They’ve begun hatching in our incubator today. This is the first one after it has dried off. Adorable little things. We will try and sell these ducklings locally here in NW Missouri.
Today I went looking for a missing hen. After hearing her I narrowed my search and found her under the back porch steps. After she finished I went to look and found this in the picture. No idea how any times I’ve walked right over this nest!
It was pretty cold last night, so I fear many of these eggs are no longer good. Notice the chicken egg?
This morning while the girls and Dee were at the table having breakfast they were able to watch a duck hen scratch out a small depression and lay this egg. I’ve since added a little straw and will wait to see if she won’t possibly end up sitting on a clutch here. It would be fun to be able to watch her everyday as she hatched some ducklings! You can see the white egg just under the bush.
This afternoon I was refilling the ducks water bowl and noticed two eggs on the ground in their pen. The nesting box took just a few minutes put together and fill with straw. This evening I spotted one of the hens up in the straw. Hopefully they’ll begin using it and stop laying on the ground.
The pond froze this week and had no open water to allow the ducks to get away from predators. One of the hens was chewed up a little one morning so we moved all the ducks up from the pond. They definitely miss the pond but they will be safe here in the pen.
Today I picked up the first part for a motorized chicken plucker. A local gentleman had an electric motor available on Craigslist. After ensuring it ran I paid his asking price and brought it home. Everything else except the lumber, fasteners, belt and wiring components will be here tomorrow.
We elected to just order a killing cone instead of trying to make one. It’s more expensive and less gratifying than doing it yourself but I am a poor welder. The stainless steel model we ordered arrived recently.
Next week I will assemble a whizbang plucker and get to work on the chickens and ducks that need to go.
The ducks all came up from the pond to eat some corn. The were all in one spot and provided an opportunity to get a picture of them all.
We took the 5 mixed breed ducklings down to the pond for the first time. They’re loving life.
Here they are with the big ducks enjoying a little cracked corn.
