination with taking soda cans out of their box and moving them to random places. It was fun seeing the ducklings run around the kitchen but they are messy. They went crazy with all the freedom and made a mess.
Moving Day: Bandit and Sammy
Today I got fed up with cleaning their brooder. I reached a point where I knew I'd be cleaning it three times a day. The brooder is now too small and won't stay clean. Deciding my bigger ducks need a new home I sent my husband to Dollar General to get them a baby pool. It has more room and when they grow old enough to go outside it will be used for them to swim in. While setting things up I took the ducklings out for a romp in the kitchen.
Vicki the Cat sees the ducklings clearly for the first time
Today during their romp around the kitchen in a make-shift pen, the cats got a good look at the ducklings. Vicki is fat and lazy. She watched for a minute then went back to eating her cat food. The other four cats also came in for food and saw the ducklings. I think they are all ticked off I went and got more animals. Thankfully, they are all well fed and seem to have no interest in them.
New home! Cozy and roomy.
Hopefully, in their much bigger brooder I won't have to clean it three times a day. So far they've been in it four hours and it's keeping pretty dry. I'm really happy about that. In the old brooder they'd be soaked and their bedding would be soaked. I'm looking forward to week five when we can possibly move them outside to a duck coop. Ducklings aren't meant to be indoor pets. They are a lot of work. Messiness isn't an issue out in the yard. I look forward to my little one's reaching adulthood so they can enjoy more freedom outside.
Oh. So black ducks have black feet and black beaks? That's pretty cool. I thought I was the only one that kept a six pack of Pepsi on the floor. I guess you know about the Pepsi trick that keeps Sumo wrestlers from attacking in the middle of the night. Not many people do.
I'm looking forward to hearing more tales about your ducks.
You know what would be cool is maybe a cartoon tale with Sammy and Bandit and Marxrab all going on some kind of adventure.
Reese is a brown duck and her feet and beak are brown. It is really neat to see all the different colors. My daughter moved my husband's grape soda into the middle of the bedroom floor. Pepsi deters Sumo wrestlers but my real problem is ninjas. Grape soda deters ninjas from entering the bedroom.
I like the idea of some fiction stories about the ducks. They really are fun creatures to watch and I've got some stories in the back of my mind.
i like most samy and bandit, besides unique also look very clean and healthy, ye hopefully later samy and bandit quickly have children and grandchild ..
I try to keep them clean and healthy. Sammy and bandit are both girls I think...hopefully no children or grandchildren will pop up.
Aww! They are getting big fast! They're starting to look more adutl, too, though their heads and feet seem pretty over-sized, yet. I'm glad the cats aren't interested in attacking.
Do ducks prefer Pepsi? :-)
The prefer Pepsi and Aflac car insurance. :) . Pretty sure they are a big fan of Cheerios too.
It seems they are quite healthy. Growing incredible in a short time. I think because you diligently take care and it affects the development of ducks.
Thank you. I do take good care of them. So far they are doing great.
I like the way they are healthy and so clean. You're doing a nice job!
Thank you! I love letting them swim and get clean. They are sweet little ducks.
Wooow, no doubt very huge friend seems that they already have many days and they are only few, they look very tender and clean, they are very restless hahaha.
Ducks, geese and swans are all messy. Been there and done that. Outside is the best place for all messy birds! They are cute but when they are small they are a lot of work.
Oh yes. I can't wait until they are outside. They can destroy my yard all they want. Until then, I've got 3 more weeks of them inside. At least they're cute. :)
very nice place new ducks yes, I suggest it to give light a small lamp for hot, duck was not how long it will swell soon about the size of 15 wat lamps.
Thanks for the advice. I have a big heat lamp on them but as they grow it is too hot for them. I probably need a smaller one.