That is sad.people buy the lil ducklings because they are so sweet but they are FILTHY to clean up after and need water constantly so people tire of them. I truly was looking for cast offs thinking Id rather have adults but could not find any.I also thought it would be great fun posing them in the garden and photographing them. HA! The lil rascals definitely would NOT cooperate! They are pretty enough as adults to take pics of though. We are trying to NOT make these too domesticated. Jinxie walks up to the back door to beg for a treat and will eat out of our hands. We really do not want 12 DUCKS begging at our back door and messing in front of the door .They have two and a half acres to play in and plenty of water.Yesterday Jinxie gave them the tour.It was amazing to watch the 12 go up the creek and into the next pond.

my children and i loved the pics!!..it reminded me of when i was a child (we lived on a lake).we called them by saying here duckie duckie duckie (loud and repeatidly)they came from everywhere(on wing and on foot) to eat the bread we had for them...atleast 30 of them! we had alot of babies around but i dont ever remember seeing a black one..how lucky you are to have these precious little ones!! thanks for sharin the pics kathy

Hi Linda! I'm so happy you downloaded the messenger and you found me! Now we don't have to bore the forum with our ongoing small talk. haha. No on the most part I have had excellent trades in my years in GW. I only had 1 lady cheat me. She said she had sent out to me and never did. She did receive what I had sent her. So all in all don't let being cheated stop you from all the good traders that are out there. They're far more good traders out there than bad. That's all I need is addicted to yet another type plant! I already am with AV's, Strep's, Hoya's and miniature orchids. That's more than enough to coo over and keep me busy! haha. Plus outside I'm nuts about Clematis. I have lots of those scattered all over my yard. They do well here in Oklahoma and are pretty to boot. See ya in chat!,,,Debbie

Golddust, sounds like Belle is so lucky to have such a caring owner. I give my dogs fresh raw green tripe on occasion, which is essentially a non dairy, food sourced version of a probiotic for them. Smells unpleasant lol, but my dogs go crazy for it. I feed a Prey model raw diet, which is simply a diet of a variety of raw meat (certain bone in meats and boneless) and raw organs. http://preymodelraw.com/page/articles.html I do give them a little bit of veggies, or fruit on occasion, but it's usually just as a treat. As long as a PMR diet is fed with enough variety in meats and organs, it can actually meet the NRC nutritional numbers for dogs without the need to feed vegetables/fruits, or any carbohydrates etc. I have two small chest freezers in my garage and buy meat (sometimes in bulk during sales, or from a raw feeding coop, or I get meat donated from local hunters). Their usual weekly variety includes fish, chicken, beef, pork, eggs, and turkey, other meats they also get include lamb, venison, quail, buffalo, and duck. Each meal is usually just one single protein source. I just cut up the meats and organs into meal sized portions for them, freeze, defrost in the fridge, and feed. Feeding raw is just easier for me because it's far less calculating and less supplementing nutrient wise than most cooked diets. The natural enzymes still present in the food aids in digestion, making food intolerances and allergies less likely. I know some dogs who are allergic to a cooked protein, like chicken or beef, but can still have the raw version of it and be fine. Lola had chronic colitis for 3 years with episodes occurring 1-2 times a week, they cleared up within a few months on the raw diet. I don't usually feed much ground meat, my dogs get more satisfaction and dental/gum cleaning when I feed the bone in meats with the raw bones as a natural source of fiber, and calcium. My dogs are 8 and 12, and haven't needed Vet dentals due to eating and chewing raw bones (properly). Raw bones, fed properly to dogs can be a great teeth/gum cleaner. I've been feeding PMR for over 3 years now, and have had fantastic results according to regular blood work etc. done on them. The difference in health is interesting and my vet is very supportive of it. However, I don't think raw diets are for every dog or owner, and they certainly have their controversy. This post was edited by roobear on Fri, Feb 21, 14 at 15:26