It’s time to check on the ducks and chickens.
Let’s start with the ducks, as usual:
I really like that last picture of the ducks.
And the new chickens; here they are rushing to see me:
Some older chickens:
Inside the old coop, the flock block is slowly getting smaller:
We’re in Cancún now, but I prepared this Flock Friday update before I left, so you wouldn’t have to suffer a week without ducks and chickens. You’re welcome.
The ducks discovered a fun new activity: digging for bugs in the grass next to the pond:
Digging amongst the fallen leaves is also enjoyable:
The next day, they were back in the grass:
The heron returns:
Finally, a couple of pictures of the young chickens:
That’s it for this week! I can’t view the cameras while away, so I might include some pictures from this week in next week’s post.
It’s Flock Friday time.
Here are a couple of ducks heading up the ramp into their house:
Duck butts, looking through the pop door into the duck house:
Some pictures of the ducks in the pond, scooping up treats, and going between sunlight and shadow:
Another day, I went over to the west side of the pond, and the ducks followed me:
The chickens have been roosting above the window in the coop, which isn’t entirely approved, since jumping down from that height could injure them, or cause other chaos:
Like this: a chicken using another as a step on the way down:
So I trimmed the hardware cloth above the window to be less roost-like. One still managed to perch above the window, but the others took the hint:
A couple of pictures of the new chickens outdoors:
A chicken pecking at zucchini:
A steller’s jay bird flying off with a peanut from the tray:
Hi there. It’s me again. Doing the Friday thing.
Ducks in their house:
Paladout (what we call the alien gray cat, if you missed that in the cat updates) visited the ducks one night; they were both startled to see each other, but he wandered off without any drama:
I doubt cats would go after ducks, being similar size. And the ducks were safe behind the fencing around the duck house ramp. I’ve seen them resting there overnight several times.
Ducks exploring the back of the pond:
I went back there, and they looked at me quizzically:
A view of almost the entire pond; you may be able to make out the ducks still at the back:
The heron visited again, and knocked the mobile camera out of alignment (it isn’t permanently mounted, but just resting on top of a boulder, with some bricks loosely anchoring it; one day I’ll buy a permanent one for there). Here it’s just jumped down from the rock:
The culprit:
The heron taking off:
The ducks exploring the grass between the duck house and waterfall. One more place for me to check for eggs when they start laying:
The ducks and fish scooping up treats:
Three ducks, three big koi:
(Yes, the fish are bigger than the ducks.)
Ducks circling:
The new chickens pecking at some tomato treats:
Chickens through weeds:
Again with tomatoes:
Hey there:
The older chickens with tomatoes:
We have a lot of tomatoes from the veggie garden right now; Jenn is canning 20 pounds or so of them, but the chickens get the split ones, and the ones the bugs got to first… if they’re really lucky, with tasty insect bonuses.
Hanging out with Merida, giving her pats:
Fuzzy butt:
Domino and Buffy:
Lastly, a shot of some hummingbirds:
Did you see today’s YouTube video of hummingbirds and a wasp on that feeder?
Welcome to a wet Flock Friday!
As hinted on my personal blog, we had a heron visit our pond this week. Twice.
Here’s the heron sliding off the edge of the pond (which slopes steeply) and taking a header in the pond:
After it got out, it fluffed up most impressively:
Heron next to the pond:
It flew over to below the pond deck, and one of the large koi swam up and startled it, causing it to jump back:
Heron eat fish (and frogs and such), but I think the big koi are way too big for it to tackle. I didn’t see it catch anything; the smaller fish were wise enough to stay hidden.
Here it is flying above the pond:
The following night, a rat or similar rodent was spotted near the duck house, with the ducks warily eyeing it:
Here’s a shot of the ducks that kinda shows the delightful green iridescence of the cayuga duck:
Ducks on the ramp:
A few days later, hey look, the heron is back:
In the pond:
Heron startled by a koi again:
Heron flying to the duck house:
Like an ornament on the duck house roof:
Those big koi are bullies; here’s one chasing the ducks, while another eats their mealworm treats:
Ducks from inside house:
On to the chickens. Here’s Buffy, one of the older girls:
Camilla:
Kiwi:
Mo, starting to molt:
And some pics of the young chickens:
Did you see the YouTube video of our young chickens curiously clucking?
Fantastic Flock Friday, Friends and Family!
Zoomy ducks:
Ducks flapping:
More zoomy ducks:
Duck at the bottom of the waterfall:
Fish and ducks:
The big koi are so huge:
Ducks near the bank:
On the bank:
The duck house, with ducks beyond, and koi in the pond:
I mucked out the chicken coops, and dumped a pile of fresh bedding (that they’ll spread out for me):
A queue impatiently waiting as the pop door opens:
We added a flock block; a compressed block of seeds and such as supplemental food:
Chickens with a corn cob:
Old and new chickens, separated by a fence:
The young chickens with a strawberry:
A couple of the older chickens with corn cob:
Old and young chickens:
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!
For Flock Friday, let’s check in with the ducks first, as usual.
The ducks enjoy resting in various spots on the edge of the pond; this is one of their favorites (some fish visible, too):
Ducks and fish eating treats:
Next to their house, watching a landscaper trimming a tree:
Ducks in the pond:
Early this morning, the alien gray cat (“Paladout”) visited the duck house, when they were on the bank on the other side of it:
The cat approached the duck house, and the ducks slowly swam into the safety of the pond:
Speaking of unwelcome visitors, I saw a pair of raccoons in the chicken run in the pre-dawn morning (when the chicks were all safely closed in the coop):
Here one is peeking at the camera, before climbing the fence:
The new run does have a bird-netting roof, but there are big gaps due to snow damage. One thing on my long list of homestead projects is to replace that with welded wire; I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
One more visitor, a cheeky squirrel in the coop:
Chicks on the roosts in their run:
Flowers self-seeded from the old hanging baskets above:
Some more pictures of the chicks in their run:
They’re getting quite big, but still not fully grown, and still peeping instead of clucking. Here you can see the new and old chickens in their adjacent runs:
They’ll be kept apart until after the new ones are fully grown and start laying. In the meantime, they can get used to each other through the fence, which will make integration later a little easier.
Welcome to another Flock Friday, my weekly update on our ducks and chickens.
Let’s start with the ducks. Here they are on our pond, with Bert, the male Buff, flapping his wings:
You can see the green sheen on Gill’s black feathers:
A little closer:
By the duck house ramp:
On the ramp (with the duck house sign visible):
Inside the duck house, eating:
A rapid egress due to a random freak out:
Ducks resting on the pond bank:
Closer:
Ducks and fish in the pond, shortly before sunset; those ripples aren’t rain, but fish going for food:
Ducks at dusk:
On to the chicks; they are getting so big, but still not fully grown, and still peeping instead of clucking:
And the older chickens, enjoying treats:
Finally, some fluffy butts:
It’s Friday… you know what that means!
The ducks in one of their favorite spots, next to the duck house:
Eating inside the duck house:
Treats for ducks and fish:
They don’t go on the south bank very often; a bit harder to get up there:
Wing stretch:
Treats on the pond bank:
On the pond edge next to the duck house:
One of the feral cats checked out the ducks. Hard to see, but she’s on top of the big rock behind the ducks:
I went out there when I saw that. I don’t know whether or not a cat would attack a duck, but I figured I’d be sad if she did and I didn’t go out. She left when I approached. I suspect that a cat wouldn’t go after a duck unless desperate, especially when they’re together and alert, but better safe than sorry.
Swimming underwater:
Did you see the YouTube video of ducks swimming underwater? Quite impressive!
I moved the mobile cam to the rock by the duck house, for a better vantage point. In due course I’ll add a permanent cam, once I figure out the ideal location. Peeking at the camera:
Flappiing wings:
Just one picture of the older chickens this time, inside their coop. Here Merida is eating from the top of the second feeder:
Chicks eating in their coop:
Finally, a couple more pictures of most of the chicks; they’re getting so big!
