These Mallards have been driving me crazy lately. They’re passing through, hanging out at the river. They’ve been here for a month or two, so I figure they stopped to nest. Since I moved my Pekins and Rouens out of the chicken yard and to their new pond yard, I worry about them escaping, so every time I see these Mallards strutting across the goat yard, I think, MY DUCKS ARE OUT! (Mallards and Rouens are nearly identical.) I freak out, jump into my chore boots, run down to the goat yard to capture my escaped ducks–and then the Mallards flap their wings and fly off.
And I know they’re not my Rouens because Rouens can’t fly.
And the Mallards sit down at the river and laugh and laugh and laugh.
You know they do!
cabynfevr says:
Well, at least the females laugh. The males are mute! My daughter heard a commotion in her backyard and thought someone was using her pool…. someTHING was! It was a pair of Mallards, the little devils, having a grand time lol.
On June 23, 2011 at 12:37 pm
daria says:
Per Wikipedia, “A noisy species, the male has a nasal call, and a high-pitched whistle, while the female has a deeper “quack” stereotypically associated with ducks.”
So the males aren’t mute, but the females probably do have a more laugh-like sound. Of course these brightly colored specimens are drakes.
On June 23, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Barbee says:
That is so funny! As if you didn’t have enough to do!
On June 23, 2011 at 2:13 pm
bonita says:
Well, they’re the first to try out your farmhouse stays…and they don’t even mind that the ‘basement’ isn’t finished!
On June 23, 2011 at 3:43 pm
outbackfarm says:
Oh my goodness, Suzanne. I can just hear those stinkin’ ducks laughing now! That is hilarious!
On June 23, 2011 at 5:07 pm
holstein woman says:
Look at it from their point of view-wouldn’t you? Pretty cute!
On June 24, 2011 at 12:04 am
Granny Trace says:
tooooo funny. I think I hear them…hehe
Granny Trace
http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com
On June 24, 2011 at 7:40 am
stefinity says:
I guess these are both males… I wonder what is keeping them there? Maybe their mates are both nesting???
On June 24, 2011 at 10:07 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
I’ve seen the females down at the river ford, so that’s what I think, that they’re nesting.
On June 24, 2011 at 10:38 am
JerseyMom says:
Gotta love ducks!! So much personality and such a good sense of humor 😆 I desperately miss our Emily Rose who was killed by an own this winter. She used to stand on the back step and quack until you came outside to talk to her. I’m afraid to get a flightless duck because of the predators in our area…but if that wasn’t an issue I think I’d be getting Indian Runners!
On June 24, 2011 at 11:13 am