NewJourney
Songster
My 9 month old Fawn & White Runner duck hen that only started laying eggs 2 months ago started setting on eggs a month ago, and she actually sat all the way through to hatch! Sadly, she didn't know what was happening and even with my help two ducklings didn't survive hatching. She squished them while they tried to hatch. 
We have one hatched duckling and after a day of me taking the duckling and caring for it myself, then later luring her to take the duckling back (it was EASY) she finally figured out how to be a momma...
The next day on a local FB group I saw someone had ducklings that hatched very recently (similar age in days) and I bought four. They are Pekin Runner mixes. So, I came home and held one up and allowed it to peep loudly - and she came rushing out of her nest wanting to care for the baby, the baby jumped out of my hand and ran right to her... I saw how good she was with it (not attacking it) and I gave her the other three I had.
She immediately went over to show the babies where food and water was. Oh man I was so proud of her!! <3
So far so good all day today! Here are the photos I had taken of them earlier today.
Fern (momma) and Peanut (her singleton baby).
If anyone has any guesses on which drake may have been the father for Peanut please let me know... I'm not sure which duck this egg came from but here are the options:
Hens: all purebred - naked neck (rare french breed of duck), f&w runners, welsh harlequins, one khaki campbell blue swedish mix, magpie.
Drakes: all purebred - naked neck, magpie, khaki campbell (he's no longer in the flock but the eggs that were hatched (Peanut and the two that didn't survive) have a good chance of coming from his matings.
From what I noticed the naked neck (Ned) rarely mated with anyone other than Sweedie (the khaki campbell blue swedish mix). But since I removed our KC drake from our property Ned seems to have become the top drake, somehow... It's weird. Mr Bean (Magpie) is much larger than Ned yet Ned still seems to be top drake now. I don't get it. Anywhoo....
Based on Peanut's pink mottled bill I want to say that the daddy is Mr Bean the Magpie. But her legs and feet are very much Khaki Campbell colored, but I can't recall if the brown legs and feet are normal with F&W runners... LOL smh... I dont' remember the bill color of my runners when they were day-olds, either. The two runners I kept both have green bills (speckled green as in Fern's case, and solid green as in Cathy's case) The others had solid yellow bills if I remember correctly.
Fern and the one I named Penguin (Pengee for short).
Penguin front and center. I LOVE the yellowy down sticking up on her head. I sure hope it's a hen...
That mostly black chick I believe to be a drake. He has all black feet (just a side note). His voice is actually noticeably different as a baby than the others! His has a rasp to it! I've never known ducklings to have a noticeably raspy voice so YOUNG! I truly believe this one is a drake. I named him Mocha.
We have one hatched duckling and after a day of me taking the duckling and caring for it myself, then later luring her to take the duckling back (it was EASY) she finally figured out how to be a momma...
The next day on a local FB group I saw someone had ducklings that hatched very recently (similar age in days) and I bought four. They are Pekin Runner mixes. So, I came home and held one up and allowed it to peep loudly - and she came rushing out of her nest wanting to care for the baby, the baby jumped out of my hand and ran right to her... I saw how good she was with it (not attacking it) and I gave her the other three I had.
She immediately went over to show the babies where food and water was. Oh man I was so proud of her!! <3
So far so good all day today! Here are the photos I had taken of them earlier today.
Fern (momma) and Peanut (her singleton baby).
If anyone has any guesses on which drake may have been the father for Peanut please let me know... I'm not sure which duck this egg came from but here are the options:
Hens: all purebred - naked neck (rare french breed of duck), f&w runners, welsh harlequins, one khaki campbell blue swedish mix, magpie.
Drakes: all purebred - naked neck, magpie, khaki campbell (he's no longer in the flock but the eggs that were hatched (Peanut and the two that didn't survive) have a good chance of coming from his matings.
From what I noticed the naked neck (Ned) rarely mated with anyone other than Sweedie (the khaki campbell blue swedish mix). But since I removed our KC drake from our property Ned seems to have become the top drake, somehow... It's weird. Mr Bean (Magpie) is much larger than Ned yet Ned still seems to be top drake now. I don't get it. Anywhoo....
Based on Peanut's pink mottled bill I want to say that the daddy is Mr Bean the Magpie. But her legs and feet are very much Khaki Campbell colored, but I can't recall if the brown legs and feet are normal with F&W runners... LOL smh... I dont' remember the bill color of my runners when they were day-olds, either. The two runners I kept both have green bills (speckled green as in Fern's case, and solid green as in Cathy's case) The others had solid yellow bills if I remember correctly.
Fern and the one I named Penguin (Pengee for short).
Penguin front and center. I LOVE the yellowy down sticking up on her head. I sure hope it's a hen...
That mostly black chick I believe to be a drake. He has all black feet (just a side note). His voice is actually noticeably different as a baby than the others! His has a rasp to it! I've never known ducklings to have a noticeably raspy voice so YOUNG! I truly believe this one is a drake. I named him Mocha.
