An Egg Hunt… but it’s not Easter
It’s been a really steep learning curve being new to raising ducks and only being 18 months in
It started with a ......
A spur of the moment birthday present for my wife in late 2019 brought four ducklings to GlenMyu Estate.Â
We didn’t know at the time that you cannot work out the sex of the duckling until it grows a bit and therefore we were unsure what mix of a batch we had picked from the retailer.
Waiting, waiting and......
We waited with anticipation and we thought that we were lucky as it turned out we had two males and two females. We thought we would have a stream of eggs coming from these pairs in the coming months.
Little did we realise that there is a rule of thumb ratio of one male to four or five female ducks however we were soon to find this out. From the markings we appeared to have two Muscovy Ducks and two ….well we don’t really know what they are!
The dominant Drake would bully the Muscovy Drake and it was pitiful to watch.Â
One day the Muscovy Drake decided enough was enough and flew away never to be seen again despite and extensive search by us and our team. We often think about what happened to him. Did he manage to survive or was he lunch for a mongoose or one of the other predators that may be hiding in the forests.
Anguish and agony!
The remaining Muscovy female was a little bit lost for a few days however settled into life with her duck house mates.Â
The Muscovy female decided one day that she was going to sit on her eggs and our egg production was reduced however, we were intrigued to see what would happen
Amazing Mother Nature.
We are amazed by mother nature and how animals, without any training or knowledge, instinctively mate, deliver and care for their offspring.
Been here....done it!
We had witnessed this with our first dog, Clove, who had been on heat whilst we were in Colombo and we missed the boat on getting her spayed to avoid adding to the already large number of dogs in the community.Â
Clove was so young but delivered, cleaned and fed her seven puppies to our astonishment and admiration. We were disappointed that she decided after three or four weeks feeding them was too much of a bother and handed the responsibility over to us!
Mama Duck.
Mama Duck, as she is now known, also instinctively did what was required to see seven eggs through to the emergence of seven beautiful, cute, and hungry ducklings.
Mama Duck has turned out to be quite prolific and has delivered several batches of new life since.Â
The Lonely Duckling.
We have one of her offspring who are now sitting on its own batch of eggs and we are awaiting to see if she are as successful as their mother is. Mama Duck is also sitting on eggs so we are expecting lots of new arrivals in late July or early August.
Both females are sitting on eggs in the security of the greenhouse and duck house. This is a first as Mama Duck usually sets up her next near our Temple Rock which is not secure from predators and we have had many nights of lost sleep concerned about her safety. We are sleeping better now knowing that they are better protected and can be locked in at night.
You have to laugh.
We joke that every morning we have to go on an egg hunt to find where the ducks have laid their eggs so we can collect them. They can lay their eggs in the most awkward of places and are really good at hiding them!
Hide and Seek!
One of the other females is now laying and hiding her eggs in anticipation of sitting on them delivering more life to GlenMyu. She has tried a few spots before settling on one place.
Around six thirty this morning I decided I would go open an egg hunt and watch where she went after her morning dip in the stream.Â
I kept my distance and had an idea of roughly where she was sitting.
At around midday I had a look at the spot and eventually uncovered five eggs well hidden by leaves, grass and other flora. I took a short video showing what I found.
Stay at GlenMyu Estate to explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country
A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.
We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.
The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,
GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.
