Ducklings are 3 Weeks Old

It has been another exciting week for the new baby ducklings.  They have grown so large now. I can find personality differences in each duckling. Also this week we had no prison breakouts but someone did break into the prison! But over all it has been a wonderful week.

We have filled up the baby pool this week. It took a little while to convince all the ducks to go for a swim. The mother ducks hopped right in. They loved having a proper bath after all this time. The little ducklings used the ramp to get into the pool but wanted to try to hop in as their mothers do. That did not go so well. Some did copy the adults by dipping their head into the water without getting in.

A few of the kiddos could dive under the water and pop up at random locations. This scared the mothers as the ducklings would dive under them and chase the mothers out of the pool. I guess that is one way to get more room to swim.

One morning this past week I did find a chicken who broke into the prison. One of the Buffs decided it was nicer on that side of the fence. I guess it wasn’t all that nice as she was fine with me throwing her back to the right side of the fence. But at least the ducklings had their first face to face encounter with a chicken and not through a prison fence.

Finally the ducklings are starting to get used to us. They are not hiding behind their mothers as much. I can be in the pen to change the water and some of the ducklings will come close to me.

The ducklings are getting big! They seem to be about 1/3 the size of the mothers. The little fluff balls are now entering that awkward stage. Tail feathers are starting to come in. Next it will be the wing feathers. Soon they we will get to see the final color combinations. I still wonder about that black/yellow one. It must be mixed with a wild mallard.