This page allows you to hear or possibly see what my personal ducks look like.
My 1st Year Of Duck Raising
-----I bought three "mixed" ducks from ourr feed store. One had a strange lump on his bill, so that's what we called him-Bill. Another duck had a purplish bill. My sister insisted that we named one of the ducks Furdinand from the movie Babe (the duck), so I picked that one, and called him/her (I never really found out how which) Furdy. Only one duck left. I spent a long time trying to find a unique feature to name him by, but I couldn't find even one. He was the "normal" one, so I called him Norman.
-----My cousin Bailey, my brother Bear (yees, that's his name!), and I used to race them. My sister Jerica would hold them and we'd all walk about ten feet away. We sat there calling there names and quacking, then Jer would let them loose. Norman would always win.
-----They got bigger and bigger until theyy were too big for their cage. Then we had to put them in a stall out at the barn. One night, when I went out to check on them, I let them out of the stall and led them to the very front of the barn and underneath the big floodlight. There were June bugs, mole crickets, moths, and all kinds of other bugs out there. The ducks started back for the stall, so I picked up a beetle and threw it at them--BIG MISTAKE. They vigorously jumped at the beetle and gobbled it. I did it again, only closer to the light. Again, they attacked it. I did that all night, and then put them back into the stall.
-----After they were big enough to be let go, I started feeding them at the lake. They still went up to the barn every single night and ate the bugs. Before you knew it, there was duck poop everywhere. That taught me a valuable lesson: "Where the food is, the ducks (and poop) will be also." So that was the routine. Every day around supper-time, those ducks would start walking to the barn to eat. Furdy was believed to be eaten in the barn by a fox. Bill was next. One day, I looked out on the lake, and all I saw was one lonely duck sitting out there. Norman is still alive today, but at least has some company...
My 2nd Year Of Duck Raising
-----I couldn't just let Norman be all by his lonesome, so I bought two more ducks - Mallards this time. It was different from what I had expected. I figured they would follow me around like the others. Nope, they acted as if I was going to eat them at the first opportunity. I guessed that's because they're more of a wild species. But, then I read a book on animal behavior, and this is what I got out of it: Over the years, like many animals, they have developed a fear for humans. It is not the same as an instinct, because it takes a very long time to develop a new instinct. It is just a new fear of man that is past down the generations.
-----I could clearly tell whether they werre boy or girl because of their color. I like to play drums, and I'm in band. I bought some nice drumsticks at the music store. I really liked those sticks. On the side, they had the word Ralphie in cursive on them, so that's what I named my Mallard drake. For the hen, I just thought of the first name that goes with Ralphie...Lisa. So that was it-Ralphie and Lisa, the first Mallards.
-----Once they were grown up, I experienceed something new: flight. My white ducks couldn't fly. They would occasionally show off their wings, but they couldn't fly. But Ralphie, he could fly like an eagle. He would take off into the air and easily swoop through the trees, as if it was his own personal obstacle course.
-----Poor Lisa, ever since she had grown bbig feathers, a group of them would stick straight up on the side. Jer said she'll probably just grow out of it, but it never happened. So Norman, Ralphie, and Lisa were swimming around happily in the pond. But then I thought: if one of them die, there'll only be two left. I should try to start a flock...
My 3rd Year Of Duck Raising
-----I liked raising Mallards. They were rreally beautiful. I figured would get some more. So, I got four more Mallards. I bought a whole new cage from the feed store, and some clear furniture coverings. My sister helped me make a box shaped covering for my cage. It helped to protect them from the wind. I cut a hole in the side for the heat lamp.
-----Not too long after I got them, I reallized that the tray underneath them was not only filling up but sometimes overflowing with nasty duck water. It was extremely hard, and fairly nauseating to dump it under the oak trees, or maybe the other way around. I had no choice but to relocate them into the barn stall. Lucky me, that was a very good idea. In the stall, they had room to run around, lots of soft hay to play in, and I was able to put two waterers and two feeders in without cramming them up.
-----When there were about Juveniles, my mmom kept telling me to put them out to the lake, because they drank every bit of the two, quart-sized waterers. So, I finally gave in, and brought them out for a usual swim. They ran into water like always, I just wasn't there to take them out.
-----Days turned to weeks, and I had stilll not seen them. Then one day I was mowing the yard by our house (we have 80 acres), when I heard loud quacking, and what sounded like struggling ducks. I cut off the mower and went to check it out. I saw Norman, Ralphie, and Lisa chasing my small ducks. The little ducks were muddy, and their feathers were all messed up. I saw Norman and Ralphie team up on a little duck. They were pecking and grabbing the little duck's head. I ran towards them, scared Ralphie away and grabbed Norman by the neck. I was careful not to choke him, but I was very firm. I let the little duck go, only for them to be cut off by Ralphie.
-----I eventually scared off the big duckss, and tried to make sure the little ones weren't hurt. That was the last time I saw any of my little ducks, and that was a long time ago. I'm afraid to say it, but I think they're dead, either because of some fox or coyote, or possibly driven off by the big ducks.