17 photos of ducklings today (I usually aim for 8-10), plus a GIF with those and 25 more taken today.

I started the day by mucking out the duck house, since the straw was getting rather thick and smelly (I normally just add a layer of fresh straw each day):

They were very brave and curious:

A tub of dirty straw, that I lugged to the compost:

I put the base of the waterer back and added some water (the power cord is to slightly warm the water in winter, to prevent it freezing; not needed at present):

Swim time:

Rooting in the fresh straw:

Too close to focus!

Resting Rouen:

Little brown duckling:

Blue Swedish duckling:

Proto-feathers; you can see little feathers on the top and below her wing, and little pins starting at the tip of the wing:

You’re standing on my toes:

Treats:

With them splashing around in the mud, I get rather muddy feet and ankles when sitting in the run with them; I hose myself off when departing (I have my showers in the afternoons, so don’t sit in there after that):

Treats; they prefer lettuce over kale:

Pool time, splashing everywhere:

An animated GIF of all 40 photos taken today (excluding the two cam shots):