First the Who?

Like most things…it began with my mom.

Daisy

Donald

Daisy duck was a big baby. She was one of our originals. Since we didn’t know what type she was, we thought she was a jumbo Pekin for a while, but now I think she’s a White Layer duck. White Layers produce a lot of eggs. In one year they will produce 5-6 eggs per week. Daisy is a little shy and her big body plus short legs means she waddles when walking. She loves making perfectly symmetrical deep holes in the dirt and funneling water through her beak in a rhythmic pattern to induce worms to the surface.

Update: As of the end of July 2021 we have learned that Daisy is a drake due to his curly tail! We have changed his name to Donald which just makes sense but I still call him Daisy from time to time.

Donald’s fall colors haven’t changed but this drake is certainly amorous. His female of choice appears to be Sunflower. He’s very determined to court her despite Hopeful’s constant nipping.

Faith

Faith is also one of our original five. Because Faith and her sister stood up so tall, we though they might be Brown Runner ducks at first but now we know they’re Khaki Campbell ducks. Faith is smaller and a bit more hesitant than her sister but she’s a very sweet bird. You wouldn’t have known that when she was younger. She was a squirrely little thing and quite the escape artist. We think her feathers have grown in quite beautifully.

This is faith in her full fall colors. Her bill and head are darker and her feathers are so pretty.

Hope-ful

Hope has a darker head than Faith, is larger and still has a tuft of baby fluff on the back of the head. If that wasn’t enough to help us tell them apart, then we will always know Hope as the more aggressive of the two. Hope loves swimming and will nip anyone in her way to make space including the geese. She usually prefers at least half the pool to herself and she’ll steal the best treats right out of the beaks of everyone else including her twin sister.

Update: As of the end of July 2021 we have learned that Hope is a drake based on his squeaky non-quack! We have changed his name to Hopeful which seems appropriate. 😉

Look at how gorgeous Hopeful is in his fall splendor! It’s paying off too. He gets attention from all the ladies.

Charity

Charity was my impulse purchase to round out our flock to ten. I had no idea what type of duck Charity was but I thought the gray coloring and the bluish bill was beautiful. As we watched her grow, she became prettier and prettier. We now believe she’s a Blue Swedish duck. I would love to have more of these gorgeous ducks.

Charity hasn’t changed too much with the exception of a darker bill. She’s desperate to find a mate but no takers so far. She continues to court the geese.

Sunflower

Sunflower and her sister are Golden 300’s. These are the two ducks I bought by mistake. Mom wanted Magpies and I didn’t know what they looked like. All she said was black and white and I figured these two fit the bill. Get it? Bill? Though not Magpies, these two are sweetie pies. Weren’t they just the cutest little fluffballs? Who can resist that little duck face and webby feet?

Sunflower looks mostly the same other than her gorgeous wings. She’s the favored female of the flock.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea had a lighter colored bill than her sister when she was little. She’s a bigger duck than Sunflower now. Sweet Pea was named for my grandmother’s favorite flower. We got the idea of naming ducks after flowers after discussing how my fish were named for spices and herbs. Though there are obvious exceptions.

Update: Sweet Pea is also a drake. We should have guessed it based on size since Sweet Pea is much larger than Sunflower. Surprise! But we decided to keep the name Sweet Pea since this fellow is such a sweetie pie.

I wouldn’t recognize Sweet Pea if I didn’t see him changing every day. His colors are breathtaking! We love his greenish bill and head.

Marigold

Finally we get to our Magpies. This is Marigold. She was the skinny, scrawny baby the other lady didn’t want. But we think Goldie is a pretty little thing. Her white chest is often dirty since she loves playing in the mud but she’s an easy going, friendly duck. Once you catch her, she’ll usually sit in your lap quietly as long as she can see her siblings nearby.

Marigold looks pretty much the same in the fall except for her beautiful blue wing feathers. She’s been courted by both Donald and Hopeful but doesn’t seem interested yet.

Magnolia

Magnum

This pretty duck is Magnolia or Maggie for short. She’s very bold and will come nibble our fingers begging for squash. Like her twin sister, she will sit comfortably in your lap for petting as long as she can see her family. They will lay white to bluish colored eggs and will only grow to be about five pounds. Magpies have very sweet dispositions.

Update: Magnolia turned out to be…you guessed it…a bouncing baby boy! That’ll teach us to name ducklings too early. Luckily, a rename was easy in this case. Maggie is now Magnum.

Magnum hasn’t changed much either which is interesting for a drake. His bill became darker and you can see his signature curly tail very well in this image. His thoughts have either not yet turned to romance or he’s hanging back and letting Hopeful and Donald fight it out.

Tara

Last but not least, are our geese. We have finally figured out our girls geese are Brecon Buffs. My mom wasn’t sure she wanted geese at first because she had a bad experience with her mother’s goose, Gander, when she was a little girl. But from the moment we got these two, we fell in love with them. These birds are sweet, devoted, and smart. Wow are they smart! They also bond with their owners just like a dog. If they didn’t poop constantly, I think I’d almost prefer them to dogs. Tara makes you chase her to pick her up but once you catch her, she sits very still and loves every minute of cuddle time, often falling asleep and then protests when you put her down.

Tara has lost the downy feathers on her neck and there’s no mistaking the fact that she’s the goose. Her fall colors are the same but her feathers look a bit more pronounced to me.

Tia

Tian

If you haven’t figured it out, Tia and Tara were named after my twin lionesses from my Egyptian series. Tia is my baby and Tara is my mom’s. Tia is the flock leader and demands to be picked up. She tells you by chattering at you in a certain tone that sounds like the coo of a dove meets a turkey. Then, if you don’t do what she wants immediately, she begins tugging on your pant leg or your shirt or screeching even louder. She loves nibbling on your hair, picking at your buttons, or whatever else she can find. She’s a very busy girl. When she wants to get down, she screams at you. When you want to put her down, she screams at you. She’s a very bossy bird. But she loves to see her family in the mornings and flaps her wings with excitement as she runs down to the house.

Update: Tia also ended up being a boy. Whew! We now have exactly equal numbers of males and females. This gorgeous gander is our special guy. He’s the sweetest bird you’ll ever meet.

I have to admit, I can’t break the habit of calling our gander Tia. Isn’t he beautiful? Though they are bonded, either the geese mature more slowly or they just aren’t interested in romance.