82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 12, 1987 Nest Egg Turns Into A Ducky Adventure BY SHARON B. SCHUSTER Maryland Correspondent New Windsor, Md. When most folks talk about a ‘nest egg for retirement’, they are referring to their hard earned savings stashed away for their twilight years. But, when Robert Burleson of New Windsor, Maryland talks about his nest egg, it’s something quite different. His nest egg adventure began during the season’s first cutting of hay. The alfalfa was a lush, dark green with delicate purple flowers in bloom. Mr. Burleson’s son-in law, Chuck, climbed on the tractor and made his fust round in the field, Mr. Burleson watched as the alfalfa fell into neat rows behind the haybine. Everything was going like clock-work. Then the drone of the machines died to an idle and Mr. Burleson saw Chuck climb down off of the tractor. When he reached the site, Mr. Burleson saw the disappoint ment on Chuck’s face. At his feet lay a beautiful wild duck that sat on her nest to protect the eight eggs under her now lifeless body. Fanners are a conscientious lot with great respect for the nature with which they work so closely every day. Chuck said he makes a practice of “scaring up” the wild life in the fields, like sleeping fawns and ducks on their nests. But this time, he admitted, “I just didn’t see her.” The two farmers could have , Chuck, put red leg bands on the ducks for easy Identification. *•* <► 4 < ♦ The ducks live with other w! . and domestic waterfowl at the Westminster Community pond. Mr. Burleson uses binoculars to locate his ducks. shook their heads and continued their duties, but Mr. Burleson is one retiree who didn’t duck responsibility. Carefully scooping up the nest with an old jacket, he placed it in the cab of his truck until it was time to go back to the house for dinner. “I figured they would stay warmer in there than if I took them home.” Indeed, the late May sun was magnified through the windshield of the truck and made the inside as warm as an incubator. When the haymaking was fin ished, Mr. Burleson placed the eggs in an incubator in the garage of his home. “I turned the eggs every day and brushed them with water to keep the shells moist. I never did this before. I didn’lknow exactly what to do.” His ‘mother hen’ instincts turned out to be just the right thing to do. A couple of weeks later, Mr. Burleson returned home after overseeing another long day of haymaking. “It was ten o’clock at night,” he explained. “I went into the garage to turn my duck eggs, and I had seven little ducks instead of eggs. One didn’t hatch.” He hadn’t expected the duck lings to hatch that evening, and wasn’t prepared to care for the new arrivals. Son-in-law, Chuck, was sent to a friend’s house to borrow a brooder. In less than an hour, the ducklings were cozy warm in the brooder, set at 101 degrees. “I didn’t know what they could eat,” said Mr. Burleson. “I gave them some laying mash that we had around.” On Chuck’s advice, the feed was changed to unmedi caled chick starter/grower. He scattered their food on a piece of cardboard on the floor of the brooder, and also put some in a shallow pan of water. He discov ered that the ducklings preferred their food to be wet. In the light of the day, Mr. Bur leson admired the downy soft, brown and yellow ducklings. “They fit right in the palm of your hand,” he recalls. For about a week, they stayed close to the war mest part of the brooder. “You could just about see them grow,” he added. “Now I understand where that saying, ‘Like a duck to water’ came from. They were in the water from the first day,” he explained. “They would splash in it and swim through it and wet their food in it.” Only one duckling didn’t make it through the first week. “It wasn’t fully formed when it was hatched,” explained Mr. Burleson. The duck lings soon outgrew the brooder, so Mr. Burleson constructed a pen for them behind his house. “I let them stay outside during the days and took them back to the brooder at night,” he explained. “After about a week of adjustment to the out doors, the ducks moved into their pen on a permanent basis. The approximately 4’xB’ pen was made from chicken wire, with the top completely covered. “I put a box in there for them to sleep in, but they didn’t use it.” A large trash can lid full of water served as their pool. The ducklings grew so fast that they soon could wade the pool and needed something larger. “I put a children’s wading pool in for them, and after they discovered how to use the ramp to get into it, they went wild,” said Mr. Burle son. “There was one that would paddle so fast that he stood on top of the water. Some liked to splash and duck their heads under, and some would dive completely under the water and swim three laps around the pool before coming to the surface.” The ducks proved to be an attraction that drew visitors who watched them for hours. The lawn Robert Burleson holds one of the raised from a nest of eggs retrieved May. chairs that were usually located on the front porch, were re-located to the back under the shade of the chestnut tree near the duck pen. “It was more fun than watching televi sion,” claims Mr. Burleson. “They really cut a shine.” Other residents of the Burleson home, Smokey, the cat, and canine friends, Hawkie and Fu-Fu were also intrigued by the antics of the quick little quackers. “Fu-Fu was mesmerized by the ducks,” he recalled. “She wouldn’t take her eyes off of them the whole lime she was out there. And when I got up to leave, she would lunge at the side of the pen. The ducks were savvy to their bounds of security, and one of them would turn and hiss at Fu-Fu when she lunged.” Mr. Burleson watched the ducks grow and develop personalities. “I think she is the boss,” he said pointing to one of the female ducks. “She determines who gets in the pool with her and whcyi its time to settle in for a nap.” He also gave them names - Hewey, When the ducks were released at the “big creek,” they stayed near the cage all day. “We thought we’d never see them again. We brought them back home that evening,” said Mr. Burleson. Vfamesipad tf/ofes ducklings that he from a hayfield in Dewey, Lewey, Ooey, Gooey, “and one of them had to be Pewey,” he quipped. Mr. Burleson said he learned a lot about ducks and their ways dur ing his summer-long ordeal. “They started getting tail feathers at about a month-old. When their wing feathers began to sprout, they were so heavy and awkward that their wings drug on the ground until they got to be long enough to cross over their backs. “It was quite a while before he could distinguish the drakes from the ducks. “The drakes developed a beautiful blue stripe on the wings.” The ducklings were hardly ever still. “They just moved all the time. And they were so quick,” observed Mr. Burleson. “They could catch a fly in mid-air. They must have really sharp eyesight,” he added. “They would lean their heads side ways and look at every airplane that flew over the house.” The ducklings peeped for sever al weeks. One of the questions (Turn to Pag* B 4)
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