First Time's a Charm

Today Donegan wore a diaper harness for the first time.  He did AMAZING!!!  He didn't mind it at all.  He was perfectly happy.  This footage was taken immediately after I put it on him.  He acted like it was the norm.
Not long after that, he settled into his carrier for a nap.  He's such a good, mellow boy. 
Get these duckling diapers HERE.  I recommend, instead of simply fastening a safety pin as the directions show, that you first cross the two pieces (basically the first step to tieing your shoe laces) and then inserting the pin in.  Works WAY better this way.)

Forage Time

Video of Cheyenne Wearing Her Diaper Harness

I love that you can barely see that she's wearing it.
I also introduced her and the cat today.  It went really well.  You can see in the video that my cat couldn't care less. lol  When I first introduced them, my cat was purring up a storm and rubbing up on everything.
This harness can be purchased HERE.

Week Seven Update

So, Cheyenne is seven weeks old today. I'm SO EXCITED that her intermediate diaper harness officially fits with no problem. Finally, she doesn't take it off and seeing that it was her first day with it on, she was very tolerant of it. We were able to take a nap together with no worries on my end ;D Today was the best day I've had with her.
You can barely see the black harness on her:


Also, about her Angel Wing. A couple days ago, after having wrapped her, I decided it was just too much to put her through. I felt terrible for making her endure the whole process and decided, since it's cosmetic, and not to risk injury of blood feathers, etc in her struggle, I would let it be.

Yesterday her angel wing looked horrible. Worst it ever had and thoughts of wrapping it started crossing my mind again, but still I let it be.

This morning I wake up and, unless I'm hallucinating, it looks as though it's correcting itself!! All within the night hours! It's crazy. I sure hope this isn't presenting false hope, but I'm excited about it.

Here's her wing today:


And a couple extra pictures...

Diaper Delivery

Cheyenne's intermediate diaper from IndoorDucks.com arrived today.  HIGHLY impressed with the quality.
It was so much easier to put on compared to the baby safety pin harnesses.  (I would suggest skipping those all together). 

Unfortunately, she was able to get it off in under a minute.  I think when she grows a tiny bit more and it's more snug, it will stay on (especially seeing as how she doesn't have any feathers to help keep it in place).   But, again, beautifully made.

I ordered her adult harness from the same company yesterday.  I also ordered her a waterproof pillow.  I thought they were silly before I got Cheyenne, but now after having her, and now that's she's grown a lot, it's clear that it's a necessity in her cage..... really.

She ate her first snail yesterday! 

The swallows who are nesting on my porch have finally accepted her and see her as no threat so no more dive-bombing.

Her feathers are slowly coming in.  And, today on her wings there are long, sharp, white quills coming from her wings.

She's shedding her baby fluff rapidly, too.

Cheyenne is one month old today :)

QUACK!!! ( ')>

Cheyenne found her voice today! Day 29 (4 weeks, 1 day old).

She let out several loud quacks after I cut up pear for her and started walking with the dish to her eating spot. She's was so excited. lol

Yay!

Oh, and we had a run-in with a BRAT neighbor kid, who no matter how many times I told him to stop chasing her, he wouldn't stop. Finally I SCREAMED at him and told him he better start listening and to go home. Yuck. It's freezing outside, and this tiny boy was with his 7(or so) year old brother. Barefoot in the rain running in the street for the previous hour without his brother in sight. Parents... grrr.

But, anyway, hooray for Quacks!

Her diaper harness was put on hold (I guess the girl who makes them hurt her wrist). So, it's FINALLY been shipped. Unfortunately, it's already time to order the adult harness. Sigh.

I'm so over poop and steam cleaning the carpet. 0_0

Cheyenne's Weekly Growth Comparison: Four Weeks Old

Click here for previous comparison photos.

Upgraded :D

This video was taken a few days ago (Blogger was having issues that day).  Her first back upgrade.

The second video is quick.  It's her first time paddling.  My son and I were cracking up!  Not sure why we thought it was so funny.  Hehe

Cheyenne's Weekly Growth Comparison-- Three Weeks Old

Click HERE for more weekly comparison photos.

2 Weeks Old-- More pictures

Cheyenne's Weekly Growth Comparison: Two Weeks Old

Click HERE for more weekly comparison photos.

Be Quick to Order

If you plan on diapering your house duck, be quick to order your harnesses.  The baby harnesses should be ordered before the baby even arrives.  Intermediate harnesses (If using IndoorDucks.com) should probably be ordered at the duckling's arrival.  It takes some time for her to make the harnesses and create a batch to be shipped.  I just BARELY squeaked my order into the next batch simply because she was kind enough to bend her batch for me.  Had she not done that, even though there are still several weeks left until I will need an intermediate harness, Cheyenne would have already grown out of it upon it's arrival if I had to wait for the proceeding batch.  So, get that order in.  IndoorDucks.com has a chart for ducks that allows you order an adult harness without specific measurements, of you wish, according to breed.  I will probably order in advance.  You can also wait until your bird is full grown.

First Diaper - 11 days old

Cheyenne fits into her first of four baby diapers now.  Yesterday, at 11 days old, I fit it to her for the first time. I can't want until she fits into her full grow harness because these little things are less than easy to put on.  Her intermediate harness will be on it's way soon.  Hopefully that one will be easier, too.

Here are a few pictures of her wearing it yesterday.  And, as you can see, she made a leap at gaining more adult-like features.  That happened just this week.  Amazing how fast they grow.

Diapered Ducks

I just submitted my order for Cheyenne's intermediate diaper harness from Indoor Ducks !
She won't fit into it for a few weeks, but I want to make sure I have it when she does.  She should be fitting into her first of four baby harnesses from The Goose's Mother by the end of this week.  She will be two weeks old.

We had so much fun together yesterday.  She's getting stronger every day.  She is becoming a little more accustomed to cooler temps (slowly but surely) and that means longer play time out of her 'nest'.  She's gaining more confidence and is starting to wander further and further from my side with each day.  It's nice to see her relax more and have fun without being so concerned about where I am.  She's starting to understand that even though she doesn't physically see me, I'm still with her.  She starts off every play session with a swim, preens and checks things out around the house, swims again, and if she's not too cold, settles on my lap for a nice, long nap.  She's 10 days old today.

No-Slip Bath

I LOVE using a paint tray for their first baths.  It's low to the ground, not so deep that they can easily drown while we wait on their feathers, and there is a ramp for them to walk up when they don't want to submerge themselves.  I was a bit concerned at how slippery it was, though.  Even though it isn't deep, it seems to be a natural reaction for Cheyenne to try and paddle.  It looked a little rough on her legs when they would slip out from under her.
So, I added Easy Liner non-adhesive grip mat to the bottom.  This is the same stuff I use in her cage on top of a towel to prevent splayed legs, get water runoff, and make cleaning much easier.  I had to attach it with velcro strips because it floats in the water and I also needed the option to remove it for cleaning.
Like I said in the last post, Easy Liner makes your life easier!  Get some :)

Day 8 Update

I can't wait until Cheyenne can withstand cooler temps. The heat has been cranked up in the house, all the windows have been shut, and I've been sleeping under her heat lamp for eight days. lol She's well worth it, of course, and I certainly signed up for it :) The reason I'm most anxious to get her off the lamp is because I have to cut our play time together short before she chills. Swim time, especially. If she's in her "nest" under the lamp or with her heat pad in the play pen and I have to leave the room for a second, she lets me know she isn't happy! In the next couple weeks, I'll finally be able to let HER decide where she wants to go. I power a blow dryer on low after she bathes, though, and let her decide how far to sit from it while she preens to warm up her feet. That seems to help.

I started giving her free-choice grit (no oyster shell) on day 4. Something told me to wait until she darn well knew her mash was her feed and not the grit. I was just worried she would confuse the two if I introduced it too early. Maybe I'm too paranoid. She's doing well with it and rarely picks at it. I bought a ten pound bag and I'll probably have left overs in 100 years from now!

Let me tell you, she is a pooping machine! It's astounding. If you bring your hatchling home and think, "Hey! That's not bad at all.... they barely mess their cage", think again. Once that feed starts flowing and once they start growing, they poop and they poop a lot! I highly recommend having a large supply of rags and towels ready for your duckling. I use them for everything. You will be washing their 'bedding' often and will need replacements while it's in the dryer. You will want to place a towel or two around their 'mini pond'. If you aren't diapering now or ever, you will need a towel on your lap, and you will want rags to pick up any 'accidents'. Taking the advice of The Goose's Mother, I use Easy Liner layed-out on top of a towel in their 'nest'. Trust me, it will make your life easier.

She's eating a lot more. By the end of the week, I'll have to upgrade from the egg poacher to a cat dish, which she's now big enough to eat out of.

That's about it for now :)

Cheyenne's Weekly Growth Comparison: One Week Old

Click Here for past comparison photos.

Video: Cheyenne's First Swim--5 Days Old

Video of Cheyenne: 4 Days Old

3 Days Old

Click image to enlarge: