(I wrote on spacebook that my ducklings looked like drowned rats after swimming, and then dared someone to " ask me why they looked like drowned rats since as you and I both know, ducks swim all the time without looking remotely like drowned rats." Someone fell for it and since I don't want to write it all up again for my blog here it is.)
Buhahahah! You fell for it! Now I will go on a long and quite possibly boring dissertation on one of my favorite subjects, ducks!
Yes, well, actually, they looked like drowned rats because they don't have developed oil glands yet. On the base of an adult duck's tail there is a small gland that releases oil. In most birds this it to make sure their... Read more feathers stay flexible (it helps the barbules that hook the pieces of feather together to slide back and forth) , but on ducks (and other water birds) it also keeps them waterproof. In the wild, a duckling's lack of oil glands is not a big issue because the mother's oil gets on her babies. But my ducklings don't have a mother, so they are not yet waterproof. (Well, I suppose I'd be considered their "mother" but since I definitely DON'T have oil glands, in this case I don't count.)
Interesting, eh?
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I didn't know that about baby ducks and their oil glands!! See? Entertaining AND informative! You're off to a great start!
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