For Flock Friday this week, some pictures of Betty and her nest in the duck house, a few pictures of other ducks, and some of the chickens.

Here’s Betty in her nest behind the feeder tube, as seen from the maintenance door:

Via the duck house cam, Betty in her nest, grabbing a bite, plus a couple of boys also eating:

Betty eating some spilled food to avoid moving from her nest:

While Betty was taking a brief break, I got a picture of the eggs with downy fluffs. These soft under-feathers are one of the things that make ducks so cold-tolerant. Nesting ducks pluck them to both insulate the nest, and to expose skin as a “brood patch” to provide more direct warmth to the eggs:

Ducks in the pond:

Ducks by the lawn:

Betty on a break, looking kinda scraggly:

Betty in her nest:

And at night:

On to some chicken pictures. Here they are roosting in the old coop, shortly before the pop door automatically closed:

Closed door:

Roosting in the new coop:

Another angle:

Kiwi eyeing me:

Chickens in their run:

In the veggie garden (they’ll be kicked out soon, when we’re ready to start planting):