Today I introduced the ducklings to leafy treats and the swimming pool… with mixed success.

Good morning ducklings:

Remember how I said yesterday that they’d be eating from the top feeder tube hole in a few weeks? Well, make that the next day:

What’s that green thing?

Only took them a moment to investigate it and realize it’s a tasty treat:

Next up, I added the paint tray swimming pool and ramp, with a little water:

Some hesitantly went up the ramp, but they weren’t so sure about that:

That’s as far as they got. I’ll try again tomorrow with treats in the water.

This afternoon, I briefly had another go, without any more success (but without treats). Bert wasn’t providing any encouragement; he avoided the tray when he was a duckling:

It’s warm today, and they were panting a bit, so I opened the vent above the door, and cracked the main vent:

I still left the heat lamp on, though, so they don’t get too cold overnight. They need around 76° currently, which is about the current air temperature, though it’s warmer inside the duck house. It’ll get down to 54° overnight, so still need heat.

Grown ducks are very hardy, able to cope with freezing and really hot temperatures, but ducklings are much more sensitive.