Ducklings!!!!

Since my friend came to pick up the chicks I'd hatched in the incubator for her, I was faced with the sad, sad sight of an empty brooding box. I made a couple calls, and found a feed store that still had ducklings! Within the hour, I had 8 happily quacking ducklings swimming around in their custom litter-box pool, complete with safety rocks and a ramp. I got all Pekins, the fat white ducks with the bright orange bills and feet. They are great layers, and should bring my egg business to the next level. This spring has been rough, but with only four females (and six males!) I just don't have enough eggs to keep my orders filled. Of course, these guys won't start laying until the fall, at the earliest, but until then I get to enjoy having ducklings again! And Gene gets to spend his days off baby-proofing the big pond, the pasture, and anywhere else a cute duckling might choose to wander.

I still haven't gotten a look at Cinnabun's babies, although Gene was brave enough to distract her with a treat and stick his head in the nesting box. He was able to count four babies before he heard the growling and the thundering of angry bunny paws coming right for him. Knowing the way bunny math works, she probably has about 54 of them in there. I've been letting Harvey come out during the day; he's content to hop around by the deck, scattering chickens and turkeys and ducks in every direction. He only stays out about fifteen minutes, then comes back to check on mama. It's pretty cute, actually.