We have an awesome hen named Matilda and she was really wanting to be a mom, she was so desperate she tried to hatch a bucket of pecans. In her defense they are egg shaped and confined, she figured she'd give it a try. While this was going on we had friends who have ducks that were um on the active side we'll say but didn't want the parental responsibilities of the sitting and hatching part. In steps Matilda and she kindly volunteers for a bit and Surprise she hatches the whole bunch.
They were wonderfully cute and she loved them dearly but there is something to be said for the birds of a feather theory. They wanted to swim; she wanted them to scratch, it was causing a bit of heartburn for us all.
So we gave her a chance for one last hurrah and we loaded them up.
This was the plan to begin with, them going back to their origins, that is. I didn't expect it to happen as quickly as it did but to save my and Matilda's sanity they needed to move on and be ducks. Chris and E really wanted to keep two but I prevailed, when they thought about the cleaning that comes along with water fowl they agreed they would enjoy a pond over a kiddie pool any day.
So of course time flies as it does with any baby and when we had a chance to visit with them in September I was excited to see them, Luckily, they had just been put up, for their safety, for the night. I was shocked to see that they are real ducks already! I know that sounds strange but Chickens take much longer to mature but ducks just take off. These guys have a pond and farm to wander during the day but at night they come in for dinner, nighttime brings in the coyotes and bobcats but they still have a pool for a bit of moonlight skinny dipping if they so choose..
All in all we ended up with three boys and one girl, They will always be chucks(chicken/ducks) to us and we're glad that Our Greene Acre and Matilda could help these guys get a good start. From our side we miss them but are glad they are safe and happy.(And that I'm not the one who has to clean out a kiddie pool of duck poop every night!)
Thanks for hanging in their with me, I hope that seeing these guys all grown up brings a smile to your face and a laugh to your heart. We've been playing catch up a bit lately but I've got lots of information to share so hang on, lots of great stuff is coming up!
