My runner ducks (used to be duckLINGS) are near full grown. Their juvenile feathers are nearly all in, and they are looking quite handsome! They have gotten pretty smart, following me to their coop at night, waiting for me to open the door, and then heading on in. They look up at their feeder, wait for me to drop it down and then immediately start eating.
Spicy, the white runner, has discovered the wonders of slugs. Good girl! And they are doing a pretty good job of keeping the dandelions headed in my yard. I like that and I never anticipated that they would eat dandelion flowers. Surprise me.
But their all time favorite snack is green lettuce that I throw into the pond. I have been growing lettuce in my garden, but I am not a fan of eating leaf lettuce. Pretty to look at, grows easily, but I don't like the taste. I cut a bunch of lettuce and toss it on into the pond, and I have happy ducks.
Another odd thing I have discovered, both the hens have gotten their adult quacks, but both the boys have not. One of our guys, Mario, rarely peeps at all, and sounds like he has a sore throat. Blackie has a soft "peep" and still sounds like a duckling. The two girls have full-throated quacks, with Spicy leading the way in her vocalizations. It's not bothersome, but you can tell that she is in charge, watching over everyone and keeping the whole group in line.
Just so fun to watch how they are growing and changing. Can't wait until they get their final adult feathers and I can see how they will look as adults.
They are beautiful! :) I love ours too. They are fun to watch. Ours love fruit, especially pears, but they love lettuce and any other fruit or vegetable they can get their beaks on. They'll come eat it out of our hands. I have read that the boys are a lot quieter than the girls. But we only have girls, so I don't have any experience with that aspect. And yes, they are definitely creatures of habit! :)
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