Black Indian Runner & American Lavender Gosling
These little guys are my some of my latest additions from Holderread Waterfowl Conservation Center. There are 13 various ducklings: 2 Khaki Campbell's, 3 Black Cayuga, 3 Indian Runner, 3 Welsh Harlequin, and 2 American Lavender-Ice Geese.
They were sold as a single lot so I obviously got more fowl than I really needed here, which means I have to make the difficult decision about which of these little fuzzies I want to sell! It's always hard when they're so cute and entertaining. But I can already see that I don't have anywhere near enough grass on my property to support these two geese. They're rather sweet little gals but they eat grass as a primary source of food and if they eat all my grass the other birds won't have as many cool places to forage for bugs. But these are Holderread geese that fetch a premium price as hatchlings so I shouldn't have any trouble selling them for half their value when they're fully started. They're sure sweet tho...
They really seem to be thriving and so happy. I've got them out on a large patch of grass in a movable enclosure and I repurposed an old doghouse for a "Duckloo" shelter. This big group is actually a lot of fun to watch - it's my evening duck TV. They really have such a flocking nature and are, as a whole, so much more excitable than the Muscovy. That's not saying much though - LOL! The geese are rather calm but the others... not so much. The flightiest of all are the Indian Runners. But aren't they a hoot? They stand straight up, like a person, and boy can they move! They don't have a ducky waddle like the rest, when they stand up they run across their enclosure and everyone follows in an excited, peeping stampeed!
Along with the babies I also acquired a group of 11 beautiful Welsh Harlequin. Two are laying now, which is a bonus, and 4 will begin laying this fall. There are more drakes than is truly optimal so I'll offer some of them for sale - and if they're not in a new home by next month they'll go into the next harvest.
I gave the grown Harlequin the entire duck barn and duck enclosure all to themselves until they get settled in. They're still figuring out their new home and aren't used to my schedule yet - which is evidenced by the fact that I've only collected 1 egg from the 2 layers in 4 days. Convincing them to go inside the duckbarn the first two nights was hard - I finally had to scoop them up one by one and stuff them inside. They're catching on more every day so I think by this weekend I'll let them out onto the property to free range. They've finally learned to go back inside through their little pop-door when it gets dark, which is excellent (or at least one has learned and the rest are following). No more duck-chase at bedtime :) I just wanted them to know where to come back to every night before I let them roam.
The Harlequin are still very unsure of me so it's hard to get photos. I can watch them splashing in their pool and chattering to each other only if I hide behind something and peek around - LOL! As soon as I'm in their line of sight they all scurry into the duck barn. Which is the opposite of the babies... when they see me coming to lock up the Duckloo for the night they all come pouring out and I have to gather them up and put them in by hand. They've got the first part figured out: go inside at dark. I hope soon they understand they need to stay in until I get the door closed!
I'm now up to 6 seperate enclosures to feed and water twice a day (if I don't count Buffy's broody-box)... Whew! Boy, my little farm is growing every time I turn around!
They were sold as a single lot so I obviously got more fowl than I really needed here, which means I have to make the difficult decision about which of these little fuzzies I want to sell! It's always hard when they're so cute and entertaining. But I can already see that I don't have anywhere near enough grass on my property to support these two geese. They're rather sweet little gals but they eat grass as a primary source of food and if they eat all my grass the other birds won't have as many cool places to forage for bugs. But these are Holderread geese that fetch a premium price as hatchlings so I shouldn't have any trouble selling them for half their value when they're fully started. They're sure sweet tho...
They really seem to be thriving and so happy. I've got them out on a large patch of grass in a movable enclosure and I repurposed an old doghouse for a "Duckloo" shelter. This big group is actually a lot of fun to watch - it's my evening duck TV. They really have such a flocking nature and are, as a whole, so much more excitable than the Muscovy. That's not saying much though - LOL! The geese are rather calm but the others... not so much. The flightiest of all are the Indian Runners. But aren't they a hoot? They stand straight up, like a person, and boy can they move! They don't have a ducky waddle like the rest, when they stand up they run across their enclosure and everyone follows in an excited, peeping stampeed!
Along with the babies I also acquired a group of 11 beautiful Welsh Harlequin. Two are laying now, which is a bonus, and 4 will begin laying this fall. There are more drakes than is truly optimal so I'll offer some of them for sale - and if they're not in a new home by next month they'll go into the next harvest.
I gave the grown Harlequin the entire duck barn and duck enclosure all to themselves until they get settled in. They're still figuring out their new home and aren't used to my schedule yet - which is evidenced by the fact that I've only collected 1 egg from the 2 layers in 4 days. Convincing them to go inside the duckbarn the first two nights was hard - I finally had to scoop them up one by one and stuff them inside. They're catching on more every day so I think by this weekend I'll let them out onto the property to free range. They've finally learned to go back inside through their little pop-door when it gets dark, which is excellent (or at least one has learned and the rest are following). No more duck-chase at bedtime :) I just wanted them to know where to come back to every night before I let them roam.
The Harlequin are still very unsure of me so it's hard to get photos. I can watch them splashing in their pool and chattering to each other only if I hide behind something and peek around - LOL! As soon as I'm in their line of sight they all scurry into the duck barn. Which is the opposite of the babies... when they see me coming to lock up the Duckloo for the night they all come pouring out and I have to gather them up and put them in by hand. They've got the first part figured out: go inside at dark. I hope soon they understand they need to stay in until I get the door closed!
I'm now up to 6 seperate enclosures to feed and water twice a day (if I don't count Buffy's broody-box)... Whew! Boy, my little farm is growing every time I turn around!
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