I just gave my little Muscovies their first bathtub experience. They went in with a single Pekin duck we got from a farm where she had been dumped. I think the little Muscovies are so cute! They did really well in the tub, and in fact they did not seem to get as much wetness in their downy feathers as the Pekin. Must be something different about them.
The Pekin's name is Little Peep. I don't have Muscovy names yet.
I think they will be good swimmers! Although, I've read that Muscovies are not as interested in the water as other types of ducks.
I wondered if they thought the Pekin was their mother?!
They are soooo cute! I don't know much about ducks.. but they are so cute in the pic, I swear, I can almost hear them!! :)
Boris and Natasha?
Perfect Brigidlily! I never even thought of using Russian style names for them. I hope they are a pair so that those names will work. I have one adult drake and 2 adult female ducks (hens?) so these will eventually join the small group to make 5.
How are Miss E and Miss J doing these days?
The Misses Bantam are doing wonderfully, thank you. I've been busy with a pregnant daughter (goats look SO much easier and aren't nearly the drama queen) and haven't been online much. They are laying eggs as of Sunday, which was the first day of their third week with me. I gave them some well-rinsed remains of a crawfish boil and they went nuts!!! Yum. Miss E still stays a good four feet from me, but Miss J is letting the "safe" space get narrower. I'm patient. I'll pet them yet.
I figured, being Muscovies, they were Russian ducks, right? Don't they call citizens of Moscow Muscovites?
They do call citizens of Moscow Muscovites, but amazingly, the Muscovy duck is South American. I always thought it was Russian too, until I did more research on them after obtaining them! I still love the idea of the Russian names though.
Here's a link with more Muscovy facts!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck
Oh, Muscovies love their water. Just try keeping mine out of any puddle they can find. I have one of those rubber 5 or 6 gallon feed/water tubs for mine. They'll take turns getting in it, and throwing water everywhere. But they also love bathing in the snowmelt runoff. Refreshing!
They're actually a South American species, so maybe Jose and Maria? :-)
My favorite, Ducky Bath time!!! weeee *putting on shower cap*
LOL Sewincircle, better get out your wellies too, they make a mess!
Bathtub Party! YIPPEE! Wha a luvly time! The Pekin looks like she swims much lower in the water than the little ones. Could they have more air in their down?
You know, I wondered that Dahlia. I mean, first of all the Pekin is heavier, so that may account for some of it. But I wondered if they had a more "fluffy" down still, compared to the Pekin, because they are much younger, and maybe that traps more air? They were very good with their little ducky paddle legs. They looked like little wind-up toys. The Pekin was more sedate.
Oh, btw, one of the original crew has finally developed his little boy curly feather on his tail...so he is very clearly a drake. He has begun to sort of take a leadership type of role, they follow him.
He is sooo handsome. I can see why they follow him.
Sasha, Colya,Ludya (I think), Vasya... thinking....
oooooo he is pretty! I love the curly... LOL
The whole original crew taking a rest. They are so big now, I hardly recognize them!
They don’t look like the same ducks. Don’t you miss the fuzz? Well, you have other fuzzy's now. I think that is why I love silkies. They are perpetual babies (at least they look it).
I do miss the fuzz, and the ability to pick them up without requiring the speed and dexterity of an Olympic medal winner in table tennis. But, of course, they should start laying eggs soon, which will be a fun thing....
What, if anything, does a duck say when laying an egg?
Quack? In fact, the female ducks really do quack all the time. The male ducks do not quack. They make sort of airy noises, kind of like a hiss, but a little more gentle sounding. I don't know what the duck says when laying an egg yet because none of them have!
That one is pretty! I like the mottled color neck.
She's our chocolate Muscovy! I think she's a great color. Our drake is black/grey/white so if they have young 'uns, they should be an interesting mix!
Your Muscovy ducks quack?
The Pekins and Mallards and Swedish Blue quack. I haven't heard the Muscovies quack, but the baby ones sure do a lot of peeping. I've never heard the female Muscovies do anything really. The male hisses.
Quack! Quack! (the dahlianuts quack)
Ah, OK. The muscovies aren't supposed to quack, which is why I was asking. :-) They make a sort of soft trilling noise. The males just do a lot of "heh heh heh" breathy-sounding noises"
Now that would be very disconcerting to run into on a dark night. Less intimidating when you can see 'em, but honestly -why would they develop such a funny kind of call I wonder? Sitting here trying to figure what habitat would produce a duck that says "heh heh heh"
South American. The only thing I can think of is lambada and ceviche. Don't think that is a useful adaptation. Research...
Well I found this...
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1010/overview/Muscovy_Duck.aspx
the call "button" is in the lower left hand corner...didn't sound like a duck but I know nothing...
I don't think it sounds duckish either.
Ummm....that sounded nothing like any duck I ever had!
Maybe it's a evolutionary trait they developed to confuse duck hunters.
I kept thinking I'd see something that said it was a different bird but no...
Yeah, that didn't sound like my muscovies at all!
Grownut, the "heh heh heh" sort of sounds like the duck version of heavy breathing. ;-)
I'll see if I can get a movie of them tomorrow, doing their little ducky dance and get the noises on tape, and put it on youtube. Stay tuned...
Thanks gallesfarm! Was off checking this out:
http://www.avianweb.com/muscovyduck.html
Ohhhh how comforting. They're the stalking, serial killer order of ducks. WAY too funny gallesfarm ^_^
Hey Mox: Whats up with these Ducks??? Some ride high, some ride low! They look like Claire's incredible inflatables. The one riding low appears to have a leaky air valve. But they are incredibly cute. Haystack
Oh Haystack, you just cracked me up, I nearly spilled my coffee. Leaky air valve! LOL!!! I think it's the weight of the larger one, and the fact that it doesn't have all its feathers, so the oils that keep them afloat are not as much as it would normally be in a duck with feathers. The little ones are so lightweight, they don't have that problem yet!
I'm pretty much a low rider in the water myself!
CMox, those babies are so cute! Your grown ducks are adorable and look very healthy! I cannot believe how time flies....seems like you just showed them as little ducklings two weeks ago. Enjoy! I should be getting new wood duck ducklings soon. I am very excited!
Kim
