A recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of some ducks going into the pond:
Ducks
Flock Friday for April 30
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):
TikTok: Betty nesting on eggs
A recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of Betty nesting on a clutch of duck eggs:
Flock Friday for April 23
This week one of our ducks, Betty, started sitting on the dozen or so eggs in a nesting box in the duck house. So we may have ducklings in a few weeks time!
But let’s start with some pictures of the chickens, the first of which you may have seen on my personal blog:
Here’s Betty by the eggs, not happy that I was peeking in at her:
A couple of pictures from the duck house cam of Betty in the nesting box:
In this one, you can see Sonja joining her; she might be laying too:
Ducks on the lawn:
Jays grabbing peanuts from the feeder tray; I put out a handful of whole peanuts each morning for them:
Ducks in the pond:
Betty on the eggs again:
A time-lapse GIF of Betty in the nesting box, and other ducks coming in to eat:
Flock Friday for April 16
Some quite nice pictures of the ducks and chickens this week; sunny weather helps get better photos.
Some ducks in the pond:
Duck butt:
Ducks on the lawn; I love Rémy’s shiny green head:
Betty peeking at me around the duck house:
Chickens with treats (apple and kale this day):
On another day, chickens expectantly waiting for treats:
Chickens with treats (cauliflower, grapes, and Brussels sprouts, in order of their preference):
The ducks continue to lay eggs in the duck house, but nobody sitting on them yet; we’re leaving them there for now, just in case:
Bert on the duck house ramp:
TikTok: ducks idly swimming in our pond
A recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of ducks idly swimming in our pond:
TikTok: quacky ducks on the bank of our pond
A recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of quacky ducks on the bank of our pond:
Flock Friday for April 9
For Flock Friday this week, some ducks and chickens, plus duck eggs in a new place.
Some ducks in the pond by the duck house ramp:
Others in the shallow end:
Hey, look what I found: three duck eggs in a nesting box in the duck house! I wonder if they’ll lay more there; that is the ideal place to lay:
Betty stretching a wing:
Sleepy ducks:
Ducks on the lawn, with chickens visible in the background:
Chickens enjoying apple slices:
TikTok: ducks quacking away on the lawn
A recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of our ducks quacking away on the lawn:
Flock Friday for April 2
Just a few flock pics this week.
Starting with a couple of photos of Betty in the grasses:
A slow-mo GIF from a recent @YellowCottageHomestead TikTok video of the chickens, where Domino got impatient for some rice:
Martha is being broody, but often other chickens want to lay their eggs in that box:
Hummingbirds during some surprise light snow:
