Last updated on July 16th, 2024 at 06:33 pm
My Name
My Name is Hertha. I am named after Hertha BSC, a German soccer club. According to my dad, this is the best soccer club in the whole wide world.
My Breed
That is actually an interesting story and not 100% clear. When Mom and Dad ‘ordered’ me, they wanted a female Silver Appleyard duck. After I grew and got my adult feathers, they came to wonder if I was truly a Silver Appleyard. My plumage looks quite like one. However, the color of my beak and feet does not match. Appleyards have orange bills and cheese feet, but mine are brown. They were asking around if anyone knew what I was instead. It is very likely that I am a mix-breed between Silver Appleyard and Welsh Harlequin.
My Journey
My Hatch day was November 1, 2021. My sisters Schnatterinchen and Emma 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.
As you can see, we had a small heating pad and this green jello. The jello was our water source. After ducks hatch, they don’t really need food for the first three days because they still nurture from the yolk.
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 the boss! I am on top of the pecking order. The only thing that drives me nuts is Krumel. I don’t like her very much and go away once she comes too close. Schnatterinchen is my best friend. Since we are babies, we have loved to snuggle with each other.
I love foraging in the yard! Especially in mom’s flower bed. Snails and bugs are very delicious! When Penny or Ronja are trying to forage in my flower bed, I chase them away.
I am a very friendly duck and have a good relationship with my mom. A while ago, I had a bad case of bumblefoot and needed a lot of care and treatment. During that time, I bonded with Mom. While I got my daily foot soaks, we were cuddling. And I still need a small cuddler from her before bedtime.
What is my favorite food?
I love my insects! Bugs, worms, and snails. But I also like peas, cucumber, and lettuce. I don’t like carrots or pumpkins. Orange food scares me.
What else should you know about me?
I am a very good and consistent egg layer. I was the first one of us and started at the age of 5 months. Since then, I have given Mom and Dad almost every day an egg. I was also broody in the early summer and wanted to hatch some babies, but mom wouldn’t allow me to. She took all the eggs away.
I am the alarm duck of our flock. Whenever there is anything dangerous, I will stand very tall and make alarm quacks. That way, I also notified Mom and Dad one day when there was a giant snake in our coop. They came and saved us from it.
