Pages

Friday, October 26, 2012

Nesting

Black Indian Runner ducklings
 I had to be patient today but I was rewarded with a glimpse or two of the new ducklings. They are cute and tiny but it is always a marvel once they are hatched, how they actually fit inside their eggs. The mother duck is being very protective of these new little hatchlings and she isn't afraid to use a bit of force to keep onlookers away. Though her quack is much worse than her bite.

There is a lot of nesting going on amongst the poultry.

 Our white turkey has a clutch of eggs. She chose the nest which is a bit on the small side for her having been made with chickens in mind. I guess in real estate jargon, it would be called cosy. She isn't sitting tight yet but I don't think she will be too long because she has quite a collection of eggs. A turkey can cover quite a few eggs when the settle down and we have had thirteen hatch out from one mother before. Too many for us to eat so we sell them privately or through local poultry sales.


Marie, the Wyandotte has chosen an old lawnmower catcher as her nesting site. She is sitting on a clutch of duck eggs. There isn't any point in us hatching out the chicken eggs because they are cross bred with the little Sebright rooster and any birds would be too small to be worth the effort of plucking and their egg laying potential would be questionable too.

There is another duck incubating a clutch of eggs but her picture refuses to load onto blogger today. She has made her nest out in the open (in their night pen) which is typical for our ducks. They don't care if they get wet, they just sit tight.

I love the baby poultry. They have cuteness in spades but it doesn't make me want to touch them. I loathe the feeling of birds. The girls will pick them up and pet them but I only pick up a bird if I have to. Not sure why but they just freak me out a bit.

Pink geranium-gives a 1970s retro feel to the garden
 
Lastly I wanted to mention a new online gardening community. Blooming blogs has just started up and looks like it will be a good place to link up with other bloggers or even just to get some feedback, advice or to find a new blog or two to read.
 
We have a big birthday here tomorrow so it's action stations in preparation.
Tracy

2 comments:

Becky said...

I love your photos! Reminds me of my childhood in Upstate New York on the Farm I grew up on.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Your pictures brought memories of my childhood..., with hens and ducks all over the place.