Duck Update

Remember the Cayuga ducklings I posted about HERE? I thought I'd give you all a little update on how they are doing.

So far, we are loving these jewel-feathered ducks. And we aren't the only ones! I think I may be the only person alive whose ducks have a social life. In fact their social life might rival mine, but then that's actually not saying much. The neighborhood where I live is full of awesome people. They are regularly wanting to stop by to visit the ducks. I love it! It has given me a chance to get to know my neighbors a little better and it's been a lot of fun.

Cayuga ducks are known for their calm and friendly disposition and we have definitely noticed this to be true. With consistent handling they have become very tame. They don't appreciate being snuggled or anything, but they will come right up and eat out of our hands and are truly excited to see us coming outside with treats. They watch me while I work in the yard and if they see me doing any weeding they start begging for treats. Grasshoppers are one of their favorite treats and they gladly forage for any bugs and grubs they can get at, but they are also fond fruit and veggie scraps and any edible weeds that I pull up from my garden.

One of the reasons we were interested in this breed of duck was because they are generally quieter. The females have the characteristic belly-laugh style quack. Their voices do seem to be slightly quieter in volume than other duck breeds, but not much. Their quietness varies with their personality. We have one girl who is very talkative. Male Cayugas, like other male ducks, have a very quiet voice. When I hear them quack it makes me laugh, sounds like they have laryngitis!

We started with 5 ducklings which ended up being 1 male and 4 females. The male and his favorite girl went to a new home with some magpie ducks (which are pretty cool ducks too!).  So now we have three lovely lady-ducks hanging out at our place.

Petunia, Dahlia, and Zinnia watching a YouTube video on my phone.

 Linked up at these great blogs:
Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House
Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick
Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest
Home Acre Hop at Black Fox Homestead
The Backyard Farming Connection
From the Farm Blog Hop at Sunny Simple Life