The Word-Nerd’s Homestead – Fall 2021: Blog Edition #4 – True Canards

Welcome back to the Homestead, Happy Readers!

Sometimes when I write up these little blog posts, I like to try to make catchy titles and play around with the words. I am a self-declared wordsmith after all. In this instance, I was trying to think of something pithy that had to do with ducks because, as you’ll see in moment, that’s the focus of this particular homestead update. I knew, in the cluttered recesses of my brain, that the word ‘canard’ had to do with ducks. I remembered that good ole Darkwing Duck lived in St. Canard and that it was a play on words, but the details had vanished. And the googling commenced.

Oddly, the first definition I came across for ‘canard’ was not what I expected. It was a hoax.

No, literally, it means ‘a hoax’. See below. Now I was familiar with the aeronautical related definition (which I figure probably derives from the other definition, or source, really). Canard is actually the French word for duck, so that made sense to me. But, the disparity in these two definitions I had come across made me even more curious. I know words are weird sometimes, but in this case. Canard means duck in French, but in English, canard means, basically, fake news.

So, naturally, I had to start digging into the origin of the word.

Side note: This process I’m describing is called a ‘Rabbit Hole’ (Rabbit Trail, Chasing Rabbits, or as one author friend of mine calls it… Mind Squirrels). It is how many authors’ minds work, and how they end up being completely unproductive while gaining lots of trivial knowledge at the same time.

Here’s what I found for the etymology of Canard.

canard (n.)

“absurd or fabricated story intended as an imposition,” 1851, perhaps 1843, from French canard “a hoax,” literally “a duck” (from Old French quanart, probably echoic of a duck’s quack); said by Littré to be from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié “to half-sell a duck,” thus, perhaps from some long-forgotten joke, “to cheat.” But also compare quack (n.1).
– Online Entymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com)

So, as you can see, in France, if it sounds like a duck, it’s probably a hoax. Yes, this is definitely the correct interpretation of all that information. *quack*

Now I know what you are all thinking… how do you half-sell a duck? Well, I squeezed a bit further down the rabbit hole just to answer that question, and here’s what I found on Hoaxes.Org. (Yes, an entire site dedicated to hoaxes… I forced myself to stop following the rabbit at this point because I had to finish this blog).

The story is that a duck seller is successful and contented being the only duck seller on the street and he sells his ducks for eight francs each. A new duck seller moves in across the street who steals all the business by offering his ducks for seven francs each. Then a price war ensues, back and forth, until the new duck seller is down to three francs for a duck. The original duck seller is beside himself with worry and frustration, but finally he puts up a big sign that says, "Two francs" and then in small print at the bottom "for half a duck." Thus, to sell the ducks by half meant to trick people with something that was literally true, but misleading. - http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments/origin_of_canard

We currently live in a world filled with Canards & 1/2 Ducks… I mean, Truths. Trust me, I’m a writer.

Now that that’s settled, and you know about canards, hoaxes, and rabbit holes, let’s get to that Homestead Update, shall we?

True Canards

(See what I did there? True Canard… get it. *winky face*)

The first ducks have hatched. Three so far, and there is one hatching as I type. I’ve had to help it a good bit. I also determined that 2 eggs of the 11 I had were dead in the shell. I’m worried that the other five are also, but I’ll wait a while longer to decide for sure. For now, 3-1/2 ducks are all I have.

Here are the pics of the 3 I’ve transferred to the start-up brooder. They are so stinkin’ cute! They are all Blue Swedish cross, but one looks very Harlequinesque, so I’m excited to see what the colors turn out to be on them.

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The Baker’s Dozen

The baby chicks are doing well. They are a week old now, but they have grown really fast. I plan to transfer them to the shop brooder tomorrow to make room for the ducks in the temporary spot I use in my master bath. Setting the ducks and chickens simultaneously, thus staggering the hatch by one week has both good an bad points. While I did get to hatch a few ducks before it got too cold, I have to juggle things around in the house for three weeks instead of two to accommodate the situation.

But, it’s not too bad, and as you can see in the pics below, the 13 chicks are floofing well.

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Other Homestead Stuffs

The egg production is still off. I got 6 chicken eggs two days ago, but only 3 today. The ducks haven’t laid any for the last two days. I have no idea what’s going on with these birds.

I do have some ‘new’ layers starting though. I’m getting multiples of the chocolate & copper eggs now. And I got one really interesting one the other day. It was a pinkish/purple hue in good lighting, but… well, heck, just watch this video to see what I discovered.

But, if you want to skip the video, here’s a before & after on the egg in question.

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Next topic…

And this is the setup for the next hatching. Since I saw a report that said we were going to have a mild winter and I really want more foo… um, chickens, I decided I’m doing a full load-out of (41) eggs. I’ll be putting them in the incubator as soon as the ducks are done. Probably the 15th, so they will be hatched by around November 5th. That means they will be coop ready by Dec. 17th. Late, yes, but not terrible.

OK, that’s it for the Homestead stuff.

But… since you’re here and you obviously love fuzzy animals… let me show you my…

Cat Herd!

They haz a photogenic! So picture! Much cat!

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Thanks for reading! Until next time…

Happy Reading, Prepping & Homesteading!

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