IntroDUCKtions – Meet Schnatterinchen the Duck with Freckles
Last updated on August 25th, 2024 at 06:26 pm
My Name
My name is Schnatterinchen. I am named after a puppet character from a famous East German children’s TV show. Schnatterinchen was a duck, of course, and it translates to something like a very chatty duck.
My Breed
Like my sister Emma, I am a white-crested duck. Unlike her, I have never experienced any neurological problems.
My Journey
I hatched on November 1, 2021. My sisters Emma and Hertha hatched on the same day. We are all three from Metzer Farms. The day we hatched, they placed us into a small box and shipped us to our new home in Texas. That was quite an adventure. We flew on an airplane from California to Texas. On Wednesday, November 3rd, we arrived at the mail office close to Mom and Dad. Dad came to pick us up and brought us home, where Mom was already impatiently waiting for us to arrive.
After Mom and Dad saw that we were fine, they placed us in our brooder, a playpen. We had a heating plate instead of a lamp because Mom said it was safer for us. We got plenty of water and duckling food. We started to grow and were some happy little ducklings.
What is my character like?
I am very suspicious and don’t like new things. I mean, really, really suspicious 🙂 I am also not the biggest fan of cuddles and try to run away as far as possible when mom or dad are coming for me. And if they get me, I am pooping (that is my secret weapon). But I like to snuggle with Hertha, she is my best friend. When I don’t like something, I can quack quite loudly. But I don’t quack very often. And I love mud and muddy puddles. I am getting really dirty super quickly. Mom says that I am the messiest of us and look so funny when I am covered in dirt. I am digging deep holes, and my bill and my whole face are covered with mud afterward.
What is my favorite food?
I love tomatoes! I also like lettuce, cucumber, and corn. Mealworms are also lovely treats. I am the only one of us who eats bell peppers. I also just discovered that shrimps are not bad.
What else should you know about me?
Have you noticed my bill freckles? These are because I am laying eggs. The dark spots are melanin skin pigments and are not harmful at all. The orange color from my beak is needed for egg production, specifically the yolks. The orange pigment is called xanthophyll. This covers the melanin at a young age but fades with age and the number of eggs that I am laying. I started to lay my first eggs when I was about seven months old. My sister Emma has no dark freckles as I have, but she is also laying eggs.
