Two Little Ducks and Two Little Geese

So my dad went to town the other day and brought my son two ducklings and two goslings. It was all great fun until I found out how dirty these critters are. OMG. Do they do anything other than eat and poop? They’re super cute, and incredibly soft and loveable. But I could honestly say I wouldn’t recommend it as a first pet. They’re apparently a lot of work. And I’m sure if I didn’t have help with them, they would drive me nuts.

My son (whose 2) now wakes up in the morning and cares for them. It makes me one super proud momma. He jumps out of bed and has to look in their little box. We then carry them into the living room and put them into another tote so he can feed and water them. In their food I originally put a clean coffee scoop. And he would stand there and scoop feed out of the sack and put it into their little red feeder dish until I told him it was enough.

Then one day while I was using the bathroom, he barges in like he so often does, and shows me his broken scoop. He was saying “oh no. Broke.” So I had to throw it away. I certainly wasn’t going to tape it back together. While he was watching his birds eat, I rummaged around the kitchen for something else suitable for a scoop. Feeding them handfuls of food failed because he wanted to feed them grain by grain. Poor things probably would’ve starved before he got them fed. Haha.

Other than the pooping and constant mess making the little birds have been a great learning experience for him. And me, I originally new nothing about taking care of these little guys. But I spend some time researching to make sure I wouldn’t kill them off before he even had them for a day.

I’ve learned several things about ducks and geese because of these birds.

·         They have to have water while eating because if there isn’t any water for them to drink they will pack the food into their throat and choke to death.

·         They will suffocate each other by cuddling if they get too cold.

·         You have to of course keep them dry.

·         They do nothing more than eat and poop…and chirp.

·         If you make a clicking sound with your tongue they respond to it fondly… however if you clap at them they will panic and poop.

·         They absolutely love water. This is good because they often need to have a bath. If there was no bath they would be covered in their own (or someone else’s) droppings. It even cakes up on their little feet.

·         You will go through a lot of boxes, just start out with a plastic tote and some paper in the bottom. And eventually you will run out of paper. I have started putting cardboard in the bottom, and recently I have put brown paper grocery bags in the bottom. I’m running out of everything, and pretty soon they will just have to sit in an empty tote and I will have to wipe it out every 15 minutes. Or maybe I should fashion some little bitsy birdie diapers and put them in them. But I would need A LOT and would spend all my time changing birdie diapers.

·         They love to eat grass. And it helps with the amount of poop that comes out.

·         They are much happier if I put them in a baby gate cage and let them have several feet of space to move about and get away from each other.

·         They love being outside. BUT you can only put them out there if it is warm enough.

·         You have to keep them warm.

·         They will not cuddle with a blanket.

·         They snore. Yes. Snore. Little tiny birdie chirps.

It seems like every day I learn something new about these little guys. And it’s amazing to watch Thomas with them. But tonight, They all have to sleep in different boxes because for some reason they started to pick on each other. I don’t know if they are trying to help each other molt or what. But The little black duck will pick on the little yellow duck (who is slightly bigger than him). Then the little yellow duck will turn around and go after the little yellow goose (who, again, is slightly bigger than him). So tonight when I was preparing boxes, I made two extra so that each duck could be separated. After the bath, I was letting the ducks warm up and fluff back out. I went and checked on the two little geese, and at that moment the little black goose bit the little yellow goose’s wing and was pulling on it. The poor little yellow one was freaking out and trying to free his wing. So of course they had to be separated too.

And let me tell ya’, they do NOT like being separated. I have to listen to four little birdies chirping like crazy because this is the first time they have ever had to be alone. But other than that I have no idea what to do.. I can’t leave them all together and let them pick on one another. Can I?

Thankfully these little birds respond to music, and after about an hour of chirping in a dark and warm room they have all calmed down. I am no longer listening to a hectic and frantic chirping. Now I get to listen to the little chirp-y whistle that is them snoring. Annoying – yes. But still better than the CHIRP CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!!!!