May07

Tuesday, 1st

I totted up the egg production for April today, and yes, the girls did even better than in March. 158 from the top bunch of 7, 156 from the bottom 6, making 314 in total and an average of 10.5 p/day. Pretty marvellous, I think, and we wouldn't be able to cope at all with this bonanza if we didn't have some nice friends who help us use them up.

The pair of mallards and a couple of waterhens continue to spend their days by the duck pond. I see them having a splashing time in there before the ducks come out every morning. After that they have to be careful not to be chased off.

I've wondered a lot why this pair of mallards is just hanging around every day without any attempt at nesting. Maybe they've already had a brood that got killed, after all it's fairly late in the season for them - we read about dozens and dozens of little mallard ducklings that have been seen all over the country.

I snook up through the shrubbery to take the picture for today. It features the pair of mallards with Hedda waddling by and the waterhen on the very left.

Sunday, 6th May 2007

A few changes have had to be made. I noticed with horror a few days ago that Chissit's left eye looked badly injured.

The right eye is perfectly alright as you can see in the insert top right, but the left ................. aarrrrgh

I felt sure that Donald and Blob must have been the culprits with their raids on the Campbells, and so we separated the 2 groups again leaving the top group in the enclosure behind the garage and only letting them out into the garden and field under supervision.

Supervision is certainly necessary with them as they were very quickly into the newly planted-up frog pond with its thousands of tadpoles the moment I turned my back to clean the hut. It didn't matter how often I chased them away from the area, they kept queuing up at the places they used to find access to that pond, stamping their feet and saying something like "... there are nice plants we like to eat in there again and millions of tadpoles. We tasted some and we want more, we like tadpoles!" I told them that I liked tadpoles, too, but not to eat, so I've shut them in again even though they protested at the gate.

I hoped there would be an improvement soon in Chissit's poorly eye remembering that all 4 Campbells had been hurt in a similar fashion by the 3 drakes before we managed to get more ducks, and all 4 healed very well after less than two weeks.

But taking some more pictures this afternoon, concentrating on Chissit's eye, I don't know if it looks better or worse:

She seems fine in herself, flapping her wings above, eating, drinking, bathing and preening normally, just shaking her head now and again because of the injury.

I googled a lot searching to see what I could do to help Chissit. My friends at the German runner duck site strongly advised me to take her to the vet's, but it's Bank Holiday and they're not open till Tuesday except for emergencies, and I'm not sure they'd class this as an emergency. Nor can I order any recommended ointments as they'd take days to arrive. Somebody on another site advised bathing the eyes in a warm saline solution - and if that's confirmed as a good thing I'm now wondering whether to risk hurting Chissit by trying to catch her .... but then I'll have to try and catch her to take her to the vet's on Tuesday, anyway. Problems, problems.

Just one more thing about the mallards. You may have noticed the pair just behind Chissit at the bucket, top right of the 3 photos above. Well, Mr. Mallard was missing for more than half the day. I could see her all sad and on her own lying down near the pond, and I was worried because I'd heard shooting next door this morning. But he was back with her this afternoon when I went to clean the hut.

Tuesday, 8th May 2007

Having followed my German ducky friends' advice of bathing Chissit's eye in much filtered and diluted chamomile solution and applying antiseptic teetree ointment/oil I thought her sore eye looked much better yesterday afternoon:



But this morning, when John took this photo, I got more worried again.

To cut a long story short, we got her to the vet's this afternoon and she thought her eye is still in great danger - she'll be able to tell more at the end of the week.

All previous treatments were stopped and I'll have to bathe her infected eye with sterile water and insert "Tiacil" antibiotic eye drops 2 - 3 times a day. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thursday, 10th May 2007

There is definite improvement in Chissit's eye. This photo was taken on top of the duck hut after inserting Tiacil drops, hence the glistening in the eye. But I was heartened by the pupil being more visible and the re-appearance of some little feathers in the infected area around the eye. It'll probably be two more weeks before she's back to normal - I hope!

A little later she was swimming happily in the pond, here with Candida:

With the weather being so unpredictable at the moment
[I'm not complaining, far from it, I'm thrilled about the rain!] the shut-out group of 9 have been confined to barracks more than I like. After standing guard over them in the field for hours I wanted to get on with some gardening. So I put up some barriers to contain them where I could see them, but then I was worried about them ruining John's newly planted-up veg beds [they like lettuce!]. And the strong winds have made mincemeat of my fleece barriers at the frog pond:

The section at the back had been totally flattened before I fastened it up for the third time! So, unless I can stay out there with the top group I daren't let them loose. Yesterday I got absolutely drenched before I could shut them in again.

The other group, with Chissit, down at the duck pond, are having a very peaceful time of it without the marauding Blob and Donald, except when we come to catch Chissit for the treatments. I had hoped to minimise disturbing them by catching her on coming out of the hut in the morning. Hah! As soon as I grab the first one coming out - never Chissit - the other six squash themselves flat against the wall in the furthest corner crying "NOT ME, NOT ME!" No, of course they don't say that, but they just hate being caught. For the second treatment Tuesday night we thought it might be a good idea to drive them in for bed time and grab Chissit then, as she's usually the first to go into the hut. Oh dear, what a kerfuffle. Panic stations and they all came out again. Eventually, treatment completed, when we really wanted to shut them in for the night, they were terrified of going anywhere near the hut - well, you can understand it, can't you.

John did a sterling job yesterday afternoon by cornering Chissit in the formal garden near the hedge. We'll see how it goes this afternoon. When we just had the 4 we could entice them close to pick them up easily by digging for worms, this lot won't come close except Anabelle and Primmie - not Chissit!

Tuesday, 15th May 2007

Having read through what I wrote before I realize I haven't mentioned the fright I had on Bank Holiday Monday evening: saw a fox going by quite leisurely on the other side of our ditch, at the back of the duck pond. That's why I got paranoid about trying to keep the ducks away from what I consider danger zones, like near the style where I think the last two were taken and in the field near the ditch.

John very kindly let me use some of his green and black netting with which I replaced the middle section of my barrier near the style and frog pond, see left. That's been standing up really well these last few days as the wind can whistle through it and leave the supports standing.

When the rain has not been coming down in sheets I spent some hours just watching the group of 9 in the field [the other 7 have access to the field at all times within the electric fence]. It can be very interesting just standing and watching, the wildlife is plentiful. Once I saw 2 cock pheasants and 1 female come sailing in, and the dominant male didn't rest until he'd chased the other a good 600 yards out of sight. Then he came back and just lorded it. Blob had a go at threatening him in an attempt to get him away from the ducks, but the pheasant didn't budge an inch, didn't even flinch. Our two boys Donald and Blob, I noticed, also spent most of their time with Fanny and Sweetie, the two "oldies", while often leaving the other five quite unprotected and hundreds of yards away. I think they stick mainly to these old girls because Fanny is willing and Sweetie can't run very fast!

I've seen the two mallards come sailing in and flying out at odd times, so they're still hanging around. This morning the female was on her own again. Being as we saw three mallards flying over the house a couple of times yesterday late afternoon I wonder if he's found somebody else??

The separation of the two groups has certainly made for a quieter life as regards noise. There are no wild chases

accompanied by shrieking and protesting females, but the 3 boys still run up to either side of the electric fence to hurl abuse at each other. On this morning's picture on the right you can see Donald, accompanied by Fanny, go towards the fence where Captain [arrow pointing] is already shouting. Blob is out of shot downhill. The white bit of fleece in the middle distance is part of my defences - along with some old windows to stop access through the old horse fence - to keep this lot out of the field. It works most of the time, but they get so excited by the goodies they find in the field that they try and try again to breach the barrier.

Chissit's poorly eye looks like it's improving slowly - I'll take another picture soon - but we found some other problems. Candida hurt her leg yesterday morning, coming out of the hut in a hurry while desperate to avoid being caught by me [who was after Chissit for the treatment]. At first it looked as if she'd broken her leg as she kept collapsing. She had a little better mobility in the afternoon and even more this morning, but no doubt it'll be a few days yet before she can run with the others.

And then the cat. We noticed Harlequin doing some strange things over the last few days, like spending ages going to and fro in front of the garage doors as if she was sniffing something out. This morning she reached up with her paw once or twice until she located the cut-out and went through. The way she appears not to see what's next to her made us think she's losing her eyesight - well, she's bumping into things occasionally while following a particular route to reach places she knows like bed, food, opening in garage door, steps to conservatory etc etc. We daren't move anything in case she uses it for a guide. Poor girl, but her eyes don't look filmy. John chatted to some mates who have cats and a couple of them said they'd heard of this before after a cat had had a fight or accident, and the sight had returned after a time. Now we heard Harley have some serious fights during a couple of nights recently, so we're hoping it's that and she'll get her sight back. There's always something, isn't there. Honestly, who'd have animals, eh?

Saturday, 19th May Eleanor's birthday

Took the photo below on Thursday and the smaller one on the right this morning [admittedly with my left hand while holding Chissit in my right arm. I'm somewhat dismayed as the eye doesn't look much better, when both John and I thought yesterday that it was feathered up around the eye with just a small pale crusty surround. It looks red again.

But maybe I shouldn't be so impatient. The lady from the German duck forum who had had similar problems said it took a good 2 weeks for her drake to recover - it won't be two weeks of treatment for Chissit until next Tuesday.

When it comes to catching Chissit for her eyedrops she appears to have resigned herself to her fate. In the mornings she stops in the hut until the others have fled out, then makes a half-hearted attempt to lift off and lands in my arms. In the afternoons John nearly always comes with me. We scatter some delicacies like rice or spaghetti on the ground near a corner of the fencing and advance in a kind of pincer movement. She usually backs into some netting and says 'OK, it's a fair cop'. Putting the eyedrops in doesn't take long, and we always reward her with some extra food which she gobbles up quickly.

What about our other two "sickies", you ask? Well, Candida still hobbles but she can keep up with the others alright. She'll soon be right as rain.

Harlequin, although bumping into obstacles now and again, seemed to us a lot more mobile this morning. She was doing her usual circuits around house and garden, in and out of the garage and up and down the steps of the conservatory. I took some photos of her. Her eyes still don't look cloudy to us.

You know how I like various visitors to our garden. Well, particularly delightful ones are these goldfinches which tend to come to the patio at the back of the house. I snapped them through the kitchen window so as not to disturb them. They're the same two - I just put in a couple of slightly larger inserts:

And yet another visitor: a hedgehog:

It gave us a fright this morning, as I first spotted it stuck to the inside of the electrified fence. I rushed to switch it off and called John for help. He put on thick gloves, but had awful trouble releasing the animal. It turned out it had the bottom strand [non-electrifiable] of the fence in its mouth and curled itself around it.

John eventually managed to prise it off and we set it down near the horse fence, pictured left [the white bit on the right is part of my defences when the 9 ducks are out of their enclosure. John took it down to mow the field yesterday.]

When we returned home from Ibstock this afternoon the hedgehog had gone from there - big sigh of relief!

Friday, 25th May 2007

Another fright yesterday afternoon, there was blood pouring down Donald's side. I didn't have a camera handy, but it looked something like this:
Ok, I may not have got it exactly right, but it did look pretty gruesome. Feisty Donald took some catching, I can tell you. Eventually I got him, wrapped him in a towel to keep him still and washed all that blood off him. I cut off as many feathers as I could to see the injury, and it didn't look all that large, more like a puncture. And there was something spiky sticking out among the little feathers which I think I got out. Anyway, when it stopped bleeding and I'd dried the area I put some antiseptic cream on.

Of course the first thing he did on release was go into the pond and try and peck it off.

There were some specks of blood in the hut this morning, but I've seen no more on him during the day - and it's now quarter to six. Donald doesn't seem bothered too much by his injury, he's as aggressive as ever. Even when he had all that blood on him he'd make his regular runs up to the fence and make the Campbell girls on the other side shriek off in a panic.

I nearly forgot to mention Harlequin. She's blind alright, poor thing. She gets around because she's familiar with her surroundings, and she follows our voices or footsteps when she's after her food. Big worry is, what if a dog or fox comes when we're not around - she wouldn't stand a chance.

Sunday, 27th May 2007

The injured Donald has shown no sign of being troubled other than standing on one leg now and again and holding the other against where the puncture was , like here in the middle of the picture:

Sorry about the fuzziness of the photo, it was shot in a hurry through the kitchen window - as were the following two of the tin bath, one of their many "watering stations" around the garden.

It used to be positioned near the corner where they go up the drive on snail hunts or onto the front 'lawn' [it's more moss than grass really], and then I thought it would be easier for them to reach if I sunk it into the ground. They didn't find it right away after I did that, I had to lay a trail of spaghetti!

I'm in a philosophical mood today. The rain has been coming down steadily [good for the newly planted-up garden!] and I've been looking at some of the comments in the German duck forum to see what's happening. Several new duckling owners had been seeking advice there after having been sold sickly or much-too-young birds by unscrupulous dealers. The golden rule in the forum is always: NO DUCKLINGS TO BE SOLD BEFORE THEY'RE 8 WEEKS OLD. Somebody then asked "well, what do 8-week-old ducklings look like?"

So I looked through my photos and counted up the weeks since they had hatched in June 2005 and posted this photo:

"That's what mine looked like", I wrote, "almost grown up and in their youth moult".

And then it hit me: how stupid had I been when Mel had spent all day driving me to near Ipswich and back and I'd been sold "12-week-old ducklings" looking like this:
I remember John saying at the time "They're never 12 weeks old", and me answering "well, the man said so". Gullible, that's what I am. I had read all those stories of people having been "sold a pup" as you might say and thinking "they should have informed themselves better beforehand". And there's me, having actually had the experience of hatching and rearing ducklings, and never even noticed. Gullible indeed, stupid even.

I mean, I can understand breeders/dealers needing to turn a profit, it's their business and it costs a lot of money to keep and feed all those animals. Now, at the time I was in a state when I finally saw that our four remaining boys had almost killed our one remaining duck, and I'd been desperately seeking some -any - grown-up females for the drakes. The man near Ipswich had actually told me over the phone that he had some adult ducks, but when we got there and I'd chosen the chocolate runners I fancied I couldn't have them as they were wanted for showing, and we were taken into a huge field with huge numbers of all kinds of fowl and he caught these 3 "12-week-olds". Similarly, when Mel offered to make a detour that day to get a couple of adult ducks off somebody else who had also told me on the phone that he had some - did then not have any available any more. And earlier, when I asked whether Campbell ducks and runner drakes could get on together I was told yes, they'd be fine and I could have as many as I wanted - never a word of warning as to the problems that could occur. I found out about them myself since.

Further, on the subject of 'being straight', John and I were duped in a different way when we had gone to buy our very first runners. We had asked for 1 male and 2 females, and when they had been cartoned up the lady who sold them to us put in an extra drake free of charge. At the time we thought she was being generous, but finding out later what difficulties occur with too many drakes she must have been quite relieved to get rid of an extra drake to us ignorant pair - she might have warned us - we might even have bought more females to go with the second drake.

As I said before, I can understand people needing to run a business, but I do expect them to be straight with me. Ok, I've been stupid and I've learned some harsh lessons, but I certainly won't recommend or use those breeders again.