An exciting day for the ducklings: this morning I reassembled the duckling run, and let them out of the duck house for the first time. It was also the first time they and the older ducks have seen each other.

The day started like every other, with fresh straw and (after this) treats:

They’re tall enough to peek over the edge of the doors now, so may have spotted the older ducks from a distance:

Here’s what the gate panels looked like before I rearranged them; they were basically just acting as a morning shade for the ducks (but there are plenty of other shade options):

From the other side:

And rearranged into a fenced duckling run:

Last time I had the roof panel resting across the whole space, which was annoying, since I had to slide it off to access the duck house. So this time I attached it at an angle, so I can access it more easily:

This makes it a bit less secure from wildlife, but the ducklings will be secure in the house at night, so the main risk during the day are birds of prey, and hopefully that won’t be too much of a risk. I am thinking about adding T-posts to the panels (for more height) and attaching bird netting, to make it more secure, though I’m not sure if that’s worthwhile.

Ducklings leaving their house for the first time:

They had fun drinking the muddy water in the drain channel:

The ducks came over to investigate, and they saw each other for the first time:

Getting a bit muddy:

Having fun splashing in the paint tray pool, while Betty watches and quacks at them (did you see the video?):