Are you enjoying the daily updates on Betty’s ducklings, or is it just too much cuteness for you? Let me know!
Yesterday evening the ducklings had their first taste of mealworm treats… and they really liked them, unsurprisingly:
This morning — Bert, Betty, and ducklings:
Betty and her ducklings; yes, there are still five; four together and one further back:
One on a pot island:
Some more pictures of Betty and her ducklings!
I mentioned in my post yesterday that I put a duckling that was struggling in with Sonja, who was also looking after another of Betty’s ducklings. Here’s a GIF of those two from yesterday afternoon:
Later they joined Betty; here she is next to the duck house with six ducklings (a little hard to see them all, but they are all visible here):
Yesterday evening she led them back into the duck house for the night; there are three visible here:
Though I think one didn’t make it back in, or didn’t survive the night, as we only saw five ducklings this morning. Attrition is a natural part of having ducklings; that’s why the ducks lay 15 or more eggs.
Here are a bunch of pictures of Betty and her ducklings swimming in the pond today:
Jenn captured some pictures of Betty and ducklings on one of the upturned pot islands:
A view from the pond deck, with the other ducks rushing over for treats:
So cute. Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow.
Lots of activity with Betty’s ducklings today!
We start with some GIFs and pictures from yesterday afternoon.
An animated GIF of a duckling going into and out of the dish under the feeder tube:
Duckling in food dish:
A photo of Sonja half-buried in her nest:
Me adding a duckling food dispenser:
A photo of Betty and four ducklings; I later saw a total of six:
A GIF of Betty gathering in a duckling with her wing:
A GIF of Betty flapping her wings; it’s good to stretch:
A GIF of ducklings exploring the food:
A GIF of ducklings eating:
A picture of ducklings eating:
Ducklings about to explore the ramp:
Betty chasing the ducklings back inside:
A GIF of Betty chasing off another duck, as one of the ducklings was exposed in the middle box:
A GIF of Sonja moving around in her nest, and ducklings exploring:
Ducklings:
A GIF time-lapse:
Ducklings by the door:
A GIF of Betty and her ducklings going into Sonja’s nest:
A GIF of Betty and her ducklings heading out the pop door on the way into the pond:
A bunch of pictures of Betty and ducklings on the ramp then their first swim in the pond, with other ducks nearby (thanks to Jenn for capturing most of these):
Check out the video on YouTube, if you haven’t already.
One of the ducklings was struggling, looking like it might drown, so I fished it out of the pond and put it back in the duck house:
I put it in Sonja’s nest, as I noticed another duckling in there, probably from when Betty went into that nest:
Here you can see Sonja and one of the ducklings:
The other four ducklings took a breather on the edge of the pond, while Betty was quacking nearby:
Hopefully the ducklings won’t overtire themselves, and will be able to find their way back into the duck house tonight, or some other safe place.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Last night Betty’s ducklings started to hatch! So this is a special Flock Friday primarily about that. I’ll probably follow up with daily posts about how they’re doing and with more pictures; I’ve only seen them on the duck house camera so far, as I don’t want to disturb them too soon.
I did get some duckling food when I went to the feed store a couple of days ago, so I’ll put that in the duck house for them later, though Betty will probably feed them. They don’t need to eat their first day; the nutrients from their eggs sustains them. For these ducklings, I want to remain fairly hands-off, letting their mother take care of them. She will provide them with her waterproofing oils, so they should be able to swim very soon. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
Before we get to the ducklings, here’s a peek at Sonja’s nest:
Sonja started full-time nesting last Friday (the 21st). So the clock starts then for her eggs hatching; expected around June 18. Assuming Betty allows the competition.
Here’s Betty on her nest, a week ago:
Sonja and Betty in their nests:
Betty’s nest is conveniently behind the feeder tube, so she’s able to eat without moving:
Here’s an animated GIF of my first sight of one of Betty’s ducklings last night:
A still image of Betty and ducklings:
Another GIF, with a couple of ducklings visible:
Another pic:
Dark GIF:
Sonja, Betty, ducklings:
GIF (with broken egg shells visible too):
GIF of an adventurous duckling:
Pic:
Stay tuned for more (and better quality) duckling pictures!