Natural History

Source.

Longtime readers may notice that I’m not writing as much about dogs now as I once was.

That’s because I find other animals very worthy of my attention.

Over the winter and spring, I have been watching a great Youtube reality series called 50 Ducks in a Hot Tub.

The series follows Matt McDougall’s experiences raising Pekin, Rouen, and Muscovy ducks for meat. The ducks are free range and get to spend much of the summer and fall on the lake that lies just beyond his property in Eastern Ontario. There are some amazing videos from last year that show hundreds of ducks coming off the lake on their way back to their night pen.

This year, he has decided to donate this year’s duckling crop to charity to feed the homeless. He also culled all his Rouen drakes last winter, so among his mallard derivative flock, this year’s babies are all going to be Pekin/Rouen crosses.

He’s also letting his Muscovy hens hatch their own ducklings this year, which has not been without its difficulties. Just a few hours after the first batch of ducklings hatched, the Muscovy hens started fighting each other.

I really enjoy this show, not just because I do like learning things about keeping different species of waterfowl, but also because the ducks are just so interesting. And yes, there is a very cool dog on there, a dogue de Bordeaux cross named Dug. He keeps the ducks safe from predators, and he also tries to baby the the little ducklings.

To make sure the all ducks have enough food to make to the slaughter, Matt is asking that everyone who loves the show share the videos as much as possible.

Youtube pays out based upon viewership and sharing. I’ve made all of 25 cents off my Youtube videos, if that tells you anything!

I have a fair-sized platform with my Facebook group, and I have been sharing them there.

If you find that you like this channel as much as I do, please make sure you like the videos and share them in as many place as possible.

That’s what I am doing.

These little West Virginia Pekins and Rouens would appreciate it!

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