When we decided to keep ducks at Gribin Isaf we chose Cayugas
because they are so beautiful
We hatched eggs in an incubator to increase our flock
And then one batch of eggs resulted in a solitary duckling – Solo
You can’t learn how to be a duck by yourself so we scoured the area for company. All we could find were Muscovy ducklings.
The Muscovies grew up and we quite liked them
So we bought in some Muscovy eggs.
But only one hatched
Company was needed
but all we could find were Aylesburys
They grew up and we quite liked them
One of the Muscovies, Cagney (friend of James) went broody so we let her have some of her own eggs, plus some Cayugas.
She managed to hatch two…. one Muscovy and one Cayuga…. both…. Drakes.
She was a very good mother – and Muscovies have to sit for longer than any other duck – so when she went broody again last month
we let her sit. Which she did with great dedication, only moving once a day to have a wash and brush up on her stump
However, we suspected the eggs were not fertile (later proved correct) so this week we had to track down some Muscovy ducklings
for her to take under her wing
to make all her efforts worthwhile
She is taking the job very seriously
Which is why our duck flock is a bit mixed
Gribin Isaf 