Let’s check in with some of the homestead flock, shall we?

Duck butts:

Night swim:

A sequence of three pictures of a duck flying from the bank into the pond:

Just like dogs and cats, ducks sometimes have zoomies, randomly flapping their wings and hydroplaning around the pond:

A raccoon waded through the edge of the pond, while the ducks watched from a safe distance:

Attempting an artistic shot of the ducks in the rain through a whirligig:

The ducks in the pond during light rain:

Bert standing on one leg. I don’t recall seeing them on the bank in the northwest corner of the pond before:

Exploring the secret path on the west side of the pond:

Flapping wings:

On to the chicks. Some of them are starting to cluck (instead of peep) now, so I think I’ll start calling them chickens instead of chicks. They aren’t quite fully grown yet, and won’t start laying for another month or two, but are getting there.

A bit of pecking order aggro:

Perhaps triggered by a wild bird in the coop; I hadn’t seen that before (must have come in the pop door):

So far they prefer to roost above the nesting boxes at night (and above the window, not really an official roost). But I decided to put the poop tray back under the main roosts, in case they do switch to that someday:

Another coop invader: a cheeky squirrel:

The squirrel came back a bit later, much to the confusion and concern of the chickens:

I went out there and chased it out, and it hasn’t been back since (so far).

Chickens on the roosts:

Moana looking at me:

Four on the floor:

Moana eating mealworms from my hand:

The chickens outside in their run. Still lots of weeds, which is fine; dual purpose of snacks and shade from the sun for them:

No pictures of the old chickens this week. I’ll try to get some for next time!

This week I opened the pop door of the duck house, and the ducks went for their first swim. Though not immediately.

When I first opened the door, the ducklings were unsurprisingly a bit freaked out by a strange portal opening in their wall:

The ducklings, looking in from the pond:

They peeked out for several hours, but nobody ventured out until the afternoon:

Unsurprisingly, Gert, the Buff female, was the first out. Here she’s having her first swim, with Bert (the male) watching from the top of the ramp:

After a brief swim, she climbed onto the bank of the pond for a rest:

I really like that picture.

Then back into the pond for more swimming; she had no interest in going back into the duck house:

I moved the mobile cam from watching the bird feeders to the northwest corner of the pond, for another vantage point, to fill in a blind spot of the main pond cam:

Gert went under the pond deck for another break:

She stayed out all night. Here she’s having an early morning swim:

I moved the mobile camera to the northeast corner of the pond, as that gave a better view.

Gert resting on the edge of the pond around dawn:

Misty morning swim:

Gert spent a fair bit of time in the shallow water below the pond deck, where she can stand on the bottom, but still be in the water:

In the afternoon, I grabbed her from the pond edge and returned her to the duck house, so she could tell the other ducks of her experience, and have some food and rest:

The three ducks in their house:

I closed the duck house for the night.

A raccoon visited the pond that evening:

Actually two raccoons; very likely the same two that have been frequenting the cat house (more on that tomorrow):

I didn’t think raccoons could swim, since I’d only seen them wading in the shallow end of the pond. Apparently I was wrong; the pond is about six feet deep at this point:

In the morning, I re-opened the pop door, and gave them the usual treats:

In the afternoon, everyone headed out:

A little hard to see, but all three ducks are at the bottom of the ramp:

Gert shows the way, heading into the water:

Bert joins her in the water:

The Cayuga duck (who we think is female, though aren’t sure) joins them, making a big splash that freaks out the Buffs:

All three ducks swimming around the pond:

They stayed out all night. I’m beginning to think they don’t like the duck house… though who can blame them, compared to the great outdoors.

A midnight swim:

I suppose this is the Flock Friday, not Duck Day, so here are some pics of the chickens to close this out.

An older chicken (Goldie) and a chick (Moana) meet through the fence:

Three chicks amongst the weeds:

The chicks roosting above the closed-off nesting boxes:

I went to check on the chicks at dusk, and found four roosting above the window… not really intended as a roost!

The following evening, Moana was up there again:

Chickens do like roosting in high places. Once they get older, and larger, they won’t be able to get up there. But she can enjoy it while she can.

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed the duck excursions.

It’s Friday, that means it’s time for a flock update.

Let’s start with the chicks this time:

A chick pecking the camera (probably the green light below the lens):

On to the big girls. A chicken laid a surprise egg in the middle of the coop floor; probably thought it was a large poop (yes, they both come out the same hole):

All the other chickens rushed over to look at it:

Chickens out in the run:

Me topping up the pine shavings bedding; I just toss rough piles, and the chickens scratch through it, spreading it around:

Quacker time. Literally; one of the ducklings has started a proto-quack, while the others are still peeping. They’re growing up!

We’ve also chosen provisional names for the ducks: Bill for the male Cayuga, Gilly (Gill) for the female Cayuga, Bert for the male Buff, and Gertrude (Gert) for the female Buff. We’re still not sure which is male and which is female, though.

Here are Bert and Gert checking the temperature:

I replaced the waterer with the big duck one. This can be heated, to avoid it freezing in winter, though it isn’t plugged in yet. It is designed for ducks, with nice deep bowls, but small enough that the ducks can’t climb inside, removable filters to make it easier to clean, and a larger capacity reservoir:

Ducklings splashing:

The little Cayuga duckling, covered in water droplets:

The big Cayuga; look at those wings!

Ducklings are very messy, including when eating:

Duckling treat:

The Buffs watching me:

A view of the duck house across the pond; they should be ready to go out there in a few weeks time:

Finally, a token picture of the wild birds, with a deer munching on the tall grass by their feeders: