Thoms Birds!

Start your own thread and let us follow you through the year
Post Reply
User avatar
Chookaholic
Longlasting Laner
Posts: 742
Joined: 06 Aug 2013, 12:27
Gender: Female
Location: Warrington , Cheshire

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Chookaholic »

thomassio your ducks are fantastic !

Thomassio
Lively Laner
Posts: 263
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 19:01
Gender: Male
Location: Deepest Devon

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

It's been a long time since I have been on here so just thought I would give a short update. I have been very busy in every way this last few months but the girls are all as well as always.
Lex is still trying to tread Emily and it's still a few weeks too soon so they sleep in seperate areas but when we are in the garden they all free range together. Rosie, our blue girl won't take to the young'uns and I think that's because she's lowest in the pecking order so she is trying to stay a step above the two babies.

The 'babies' are now nearly full ducks but given the chance, if we turn our backs before bed time, they will hop up the steps, into the house and onto the sofa. It's absolutely unbelievable and very cheeky but also very sweet. It's like they want to settle down for so e evening tv!


Image

Image

Image
User avatar
KarenE
Legendary Laner
Posts: 3460
Joined: 06 Apr 2013, 13:43
Gender: Female
Location: Northamptonshire

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by KarenE »

Oooh the cheeky madams!

Where are your manners Thom? I see no tea and biscuits for your visitors! )cof(

Perhaps they're coming in because they know Duck Quacks Don't Echo is back on telly )run(
Karen
Alpha chick to: Smudge, Matisse and Bluebell
Chief servant to Marley the cat
Remembering Weeps, Rexie, Sage, Cassie, Toffee, Captain Gabby, Commander Nugget, Ronnie, Juno, Special Poetry and Reading Casper, Tigger, Tophenanall Rembrandt, Chestnut, Tiddly, Willow, Mango, Coco, Dorian Grey and Pokey.
Also my lost furries Charlie and Jasper
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

I love it )like( I hope you have got Donald on dvd for them or will that give them ideas {rofwl}
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
Thomassio
Lively Laner
Posts: 263
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 19:01
Gender: Male
Location: Deepest Devon

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Just a quick update as I haven't posted here for ages! The gang are all good. The eight (started at 3) has now become nine with the addition of Stevie. Stevie was destined to become crispy and served with Hoi Sin sauce unless someone could take him on. I didn't need to guilt trip the wife at all as she loved him and couldn't let him be eaten. I was thinking that Lex was over-run by seven girls anyway, they really did seem like a handful for him, so he has some male company. He is also black and has a little tuxedo on!

Image

That is him on the left with his white chest. Lex and him get on just fine although Stevie only has eyes for Emily, our apricot girl and he follows her wherever she goes. Here is a video of her drifting off to sleep when she was younger (and panting quite heavily too!)
Image

Maggie-moo, out white girl.....She came to us very tatty, not waterproof at all, plumage really was terrible and her personality is odd to say the least! This winter she seems to have turned from the ugly duckling into the 'swan'. She has finally got all her new feathers through and as a result is not only now a lovely looking thing (still odd) but she is also a water baby where as before she hated bathing and would only wash from a bucket. Now, runners cant fly, but she has taken to trying very hard and doing a fine job of 'glamming up' what's basically a jump from our decking onto the lawn.....

Image

In other news, we haven't had a single egg since the start of November. We used to be over run and now we are having to buy supermarket eggs and its an interesting reminder of how stark the difference is. Last year, our first egg came on the first of february so fingers crossed they will be back on the job shortly!
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

What brilliant photos )like( If only I had room for the fantastic runners
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
Thomassio
Lively Laner
Posts: 263
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 19:01
Gender: Male
Location: Deepest Devon

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks Sandy, they do make blooming mess though! I must confess that I have been cursing them for weeks now as last year they laid on the 1st of feb and then were like clockwork. We had our first egg this year....yesterday, exactly a month later! Had 2 this morning and I expect that will go up over the next few days until we are over run again.
Yesterday was delicious though, first poached duck egg on toast in ages!

Over the weekend I turned all their wood chip over and swapped the really dirty side with the clean side (for some reason they will only sleep on one side and that ends up filthy where as the other side stays nice and clean. The wood chip is doing its job, the smell is so minimal from 9 ducks after a year and thats because everything is composting down. When I turned all the chippings over, its amazing how many worms were in there lending a helping hand, literally thousands, it was almost a bit creepy but guess who LOVED the worms being exposed!?

Image

The amount of soil that was stuck to there beaks was brilliant, these pictures are nowhere near as bad as it got....
Image
Image

And just a token shot of Steve, our new boy. He is Emily's (apricot girl in the picture) guardian and boyfriend. If she is last in the garden and Im around, he will get back out of the run and escort her in to the run in case I try to kidnap her!
Image
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

Aw Steve, what a superb gent )like(
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
User avatar
kitla
Legendary Laner
Posts: 3752
Joined: 30 Oct 2009, 23:25
Gender: Female
Location: Northants

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by kitla »

I haven't read your diary before now, what lovely photos! your duckies look so
healthy, happy and gorgeous.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant
Thomassio
Lively Laner
Posts: 263
Joined: 08 Feb 2014, 19:01
Gender: Male
Location: Deepest Devon

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Once again it's been a long time since I have posted, life with new twins is very very busy but amazing!
The veg is going well and the ducks have been busy. We have had 3 month long stints of broodiness from different girls, the second time was Mia and she hatch just 1. Sadly it was born with a deformed leg and after a couple of weeks of splinting (and even making a little 'duckling bouncer') we took it to our local breeders who kindly advised me to "leave it with them".

2 weeks later and after a day at the Zoo, I sat in the garden having a well earned drink when I heard the distinctive cheep cheep cheep of another duckling. On closer inspection, Sally, one of our original 3 had hatched two of the little fluff balls! Looking at them, they appear to be either chocolate or black but it wont be clear for a few weeks yet......
Image
Image

Not the best pictures but Mumma is very protective at the moment. Runners are generally said to be poor broodies and worse mothers so we are keeping an eye on her but so far so good.
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

My goodness so you are a 'mummy' again and again )t' Make sure you get those babies running across a wooden floor, the sound is one of the funniest things ever. Now make sure you keep us upto date as the little darlings grow
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
User avatar
sandy
Legendary Laner
Posts: 9915
Joined: 13 Oct 2008, 21:59
Gender: Female
Location: Bristol

Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

How is it going in duckdom?
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/

Post Reply