October 2021 - Ducklings!
Libby Reed
Ducklings: Day One
This is the place for all 2021 duckling progress updates. Get your duckling fix here!
ducklings looking a little more duck-like all the time!
WEEK SEVEN | The ducklings are now looking more like little ducks! At this stage birds have an artery that runs into the sheath of every feather as it develops. As they begin to grow their wing feathers in you can see these dark sheaths slowly pushing their wing feathers out. Their wings droop dramatically and flop down from what I imagine are the weight of the new feathers and the blood supplied to the shafts. As the feather develops more fully the blood supply is relegated to the very base of the shaft. In the photo above you can see how the wing of the duck at center is drooping while the one at left is more fully grown out and resting in a more normal position.
WEEK SIX | The ducklings are now getting their full feathers in. The cutest thing that happens around this stage in their adolescence is that their voices start cracking. When they open their beaks to express themselves it comes out as a cross between a cute chirping and a hoarse croak. One morning in the next couple of weeks they’ll greet me with full grown quacks!
Week Six
WEEK FIVE | These little ladies so enjoy their time outside! They explore, forage and practice the skills they need to live productive lives on the farm. One of those skills is keeping a watchful eye on the environment around them for predators and anything else that's out of the ordinary. Out of the ordinary could mean a hawk overhead, a newly fallen tree, a prowling coyote, or if I wear a different coat or hat or if I take my hat off like I did right before I took this photo. When I took this photograph they were feeling adventurous and brave, but when I walked away for a minute to fill some buckets with water they hurried back to their brooder until I returned. Their great instincts are one of the reasons we've only lost a handful of ducks over the last 5 years to aerial predators. Good breeds make a world of difference.
Week five - curiosity prevails!
Week five - still looking a lot like ducklings.
WEEK FOUR | The ducklings made their first journey outside this week. They are getting more curious and brave by the day. We feed them fresh grass and greens twice a day when they are inside but getting them out and foraging on their own provides the best greens, bugs and microbes for their growing bodies. We will slowly increase the time they spend outside but until they are fully feathered and protected from the elements we’ll move them in and out as weather allows. This week they’ve started growing in their true feathers. You can see the speckled feathers just above and below their tiny wings.
Venturing outside for the first time!
Foraging in the morning glory
WEEK THREE | These little peepers have graduated to a new waterer and will soon graduate to a new feeder. In the photo below you can see their tiny pin feathers starting to come in. In a few short weeks their backs will be fully feathered!
Ducklings in their third week. Their pin feathers on their backs and tails are starting to come in!
WEEK TWO | They change so much in just a couple of weeks! They are more confident walking around and much, much more inquisitive. Pecking at my boots, my camera and running towards freshly cut grass whenever I bring it in to their brooder. They eat more food, drink more water and are twice the size they were when they arrived. Tail feathers are starting to grow in, you can see how they stick out among their downy feathers. In another few short weeks they’ll be hitting their “awkward” phase - half feathered and less proportional than they are now.
Ducklings: Week Two
Ducklings: Week Two
WEEK ONE | Well, one of the cutest events of the season happened just last Wednesday. At six a.m. I arrived at the loading dock of the Monroe Post Office to the sound of ducklings. The ducks are hatched on Monday and on their way to Monroe via the United States Postal Service by early evening. By the time they arrive at the farm they are just about two days old. So small and fluffy! After I settle the box of ducklings into the car I usually whistle a tune to them. For years I have sung a specific tune to our different flocks. It seems to calm them down somewhat as we make our way back to the farm and is my way of saying hello to the new ducklings. The photo above was taken a few hours after they arrived - they are warming up under an infrared heater in their brooder. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change over the first few days of their lives. Where they were wobbly and somewhat awkward they quickly become more confident moving around - darting here and there between the food and the water. In this video you'll see just how quickly they move! They will continue doing adorable duckling things like falling asleep standing up or taking a little nap mid drink at the waterer. Once these fluffy little numbers start getting a little bit bigger and get their feathers they'll have some outside time to forage and explore and ingest all the good bacteria and microscopic organisms out in the grass. For now they're content in their brooder area, and I am filled with satisfaction when I check on them several times a day and whistle them a little tune.
Week One