For a while we’ve been missing a duck. It’s hard to know which one as they all look rather samey. Obviously we recognise Mr Duck, Mrs All-Black Duck and then there are “four others”…..
This morning, while I was on the phone to my mother (the daily call), Daisy shouted “we have twelve ducklings, got to go to work, bye!”
So I swiftly terminated my call with a swear word (Mum understood), and Floss and I went outside to see the new arrivals.
And, boy, are ducklings difficult to count – eleven in total. Daisy had made a random, if nearly accurate, guess.
So, what to do with Mum and eleven ducklings…..
Well, they couldn’t stay outside. That was very obvious. They would be picked off one at a time by the birds.
And then there was Monster, also now circling with intention.
We had words and I lugged him back to the house, closing the catflap.
Floss discovered a new skill – duck wrangling. I caught Mother Duck fairly easily with the lure of food, and then between us we had to catch and move all the ducklings. They were not helpful and rather like very cute duck shaped soap!
We’ve given them Lambie’s first shed (the one with wifi, radio, etc) and we made it hopefully duckling stupidity-death-wish proof too. And now I finally get to use my new bag of chick-crumbs that has sat in our porch unopened since last year!
Mr Duck has also been told of his parental responsibilities.
So that’s them safe for the time-being. Mother Duck is a very good parent. All the little ones sit under her spread wings keeping warm. However, I am not optimistic. In the past duck-raising has not been our strength but we will see how we go.
You can lead a duck to Lambie’s Best Bedroom, but can you make them stay?
All one can do is try.
Congratulations Mom! 11 is a lot, how very fun is this! You get to watch them all grow up – then you will have a LOT of ducks! I too have had to learn how to duck wrangle, in addition to goose wrangle, goat and sheep wrangle. All very good skills to have but not easy to learn. Often I have to ask my neighbors for help and then feel really dumb for being out-smarted in a barnyard. It’s not like they have fields to run in. Don’t we learn a lot about life and nature from having animals! Have fun!
Just make sure your feed is non-medicated. ❤️❤️ love ducklings!!
Ha; from missing one duck to gaining eleven! They are adorable and Mother Duck looks fiercely protective. Congrats!
This depends on both Mom duck and Monster’s behavior, but you might let him get close to the ducklings and have an angry momma duck get after him. It would possibly put him off duckling hunting forever! (I’ve done this with chickens and obnoxious cats, but not all hens are fierce enough so that’s why I keep an eye on the interaction.)
Good idea. She is very fierce! Scares me.