Tommy Lee Jones is looking more like Thanksgiving dinner everyday!!! The coloring on his head skin….weird isn’t it….changes during the day. Sometimes it’s very pink, red and blue and other times pale and pasty. Poor guy could use a little sunshine. He’s not the only one!!! He refused to roost one night and I had to pick this bad boy up. I’m estimating he’s a good 10-15# about now. He’s got 1.5 months to go before it’s harvest time! We lost the little gimpy hen. I came out one day and she’d just died overnight. She gave it her all. She really had a will to live, but I’m sure with both of her feet deformed it was too much stress on her little body. I’d been worrying about having to harvest her…..it’s not an easy job as I’ve always said, but when you’ve taken particular care of one animal, it’s not the same and is a difficult burden.
No offense, but he’s starting to resemble some old men I know!
The Guineas aren’t much cuter…although this shot is sorta flattering to them. I am loving the Guineas!!! They have chosen to roost in a tree so I’m not sure what’s going to happen come the winter snows. They certainly have a mind of their own.
I still have these two drakes to harvest. They haven’t been any trouble at all….they don’t roost or have a home. They live under the stars and are free for the most part!Funny thing about these darn ducks. I have to chase my Khaki Campbells around E~V~E~R~Y single night!!! I’ve discovered though the more I chase the more they run from me not into their house. So, I talk calmly (for the most part) and tell them it’s bedtime. I try to act like I’m ignoring them as I’m waiting and waiting for them to settle down and just go in. I’m not liking having ducks much. Chickens yes, Guineas yes…ducks NO!
My friends and I bought sexed ducklings….F~E~M~A~L~E~S! But my one friend told me out of her batch she only has 1 female…then it got me thinking….Why the heck haven’t I gotten any eggs yet? Ok. So I’m a little slow….then I’m watching these guys and they are “playing”, me on top, dunking in the water games…..well, trying to keep this “G” rated…..I’m pretty sure there’s more than 1 male in my batch of ducks as well. Murray McMurray didn’t do a good job at sexing these ducklings. The Hired Hand was a wildlife biologist in his former life….that is before he became a computer nerd…all in love! So I asked him, “hey you know how to sex ducks! don’t you???????” he tried to weasel his way out of that one….”it’s been a long time.” I said, “I’m sure it’s like riding a bike! Come on.” He told me to just wait and see how many eggs I get! Fat chance of that happening. I’m seeing more Duck Confit every single day!!!
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Murray McMurray does have a bad track record. I love your bird friends. The guineas are posing for you.
Not familiar with khaki campbells, but when we had Rouen and Pekin docks, the males would develop a curl on the top of their tail. Coloration would also be different on the Rouens, with the males being much more colorful. (Rouens are colored like wild mallards.) The males and females also have different voices. If I remember correctly (and it’s been over 20 years, so I may have them backwards), the females tend to be loud and brassy, while the males have a lower pitched more raspy voice. Females tend to be much more vocal than males, too. Either way, they sound different, and if you got critters playing “let’s make a baby ducky”, you know you’ve got both sexes.
You can sex them yourself, without any trouble. And no flipping them over. Ready? How loud are they? Only the females quack, and loudly. Males make a very low, very quiet sort of Quuuuuhack. It’s more like a sigh with a little quack in it. Girls on the other hand, quack like there’s no tomorrow.
There’s no mistaking it. You can also tell by the tail curl; if there’s a curly feather on the tail, it’s a boy, if not, it’s a girl. They may be too young for that, though. The quack is a quick way to know. If they’re not 20 weeks or more, they won’t lay, so check their ages as well.
Good luck!