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 Things Are Happening 03/05/2012
 This is Bitty's, itty bitty. She was here this morning at feeding time. Farmer J says it is a girl. Yeah! I just HAD to go see her. Her ears are not curled like the others.  These, my friends, are apricot blossoms. I guess Farmer J trimmed these trees just in time! How perfect. Now...please stay warm.  I am particularly fond of this picture. This drake is posing. At least that is what it seems like. He is so handsome.  Another thing...there are these communal nests. The brown eggs are the red chicken's. The large white eggs are goose eggs. The two, more hidden and slightly green eggs are duck eggs. The sun is shinning on them. I think that is why the birds are gone. They will stay warm without them for a short period of time...maybe.  Here is another nest. It seems this is mostly duck and chicken eggs. The sun is shining on this nest, too. Just an observation.  Goose eggs. In the sun. I am sure there are nests we don't know about yet. Especially duck nests. They like to hide their babies. Geese will guard their eggs fiercely. Their babies, too for that matter. I love geese. The Goats 05/19/2011
 These are such happy goats. Their tails look all fuzzy 'cause they are wagging them so fast. They think I have something to feed them. The two big goats fight sometimes. The Brown one will rear up on her back feet and slam her head into the Big White goats head. Lil' Bitty tries to stop them by running around their feet, trying to throw them off balance. When they get really cranky, Lil' Bitty gets up on the goat barn. Farmer J says the big ones are too fat to get up there. They are pretty fat. They eat twice their weight in food everyday. I just lied about that...I don't really know how much a goat eats everyday, just that they eat a lot. I just checked, and goats eat 10% of their body weight a day. These eat a little more I am sure! Chunks O' Fun! ******************************************************************************* |  ArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
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