If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that we had 3 pet ducks, lost two to a coyote attack in October, and then attempted to incubate some eggs. It was very disappointing that after 28 days of regularly turning incubated eggs, we had no little ducklings to show for it. At that point, Todd started calling around to local feed stores to find out if they had any ducklings left. They were all gone.
Dewey's been doing quite well inside and has become very attached to me. She's my little shadow and follows me everywhere I go. However, with CHA coming up we'll be gone for over a week and Dewey would be incredibly lonely without us or fellow duckies to keep her company in her outdoor pen. So this morning Todd made one more call, this one to Pratt's Pets in Glendale. They had 4 adult ducks ("mixed breeds"), so Todd & I hopped in the car and went down to take a look. Pratt's calls themselves "The Unofficial Glendale Zoo" and it was easy to see why! We saw guinea pigs, ferrets, cockatoos, parakeets, pot bellied pigs, a goat, more varieties of chicks and chickens than you could imagine, and more. Finally we made our way to the ducks. They had 3 black Indian Runners and one light brown duck. Thinking back on it, I don't recall either of us saying, "should we?", or "do you want to?", it was just "we'll take the brown one." (This first picture is them waiting for the tub to fill with water.)
When we got home, we kept her in her box until we could put a divider in the indoor pen. We wanted Daisy (by this time she had a name) to have a private, secure place where Dewey could view her but they wouldn't have to interact until they were ready. Dewey was very intrigued by this newcomer and they began quacking to each other. After a little while, we took them both into the bathroom and let them swim together. Dewey was a little hesitant at first, but then they started swimming, splashing and preening together. (Here they are swimming, which was mostly Daisy chasing Dewey around the tub.)
Daisy is still a little nervous, but seems to be adjusting well. She's a pretty duck with very interesting coloring and markings. We thought she might be a Khaki Campbell, or at least mixed with that breed, due to her coloring. Then I contacted the rehabber who had advised us that Dewey is a Mallard mix, not a Rouen. She said that Daisy looks like a Silver Appleyard mix (possibly mixed with Khaki Campbell) due to the speckling on her belly and tush. (After Dewey splashed and showed her what to do, Daisy started splashing too. She splashed a lot and had a very good bath, followed by preening.)
After awhile, Todd brought in some guppies for them to play with (and eat). Of course, Daisy had never seen fish before and didn't know what to do. Dewey, however, knew exactly what they were: lunch! She immediately started darting around the tub and gobbled them up in about 45 seconds. Daisy just watched & wondered what the fascination was.
Dewey and Daisy are now hanging out with us in the office and getting along very well. Jake is in here with us too and Daisy doesn't seem to be too freaked out by him. We introduced Daisy to lettuce...she didn't know quite what to do with it at first, but followed Dewey's lead and ate it up. And then grit. We suspected she might need some and she gobbled it right up. And then came the tomatoes. She was pretty skeptical, but she saw Dewey going nutso over them so she braved trying them out. It took a little convincing, but I think she's become a confirmed tomato-aholic now just like Dewey.
Tomorrow, we'll introduce her to the outdoor pen (still not fixed...that's scheduled for next weekend) and see how she likes a built-in pond with grass around it. Everything is a new experience to her and we think this will be the first she'll see grass. Her pen at the feed store was a chain-link enclosure on top of asphalt. Her feet were very dry and she has some nasty calluses on the bottom of them. I rubbed them with Bag Balm and that, combined with a good soak in the tub seems to have helped. We'll keep a close eye on those feeties to make sure she doesn't develop bumblefoot.
And now Dewey & Daisy are snuggled in on some towels on the floor of the office, side by side. It appears they will be good buddies for each other. Todd & I are relieved.
Daisy started acting pretty agitated and we thought it was simply that she wasn't used to being around us anymore. Then we realized her belly was hanging lower than normal and she was looking around for a dark, enclosed area. She was getting ready to lay an egg! So Todd put together a little nesting area for her and she immediately went inside. She was pretty upset, standing, sitting, pacing, kicking her feet (like a cat does in the litter box), turning around, fluffing her wings, etc. It appeared to me that she was having contractions of some sort as she would alternate between her agitated state and doing a little push from time to time. For awhile there she had her back end facing us and I was ready for a good view of the event. Then she turned around, gave a great push, and was instantly calm. She peeked out of the box and I thought I saw a shadow behind her. Sure enough, there was a large, perfectly formed, brown egg! 
After that, she was just fine, very calm, then came out and took a drink of water. She never even turned around to look at her egg! I'm not sure she realizes what happened! During her laying process I had drawn a warm bath for her (that would help if she had been egg-bound) but by then she was too far along to want to move. When she was done, she & Dewey moved into the bathroom for a nice, warm bath and we'll let them stay in there for awhile. 
And Jake? What does he think of all this? Well, this picture pretty well shows his thoughts about it all. Nothing much fazes him! Tomorrow is his birthday (yep, he was a New Year's baby!) and he'll be 4. He'll have a day a pampering with all his favorite treats (like that's anything new!).
