ducks | Nice Family Homestead

The Duck Saga Continues…

Guess what??? Our Runner Ducks are MALE!!!! Soon after I wrote the last post about our First Adventure With Ducks, our ducks developed a small curl on the end of their tails. This was a sure tell sign that they are in fact….male. So now I have 2 non-Pekin, non-Khaki Cambell, non-female ducks. Great. Just great. The boys (now named Fudge & Rupert) will still eat bugs around the yard and the kids can occasionally catch them without much of a fight. At least they are bringing joy to someone…

As the summer went on, however, the “boys” became more aggressive. They started to run after the dog and anything else that came near them. They would only run after you when your back was turned and would immediately stop if you turned around and looked at them, but still…not the fat friendly ducks that I had imagined.

“No problem”, I thought. I had a new plan. I would buy 2 white female ducks that were that same age and proven to be female. So off I went to a local farm where various fowl ran a muck all over the property. Chickens, ducks, turkeys, guineas hens…all living in harmony. I picked out two big white Muscovy females and brought them home. I put them in a small pen so the “boys” could check them out without hurting them. Only….Muscovy ducks can fly. Duh. The “girls” flew right over the pen. Charlie Dog ran over to meet them and they flew the fence and down the street. Off I went running after my new ducks. sigh. I caught them and brought them back to their new home, put the dog inside and left the the “boys” and “girls” alone to get to know each other.

It was like watching a middle school dance. The girls were so excited to meet their new flock and would walk over to the boys all pretty like, and the boys would spin in circles talking to each other and not knowing what to do! The girls kept trying, and the boys would either run away or chase the girls away. Not the harmonious duck family I was hoping for.

This went on for a few days. The girls were even bold enough to go in the duck house with the boys at night. But when morning came, the boys were still….boys. The girls gave up and decided to live with the hens. The “girls” are all very happy together and yesterday we found 2 duck eggs in the coop! Yippee!!

The boys? Well….they go over to the hen house each day and check them all out. However, the last time I let the girl ducks out they attacked the boys and pinned them to the ground. I’m guessing baby ducks are not in my future. “Diamond & Pearl” are here to stay…”Fudge & Rupert” might be looking for a new home.

So after spending $30 on 4 ducks, $70 repairing the Duck House, $10 on a duck pool, $10 on wood shavings, and $50 on duck feed…. I finally got 2 duck eggs, 2 male ducks that live in the fancy duck house and 2 female ducks that live in the chicken coop.

I would not call this a profitable adventure, but it was a learning experience for us all!

Anyone want 2 boy runner ducks? I’m not joking.

Our First Adventure With Ducks

“Ducks are cute”, I said.

“Ducks would be a great addition to the Homestead”, I said.

“The kids that visit will love them”, I said.

“I heard ducks are friendlier than chickens and will bond to their owners”, I said.

Papa Nice just smiled and I was on my way to researching duck breeds, how to care for ducks, and repainting an old coop to make a duck house.

Step 1: Take an old, flimsy coop…add a new roof, new paint and new hardware. Viola!

Step 2: Research duck breeds.

I decided I wanted Pekins. Pekins are big and friendly. The chances of a hawk picking them up out of the yard would be rare. So I called the local feed store and ordered 2 female Pekins that would look like this:

Step 3: Pick up ducklings from feed store.

Off I went to the feed store, with 5 little kids, to pick up our 2 female PEKIN ducklings. But when we got there, the feed store ordered Khaki Campbells and didn’t have any Pekins. It would take WEEKS to get them in. When you have 5 little kids excited for ducklings and 2 ducklings that now don’t have a home, what do you do? You take home the ducks that you didn’t order. “No problem”, I said, Khaki Campbells are nice ducks too…I think. I’m not even sure what they look like though. I guess these are Khaki Campbells and the kids love them. They are so cute….

The ducks have grown a lot since we got them back in April. Only…. they are much darker than Khaki Campbells and they are more skittish than any duck breed I had researched. Alas, I have discovered that we do NOT have Pekins (which I ordered), or Khaki Campbells (which I was told I was given), but rather Black Runner Ducks. Good layers, but skittish, flightless and not very big. Sigh. I don’t even know if they are both female. Apparently they will lay a lot of eggs (if they are female) and I hope that they will settle into the Homestead and become more friendly and comfortable with us.

For now…”Ruby” and “Fudge” will continue to have free reign of the backyard and will spend their day’s swimming in their pool and eating bugs. Maybe I expect too much from my animals. They are ducks after all. Ducks that now have a great life at the Nice Family Homestead.