All The Babies 04/22/2012
Babies... 
More babies...only younger. Somewhere around 40...or so. Altogether. As you can see, they showed up in batches. Some are bigger. Those wily Momma ducks hid their nests well. Farmer J was worried that some of the Momma ducks were too young to be effective at keeping them safe. So, we have been tending them in the house. Until a few days ago. 
In the right hand corner is a wire fence with plywood on top for shelter. It used to have wood around the bottom to help keep the babies inside. They stayed in there for a few days before we set them free. We thought it might make it an easier transition for the babies to be with the other birds. Farmer J is filling a few 'ponds' for their swimming pleasure. 
Some of the babies took off as a group. I guess they were a little scared and lost. 
Then...the bossy geese come to the rescue. 
Here are some more geese bossing around the other babies. They are working together to get all the babies in one spot. I find this all amazing. The ducks could care less about the babies anymore. I guess that is the main reason Farmer J took them inside in the first place. While the babies were in the cage, the geese hung around their playpen...the whole time. The geese have been sitting on their own eggs. So far, no goslings. In fact, last year the geese were here first. I wonder, if they are missing having their own young and are fostering the ducklings to fill the need. Geese are way better parents, they all share in the responsibilities. They 'work' in at least pairs, and take shifts, and are always on-call. Watching all the animals do their thing is amazing to me. We even heard Quagmire the rooster singing to his girls. Not the cock-a-doodle thing, it was more of a whisper. A one note whisper. I think he was trying to hypnotize them. Maybe it worked on me. Anyway...it was a most relaxing day. ***************************************************** Add Comment Beasts And Birds 06/25/2011
 I took these pictures of the 'bitties' this morning. They wander all over Farmer J's place and the male geese protect them. All day long.  These are the baby ducks. They are so used to me they don't freak out when I get close. They are getting so big.  Here is a Gander protecting the bitties and telling me I am too close.  This is one of Farmer J's dogs trying out for American Idol. She has such a nice singing voice.  She only sings about fire engines, ambulances, and cop cars. Sort of a one trick pony. But who knows, she might catch on. ******************************************************************************* |  ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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