I have been wondering for a while now why both male Muscovy Black Foot and his main female Sweet Cheeks have it in for little Blackie. At first I thought Blackie was a small male duck as she would raise her crest all the time just like a male. Females don't have quite as pronounced a crest as Blackie does, and they don't raise it as much either. I thought Black Foot was so adamant about getting Blackie out of the yard because it was a rival male and he does not tolerate other males in the backyard.
But then I heard Blackie making that little squeaking sound that female Muscovies make. So I decided she was a female but she undoubtedly has some male tendencies. Then I thought Pretty Girl wanted her out because of jealousy, but if you think about it Black Foot is very virile and should love another female around. So why would males and females alike be mean to Blackie. I suspect he/she is a hermaphrodite and is somewhat gender confused. I will continue to call her Blackie Girl, but that might explain why she gets banished so much - nobody knows what to make of her and it's an intolerant bunch. Everyone thinks she is a rival!
I have to say that she seems to be growing on the group and they wait longer to banish her. She even had the courage to rest and sleep under the bush this afternoon. But on any given day, it's iffy as to whether she will be allowed to stay.
 |
Poor confused Blackie |
Black Foot was in a mood again today. He was in the backyard with Sweet Cheeks and Pretty Girl today and doing all sorts of head bobbing all around. Then he grabbed Pretty Girl's wing feathers and pulled hard. She was distressed and got away but stayed in the yard. Later I saw Pretty Girl dabbling in the canal in the good fishing spot. In spite of the traces of paint still on her feathers, she is a pretty duck. I rarely see her in the water, though. She usually flies in and out.
 |
Pretty Girl in the canal |
Three curious turtles came by today while I was feeding the fish. There was the usual large red-bellied cooter, a very small red-eared slider (about 6 inches) and one about 9 inches long that I could not identify and that was covered with algae and really could use a good scrub!
 |
Little red-eared slider checks me out |
 |
Not sure what kind of turtle this is but he's a mess! |
No comments:
Post a Comment