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My Ducks


tm4tj

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Heres a heart warming story for you............

A few weeks ago our house was frequently visited by three Mallard ducks. One female and two colourful males. Of course we fed them scraps and seeds etc and they loved it. Mrs duck would often sit in the garden for a while when the two males would go for a swim in the Firth. We had a very small bird bath bowl thingy which she would pamper herself in and have a good old splash around in. This went on for a few more weeks then we saw little of her for a couple of weeks, only sporadic fleeting visits. Another couple of weeks passed and one evening when we looked out over the Beauly Firth we spotted a female duck with seven chicks in tow. Yes, it was Mrs duck and her little chicks. We called on her and offered her some food but she was reluctant to leave the chicks on their own. They seemed happy enough as they paddled off into the sunset.

The next morning my son told us that the crows were attacking the chicks right in front of our house, about thirty yards into the Firth. They were hunting in packs and drawing the mother Duck away from the chicks then swooping down and trying to pick up the terrified ducklings. We reckon they were only a few days old, about the size of a snooker ball. We went out and distracted the crows but by this time there was one duckling down, presumable eaten by the crows. We had previously seen large grey herons being chased by Mrs Duck so it could have been the herons that gobbled it, apparently they will eat them whole. Anyway, I had to get off to work so left the Mrs in charge. I got a call about 10:00 from Mrs m4tj telling me she and a neighbour had rounded up the ducks and they were now in the relative security of our utility room. OMG was my initial reaction but then it was for a good cause, we could not sit back and let the massacre continue on our doorstep. Thursday and Friday evening were spent hastily erecting a Duck house for our new visitors as they were quickly turning the utility room into a quagmire. Knee deep in shit springs to mind. Anyway, by late Friday evening it was time to move the bairns and Mrs Duck out of the mire and into their new home. All this for the price of a bag of staples and some six inch nails, aided by scrap wood and some old doors that were lying around.

Mrs Duck thanked me in the only way she knew how, by shitting down the front of my polo shirt. If you have ever smelled a runny duck poo, then you will know what I mean, but she seemed happy enough. The next stage was to build a small pen for them to come out of their house and into the open. This was accomplished using three old louvre doors, some spare wood from the yard and some aviary wire I had for making an outdoor run for my cockatiels. An old shower tray made a small bathing pond for them and some soft mossy grass went down for them to forage through. I secured the area by making a couple of roof panels. We bought some duck food pellets and chick food mashy stuff, easier for them to digest.

They have now been with us for just over three weeks and the good news is that they seem perfecrly healthy and are now starting to grow proper feathers. They are almost a foot long now, boy do they grow quick.

One of my neighbours told me he saw Mrs Duck just after the chicks were born and there were fourteen or fifteen chicks. We still have six left and they will be released once they are ready to fly. That is around eight weeks I believe, so still plenty of duck sitting to do.

here are som pics.

Mrs Duck

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Mmmmm.....

They're great roasted in garlic butter and served with an orange or black cherry sauce and mashed sweet potatoes (with apple slices mixed in before baking) plus wild rice with sauteed onion and celery and white wine.

Yummmmeeeee!

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Edited by Johnboy
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Mrs Duck

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Mr Duck

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Chicks @ 1 week

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Chicks today

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Yep, the Ducks have heard them all.

Could not post the pics earlier as the signal was too weak, I was duck sitting outside

yours

don duck

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In a round about way.....for the second time in a few days...i find myself agreeing with DC. TM4TJ....while i admire your pro active approach, and....have to say...its one ad probably do myself.....unfortunatley, this is not natures way. Natural selection and all that. Probably the bigest culprits all round...for taking Duck Babies are those evil fooking Seagulls. I hate seagulls!! If there was a pile of baby seagulls in my garden...ad douse the feckers in petrol and set fire to em....or...more likely....gather up all the cats in the neighbourhood and let them have a feild day gobbling up baby seagulls. I have not one ounce of compassion for them. But...i do like ducks!

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Society meddles with mother nature on a daily basis.

Isnt it funny how we favour some creatures over others. I mean...most people in TM4TJ situation would probably try and help the ducks.....yet....Most would probably see the crows wiped out....but why, neither is any more inherintly evil than the other....EVEN Seagulls too....but..i despise them nonetheless

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Lovely story, great pics! minioiseau.gif

(What about the piece in the P&J the other day, about the red squirrel scoffing all the baby-birds at the wild-bird place over by Huntly :D He just sat by a couple of nests and picked off the fledgling birds one by one... and yeah, that's the way it goes, without intervention...)

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Crikey...............Raoal Moat is a legend and I am an interfering paedo................what is the world coming to, I think I'll go and pop them in the oven.

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I think the hardest part will be letting them go.

They look old enough to remove the netting and give them the option of living in a shower tray or waddling in to their true environment, they may come back for food anyway. Keeping them too long will only hinder them in the long run.

If you cant let them go then either peel the skin off before putting in the oven, or pluck and burn off the small feathers that you missed, pan fry and serve pink.

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You guys need to swat up on your ducks. The ones I have offered a safe haven to are Mallards.

Letting them go is an issue, as at the moment they can not fly which happens around fifty days. Mrs duck goes for a wander then returns but we are reluctant to let the chicks out until they have either full feathers or can fly. As I am on the Black Isle, we often have Red Kites hovering overhead and a fox visited the other night. The crows/ravens/rook things that gobble them up are abundant as are herons as big as swans. No cows or pelicans or Jojnboys close by though.

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I wonder how long we can keep a thread going on ducks on a football forum?

But here's an absolutely true story about ducks - or to be more precise, about Duck and duck.

My aunt's maiden name was Duck, She died a couple of years ago and I went down South for the funeral. I was staying with my brother and after we left the crematorium we spent some time with my cousins before driving back to my brother's in time for an evening meal. Without thinking, my sister in law had decided on duck for the meal. Now, she is usually a very good cook, but on this occasion when she brought the dish through she announced, "I'm really sorry folks, but I've cremated the duck!" The look of horror on her face when she realised what an indelicate thing that was to say in the circumstances was a joy to behold. We had a good laugh about it but were thankful our cousins were not there to be offended.

  • Agree 1
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Seems to me you hoard a helluva lot of junk Don.

Stig from down near the Dump mosking.gif

DoofersDad, I like your duck story yes4.gif

(I can't be doling out green dots 40 minutes into the new day though, sorry wink3.gif )

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Very good, have a green dot.

True story, I once lived near a house called the "Mallard". It was duck themed.

I had a pint in the Mallard in Tinkwall once...

I also had a pint in the Drouthy Duck as well.. not sure if its still there though.

Is the Duck named after the pub tho?

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