Do ducks like the rain? A deep philosophical inquiry...

[PD9]

Following an experiment at lunch time. I went to the shop purchased a 2ltr bottle of Evian and a warburtons loaf, took a short stroll to the local pond and gained the trust of the tame but wary resident mallards. I managed to pour around 1 ltr of french volcanic aqua over the male before he flew away. So my guestimate would be they only get pissed off once 1ltr of rain has fell on them.

[PD9]

13th said:

pablo said:

baby pigeons is the often quoted example of things you never see....

Those ones you see walking about pecking each other are the parents trying to get rid of their young!

No its not - Thats the male telling the female to get back on the nest and sit on unattended eggs.

[juice]

PD9 said:

Following an experiment at lunch time. I went to the shop purchased a 2ltr bottle of Evian and a warburtons loaf, took a short stroll to the local pond and gained the trust of the tame but wary resident mallards. I managed to pour around 1 ltr of french volcanic aqua over the male before he flew away. So my guestimate would be they only get pissed off once 1ltr of rain has fell on them.

Experiment fail....Where was the control (dry) duck ?

[bluetone]

shirt said:

does anyone know why cats don't like water?

Odin the tiger doesn't mind it one bit:



Though I imagine for most moggies, getting cold and wet is not much fun, especially if you can't take your fur coat off to dry it out.

Edited by bluetone on Friday 13th March 11:43

[Davi]

KP328 said:

I live next to a river and have never seen a dead duck, where do all the dead ducks go?

Pikey Pie mostly.

same place most of the live ones disappear to...

Edited by Davi on Friday 13th March 11:50

[shirt]

yes but who told my cat about that? my cat was about 12weeks old when i got her and i'm sure the topic of how cold your fur gets after being in water was not covered in depth during that time. washing that cat was a bloody nightmare!

[PhantomHumper]

Ikemi said:

shirt said:

i reckon they don't mind it, but don't particularly enjoy it. there's a difference between floating around, going for the odd dive etc. and being rained on.

btw - what does a happy duck look like?

Obviously

[bluetone]

shirt said:

yes but who told my cat about that? my cat was about 12weeks old when i got her and i'm sure the topic of how cold your fur gets after being in water was not covered in depth during that time. washing that cat was a bloody nightmare!

Hahaha, you only do it once! I remember trying to wash a moggy when I was kid - ripped my forearms to shreds, no word of a lie. Straight through the marigolds I was wearing. I only really noticed the pain after realising the bath water was turning pink....

[shirt]

cat was washed every 3-4mths. i was ripped to shreds the first couple of times but liked the challenge and i think the cat just resigned itself the the fact that it could do things the easy way or the hard way, so chose the hard way each time

strangely, it couldn't get enough of the hairdryer.

[central]

Gratuitous Pink-headed Duck picture -

[MISS E]

Men don't like the rain either.

[TedMaul]

MISS E said:

Men don't like the rain either.

I like the rain, especially when out on the MTB - huge thunderstorms and downpours are great fun!

re Where do dead ducks go, No.14, Crispy and Aromatic usually.

Both my small kids love ducks, they think they are adorable, love pictures of them and love watching them in the park. Also, their favourite food is duck wraps, the M&S ones to be precise. The day when they put two and two together is going to be a seriously bad day in the Maul House....

[Mattygooner]

I have never seen one with an umbrella...ella....ella

[skip_1]

Once in the wettest place in England - the village of Seatoller in the Lakes, we were commenting on it not raining the claim must be wrong. All of a sudden the heaviest downpour i've ever seen erupted. We dived in the car. Meanwhile and the point of my ramblings, two nearby ducks legged it under the car next to us where they stayed until the rain died down a little.

So in conclusion ducks don't like the rain anymore than people, but are better equiped to deal with it (unless you count technology blah blah blah ......)

[Swilly]

G_T said:

I know they live in water and they're waterproof etc.. But surely nobody likes being in the rain?

If I had to go swimming in gortex then I'd certainly prefer to do it in the summer...

Any thoughts?

They don't live in water and they are not waterproof (no more than any other creature) you dolt.

And you call yourself a scientist... apparently !!

[G_T]

Swilly said:

G_T said:

I know they live in water and they're waterproof etc.. But surely nobody likes being in the rain?

If I had to go swimming in gortex then I'd certainly prefer to do it in the summer...

Any thoughts?

They don't live in water and they are not waterproof (no more than any other creature) you dolt.

And you call yourself a scientist... apparently !!

Semantics. They spend more time in the water and are more water proof than most animals.

Besides being a scientist just means I employ the scientific method. If you take the time to read some of my posts you'll quickly realise I am, in fact, an idiot.

[HappyGoLucky]

G'kar said:

So if ducks are like socks and we have clear proof here that they are because they go missing, then, as socks don't like the rain, then neither do ducks.

That would mean socks float and we should burn the OP as a witch.

So the long and short of it is that ducks=socks, and socks are precipitation phobic! Well that's sorted nicely then!

[Swilly]

G_T said:

Swilly said:

G_T said:

I know they live in water and they're waterproof etc.. But surely nobody likes being in the rain?

If I had to go swimming in gortex then I'd certainly prefer to do it in the summer...

Any thoughts?

They don't live in water and they are not waterproof (no more than any other creature) you dolt.

And you call yourself a scientist... apparently !!

Semantics. They spend more time in the water and are more water proof than most animals.

Besides being a scientist just means I employ the scientific method. If you take the time to read some of my posts you'll quickly realise I am, in fact, an idiot.

Semantics not. Is a duck more waterproof than a human being or any other creature with skin ?! i think not.

I would also argue that one need not take more time that it takes to read just ONE of your posts to confirm you are an idiot

[G_T]

Swilly said:

Semantics not. Is a duck more waterproof than a human being or any other creature with skin ?! i think not.

I would also argue that one need not take more time that it takes to read just ONE of your posts to confirm you are an idiot

Many waterfowl, including ducks, have an extra layer of fat that acts as both an insulator and prevents water penetrating into deeper tissues. If you've ever cooked a duck you'll know this.

The feathers of duck are also very fine and well interlocked (more so than many birds)by "barbules" that provide additional water proofing. That's why you see ducks grooming so often, they both clean and rearrange the feathers so they interlock. I also suspect it's why duck and geese feathers are used so often for bedding.

For contrast human skin is compartively poor at resisting water. Our hairs offer little or no resistence to water penetration we have only a thin layer of keratinised cells and oil that is easy penetrated (hence wrinkley hands in the bath).

I may be stupid good Sir. But at least I know the difference the difference between myself and a duck.

Edited by G_T on Saturday 14th March 15:46