Thursday, June 14, 2018

New Babies

Last weekend one of our female Muscovy ducks hatched out seven little ducklings.  The very next day, she took them down to the pond.  They weren't even 24 hours old and looked like nothing more than fuzzy ping pong balls.  Raising poultry the natural way definitely makes it better for all involved.  It's certain way easier for us(!), and this Mama Duck seems happy as a clam taking such good care of her little ones.


Getting a good picture of them is a challenge, and so far this is the best I've been able to do.  (Those little ones move like greased lightning.)

Each night at close up time, Papa Pea goes out and Mama Duck leads her brood right into their secure shelter where they're locked up for the night.  Every morning, as they did this morning when we opened up their door, the little ducklings race their mama down to the pond . . . and win the race.  They spend the majority of the day on the water living the good life!

8 comments:

wisps of words said...

This family is so lucky! To live with you. Who allows them to raise their brood, naturally. And yet, comes back at night, to a secure place.

And what fun it must be, just to watch them, for a while. And watch them grow.

:-)))))))))

wisps of words said...

lookin' pretttttty here. On your blog... :-)

But your "Signature Look" was different colors, here and there, with your type. Please don't give this up, completely. :-) Unless you want to, that is.

Lisa said...

Cuuuuuute!!! A friend of mine raises ducks simply for the entertaining joy they bring her. We always spend time laughing at their shenanigans when I'm visiting her. :)

Rain said...

They are so cute Mama Pea :) You're so lucky to have them, I can just imagine them waddling as fast as they can to the pond...heck if I were a little duckling, I'd be enjoying the Pond Life too! :)

Vera said...

Happy moments. Youngsters romping around are a delight and lighten the heart.

Mama Pea said...

wisps of words - I truly could take a lawn chair out into the poultry pasture and just watch all day without being bored. Ducks, geese and chickens are all interesting to watch.

Uh-oh, are the colors of my fonts not showing up to you? The last three (most recent to older) were gray, purple and green.

Lisa - I must try to get a better picture of them before they get too much older. Even when Mama Duck took them to the pond when they were only less than a day old, they could swim just as fast as she did. Amazing!

Rain - We think they spend so much time in the water because that's where they find most of their food . . . tadpoles, algae, swimming bugs, etc.

Vera - Baby animals (fur or fowl) are always intriguing, aren't they? And I think of the fowl variety, ducklings are about the cutest!

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Adorable! I found out an interesting bit of info from the former owner of our new house. We figured at some point animals were kept on the land because there are certain outbuildings that you just know had animals. He had rabbits, pheasants and peacocks! Not sure how he kept them from the coyotes....they were singing all night long the other night. Kept all in the house awake throughout the night!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Aw, so cute!