The new ducks are kind of weird. For one thing, white is not a good color in this muddy habitat. For another thing, they are awfully slow to learn the routine. Third, they are some kind of duck/pig hybrid. I’ve never seen such voracious waterfowl! Fourth, are they ducks or drakes?
Sunshine, grubby Hope, Destiny at the back
This used to be my bathtub. They can borrow it, but I want it back ASAP. Blind Vinny likes it too. We can’t get in there now because of the fence.
Sunshine, Hope at the feed dish, Destiny preening at the back
They also have their own dining area. The dogloo doesn’t usually have a food dish in there, that’s special for piggy ducks.
Hope is looking a little bit better every day.
Mostly they hang out under this big shrub, by the fence where they can keep an eye on the old drakes.
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- Lettuce Time
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- We all eat our daily lettuce together.
Lettuce Time is popular, especially for the pig/ducks. The Farm Manager told me they are all girls. I was skeptical, odds are against all three being girls. But they do sound quacky like girls, not quonky like boys. And none of them have the tail curl that boys have.
Boxcar, Emilio, and even old Blind Vinny are drakes (boys.) Their curly tail feathers are circled in red.
It’s supposed to be easy to tell ducks from drakes. Does it even matter, though? Kind of. The ducks can have a loud quack. That means all the neighbors, including raccoons, know there are ducks here. That’s not cool. Drakes can be aggressive. Not toward me or the Farm Manager, not like that. They can fight between themselves a lot, and sometimes drakes hurt each other. That’s when I step in to supervise, and if you think ducks are loud, wait until you hear me honk! They can also get rough with the ducks and that’s when I let the entire town hear about it!
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- Sunny whispers in Destiny’s ear.
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- Sunny gives Destiny a little peck on the cheek.
This is where it gets complicated. Everybody quacks, nobody has curly tail feathers. And yet, while Hope was at the feed bowl, Sunshine and Destiny were smooching around the corner at the pool! Don’t misunderstand me, we’re okay with it, no matter what. Duck gender is moot around here- nobody is breeding. But that is the point: how diligent should the Farm Manager be at gathering the eggs? I heard rumors about a rescue guinea pig that turned out to be FOUR guinea pigs just a few days later. That’s the kind of nonsense we don’t need around here.
Pig-ducks-drakes-R-Us,
Norman
Stacy's Funny Farm 