OT This is what it looks like....

[WillsC]

This is what it looks like....right before a duck bites you and tries to beat you to death with it's wings.

[Sarahkt]

"I will *END* you!!" lol. Looks like it was trying to protect its ducklings. Did the duck hurt you?

[newnandawg]

She looks quiet pis--d

[WillsC]

That does describe the look and the menacing hissing quite well. Hurt no, luckily ducks lack teeth It did make me end the photo session though. They have a duck house, 15x30' but she insisted on laying the eggs in my wood shop right in the sawdust discharge pile from my jointer. Which btw is where the packing material for my plants in pots comes from for those that have bought them.

[veggie_girl]

My guineas decided to lay in my hoop house when I had the doors open last summer.

[BrooklynMatty]

Duck Confit and Peking Duck sound really good right about now. Time for some seasoning

[BrooklynMatty]

Gong hay fat choy to you too!

Do you celebrate? I go to my in-laws, ill post pics of my little one all dressed up next week.

[Sarahkt]

Definitely share photos!

Yes, fun holiday. Good time to see relatives, trade some citrus (pomelos, yum), stockpile a few red pocket envelopes. Also, tea-smoked duck! Yikes, in a year or two it will be me also passing out envelopes to the younger, unmarried generation. The feeling of oldness will really sink in then.

[BrooklynMatty]

I stopped getting envelopes 2 years ago, it is sad. At leasti get them via proxy (my daughter), hehe.

I understand that feeling of oldness now o too well.

[LouNeo]

I used to work for my families grain and feed store. Horses, Cows, Ducks, Dogs, chickens, electric fences ive been nibbled at or bitten by most of them. The worst was always the friggin geese, swans, and large ducks lol. Relentless and frustrating.

[WillsC]

Growing up on a dairy I have been head butted by cows more times than I want to remember, kicked a couple times (never in the head so save the comments) but worst is when they step on your foot and will not get off.

[jmaler]

I can appreciate what you say as I too worked on family dairy farm.

[WillsC]

You are basically an indentured servant Up at 4:00am 365 days a year to milk before school......we owe farmers a lot.

[Q*]

Awesome picture! I love Muscovy ducks! I think they are the smartest of all the ducks.....i had one a few years back that would protect the flock of chickens(i incubated him the same time i incubated the chicken eggs...he hatched out a week later and thought he was a chicken!)

[Visceral]

I am definitely not a Muscovy duck fan. They ate all the emerging growth from my new flower bed last year and they poop on every paved surface near my house, but never in the grass it seems. Since they are free ranging in my area, I have started control measures.

[Q*]

"Control measures"= Duck hunting season hahahaha You eat my flowers....now i eat you!

[DaveL]

That is kind of what my wife looks like when I receive another packet of fig cuttings. Lol

[DaveL]

Don, I think I would buy a really really big ring!

[Sarahkt]

Why do you microwave your mix? Are you targeting insect eggs or mold?

If it's something like ProMix, you'd want the mycorrhizae to stay alive. Never had any issues with unwanted eggs using that.

[don_sanders]

Sarahkt - I've had issues with insects like fungus gnats and spider mites in bagged potting mixes before. I try to grow mostly organic so pests can be difficult to exterminate without chemicals. Gnatrol does work pretty well with the fungus gnats given time. Currently, I use a fairly heavy mix of compost, peat, and perlite and microwave the mix for indoor plants only. I know there is all kinds of good stuff in the compost that I'm probably killing off but I'd rather not deal with the bugs. Most people seem to like fast draining mixes but most plants seem to grow in the mix pretty well including figs in my experience. I add my fertilizer and what not after microwaving which reintroduces some beneficials. Outdoors I mix in the compost straight from the pile with the good and the bad. Nature seems to have kept that in check so far.

[hammerwood]

Dave....Now that's funny because most of us know that look!

[figgrower]

My daughter would say that it needs "touchied." She cuddles our roosters upside down like babies, or walks them around on a leash to show them who is boss.

[wellingtonbill]

Funniest thread I have ever followed in a fig/fruit forum. Keep it coming!

[fruitnut]

Some people are afraid of ducks and esp geese. But just grab that goose by the neck and they've got nothing that can hurt you. Give me a goose any day over a big dog.

I grew up on a dairy and hog farm. Was never hurt by any of those. So I must be more agile than Wills....or maybe just more cautious/chicken. Kicking cows got their tail bent up over their back until they settled down.

[growcrazie]

My rooster attacks me on a daily basis

[growcrazie]

One time I was on my deck which is 10' off the ground and 30' from the chicken pin and he tried to get at me

[m5allen]

Wills, you should thank that duck for all the nice fertilizer she provides for your figs.

[figgrower]

Growcrazie- They really hate being pet, picked up, or sprayed with a cold jet of water. If I knew how to post pictures,I'd show you my daughter's set-up. She made a crocheted sling with straps to go around their tail feathers, waist straps, and a long leash. She can either wear the roosters around her waist like a fanny pack, or walk them like a dog. It's quite comical to watch. They resist all the way, but in the end, she is at the top of their pecking order!

[mgginva]

Where's the duck press?