Recent content by Papaye
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Welshies gender guesses
Hi. Well... ...after searching about the way of sexing Welsh Harlequin ducklings on the Internet, THEN finding that they apparently can be sexed with 90% accuracy thanks to their bill colour... ...you are probably right about your guesses...? How many ducklings do you have now...? -
Got new ducks and one suddenly died. The other can't walk.
Hi. Pictures of them might help us understand what is going on here... Aaaaah... Because of their weight especially, Pekin ducks are sadly prone to a lot of health issues... When, exactly, did the drakes show up in these people's yard...? (How long have they had the boys?) What do you... -
Blue fawn rouen drake and hens
Well... you can, yes...! Inbreeding is not a practice that I recommend, BUT : rather than breeding a drake to his sisters, it would at least be better to breed a drake to his daughters... ► If you do breed your Blue Fawn drake to his offsprings that are heterozygous for Blue, 25% of the... -
Blue fawn rouen drake and hens
You are welcome. No matter the breed : if a duck hen is big enough to be able to safely support your drake's weight, then you can pair her up with him... BUT : if you want fertile offsprings, AND/OR if you want your boy and his girls to speak the same language, then you have to choose duck... -
Australian spotted duck with bad looking feathers/bald spots
Hi. Would you mind posting pictures of your other ducks...? Hmmmm... (Rather than mites or fungus...) I would not be surprised if your ducks' feathers were damaged by mud : it, indeed, looks like your ducks have access to A LOT of mud... and not enough clean water to wash it off. My guess... -
Blue fawn rouen drake and hens
Hi. The Blue Fawn colour is what is called "Blue Mallard". Meaning that a Blue Fawn duck is, in fact : Mallard patterned + heterozygous for Blue. Blue Fawn drake x Mallard hen... ...OR Mallard drake x Blue Fawn hen = • 50% Blue Fawn coloured ducklings; • 50% Mallard coloured ducklings. ►... -
Duckling Brooder with an In-ground Pool
Hi! No, but... what? (It is so cute...!!) I have never raised ducklings in brooders, but if I did, I would totally want to copy your idea here. Not only your brooder looks perfectly clean and secure - is it 100% safe, with the use of a heat lamp? -, but the fact you used plexiglass sheets as... -
New duck mom a few questions
Hi. • What do you feed your ducklings, exactly? And do they have an unlimited access to their food - including at night? ► AT LEAST until they are big enough (meaning : 2,5-months-old at the MINIMUM) : your ducklings need to have an unlimited access to their food day AND night, so to allow an... -
Runner duck chick colour
Hi. Huh... Sorry for not replying earlier! Would you mind posting more pictures, now your ducks are a bit older? I can see ONE that has the Pied pattern, but I don't know for the other two : from what I can see, they could be heterozygous for Pied (meaning they would have only ONE Pied... -
Runner duck chick colour
Hi. Well... ...if you could post pictures of your ducklings first with their fluff, and then in their juvenile plumage...? No. For the time being, you really can't be sure of that : at 5-weeks-old, some ducklets (♀) are taller and bigger than drakelets (♂)...! Still, you should be able to... -
Questions about food in Spain
Hi. Yes, it is fine. Drakes don't grow up anymore, so they really don't need more proteins than that... especially since they don't even lay eggs - contrary to duck hens... Whole. Just don't put MORE than 50% wheat in the mix : you have to put as much, or even more, duck pellets than... -
Questions about food in Spain
Hi. The pellets you are currently feeding your drakes are for ducklings (it is in the name : "Starter") - NOT for adult ducks. ...Which is why their proteins level is so high! In your place, I would just stop feeding your boys Starter pellets... ...and instead, I would give them : a mix of... -
In Honor of Banana Split
Hi. 2 years and 3 months without any casualty is good, at least... I have no doubt that Banana Split - I like her name, ah, ah! - has been happy to live these years with YOU. Still, I am honestly sorry for you and your girl...! But how do you know it is a hawk that has (probably) killed her... -
Spotted Dusky - Indian Runner ducks
Hi. ...My Spotted Dusky girl at two-days-old (with her siblings) : I had got three Light Dusky Indian Runner ducklings from this clutch... two of which being, in fact, Spotted Dusky...! Here... : At first, it is actually pretty difficult to distinguish Spotted Dusky ducklings from... -
My silly duck
Hi. Yes, but never like that... I would be tempted to ask if you are sure he is really a boy, but... given he is 10-years-old, you would know if it was not the case, right? In my opinion, you should give him company. And by that, I mean : "duck friends that are descended from the wild...