Only the new ones, though. They are the most obnoxious sounding ducks I’ve ever heard, they honk not unlike geese. They chatter continuously, not just when there is something to quack about. They are way noisier than the older Magpies I have, the crossbreds, and the Runners I used to have. My mom took care of them over the weekend and also commented on their sound, saying they were way different sounding than hers as well.
I’m keeping my eye on them, if I can identify one or two that are louder than the rest, I’m seriously thinking they are destined for the dinner table. I certainly don’t want noisy duck genes going into future generations.
On the bright side, predation has not been an issue in several months, so the one instance I had was hopefuly an isolated one. And, they are all flocking nicely together; and the young ones are starting to breed. They are sticking close to the house, which is good from the standpoint of staying safe, but annoying because they are messing that area up, and eating out of the container garden. I’d like to move their houses soon, to get them to hang out somwhere else.
I’m switching their feed to a lower fat poultry diet, because the one adult I have is not laying much, and I think she may be too fat. I gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she was moulting, but her performance this whole year has really been poor. The crossbreds are just four months old, so hopefully will start laying soon.