Animals
- Meanwhile, At The Duck Pond...
Part of my every day chores is a stop at the duck pond to feed the ducks and fish. We have kept a stable population for several months now...5 tame ducks and 4 wild mallards that now call our pond home.At one point we were up to 36 ducks,but the local...
- Springtime Delicacies
One of the many things that we look forward to in the spring,is duck eggs.Every spring we find duck eggs along the bank of the pond on an almost daily basis. Not this spring, however...no... this spring there have been no...and will be no duck eggs....
- Maddie And The Ducklings
About two weeks ago, while we were on vacation,nine little ducklings hatched at our pond.This is the second generation of ducks that have come from my originalgroup of Swedish Runners, Cayugas, and Pekins. Maddie and I visited the pond yesterday afternoon...
- Tiny Miracles
Early this weekend during AM chores, I headed to the pond to put feed out for the ducks. Upon entering the duck hut, I saw Mrs. Duckles on her nest.She was hissing at me. I looked a bit closer.... she wasn't alone,no, there were several just hatched...
- Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places
For the past several months, our duck "count" has remained at four. Methuselah still lives....frequently visited by a few pairs of mallards and a pair of wood ducks. We also had 3 surviving "ugly" Muscovy ducks. As of late, our female Muscovy has disappeared....
Animals
A whole year has passed since we bought our last batch of ducklings.
We added a mixture (17) of Cayugas, Swedish, and Pekins to the pond;
home, then, to the solitary Methuselah (Khaki Campbell drake.)
Every day since the new ducks came,
we go to the pond, put out some feed, and count the ducks.
And until one day late this past winter, we counted 18.
Suddenly....only 17 were there.
Suddenly....only 17 were there.
One had gone missing.
Finding no body, we suspected that perhaps a predator had carried him off.
That is, until the pond thawed and we found #18 under the ice.
Now we suspect that he dove under the water and was trapped beneath the ice.
Sad.
But, the good news is....
no predators have gotten any of the ducks!
(Thank you, Oakley and Sam!)
Every duck count lately has yielded a different number.
Sometimes 14, sometimes 15, sometimes 16...
and then sometimes all 17 are there.
Why the mysterious disappearances?
This is why.....
It seems that some of our gals have taken to sitting on nests of eggs.
This past weekend, we noticed that the far bank of the pond was
strewn with eggs...
as if something had kicked all the eggs out of the nests.
There were 108 eggs.
Can you imagine???
Now, the gals have moved further up the hill, into the woods.
I am not so sure that these gals are the best sitters.
Time will tell.
It would be fun to have a batch of ducklings on the pond.
Some sad news about the new chicks...
Two of my Maran chicks died yesterday.
I have no idea why.
So, I took the rest and moved them into their new quarters.
I sure hope the rest of the gals are healthy.
They seem very tired since the move.
I worry so about these little creatures.
- Meanwhile, At The Duck Pond...
Part of my every day chores is a stop at the duck pond to feed the ducks and fish. We have kept a stable population for several months now...5 tame ducks and 4 wild mallards that now call our pond home.At one point we were up to 36 ducks,but the local...
- Springtime Delicacies
One of the many things that we look forward to in the spring,is duck eggs.Every spring we find duck eggs along the bank of the pond on an almost daily basis. Not this spring, however...no... this spring there have been no...and will be no duck eggs....
- Maddie And The Ducklings
About two weeks ago, while we were on vacation,nine little ducklings hatched at our pond.This is the second generation of ducks that have come from my originalgroup of Swedish Runners, Cayugas, and Pekins. Maddie and I visited the pond yesterday afternoon...
- Tiny Miracles
Early this weekend during AM chores, I headed to the pond to put feed out for the ducks. Upon entering the duck hut, I saw Mrs. Duckles on her nest.She was hissing at me. I looked a bit closer.... she wasn't alone,no, there were several just hatched...
- Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places
For the past several months, our duck "count" has remained at four. Methuselah still lives....frequently visited by a few pairs of mallards and a pair of wood ducks. We also had 3 surviving "ugly" Muscovy ducks. As of late, our female Muscovy has disappeared....