The new duck family (Indian Runner mom, Pekin dad, and 9 mixed ducklings) have been here for 2 weeks and are doing well. They were initially living in a tractor with a coop inside, but we recently started letting them free range during the day with the flock of chickens and Muscovies. So far, everyone seems to be getting along.
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing at first. Joséphine (mom) is astoundingly protective and completely fearless. She’s just a little thing – in fact, her babies are nearly as large as she is now – but she goes crazy if she thinks her babies are being threatened. She executed a couple of Black Belt Theater-worthy flying sidekicks on unsuspecting Muscovies the first day the group was out in population. Continue reading “Our Little Runner/Pekin Family Update”
Since we had duck for the holiday meal, there’s no leftover turkey with which to make turkey curry, turkey tetrazzini, or turkey sandwiches. No problem…we had duck ramen, instead.
We hope you had a relaxing, peaceful Thanksgiving! We enjoyed ours, with the exception of a fermentation…shall we say, incident?
While there are really no “holidays” on the farm, not having to put up fencing today is one of many things for which we are thankful. We’re also thankful that our dogs spotted a loose dog that wandered onto our property and scared it off before it could reach our free ranging chickens and ducks (it would have had to find a way through the fence, but “where there’s a will, there’s a way”)…and that it’s warm enough that we’re not breaking ice out of waterers or hauling buckets of warm water out for animals today. Now that’s a holiday around here.
Are you a french toast fan? If you haven’t tried it like this yet, you should.
As usual, time is flying by. The 16 chicks hatched in early September are now 10 weeks old, and they look (and sound) less like chicks than small adults. Here’s an update on them: