Photos taken at Day 9, so three days ago. If you're facebook friends with me, these are the same ones I posted there.
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| Lining up to go hit the fresh chow. |
They know me as "the food lady" now. They're still wild and somewhat skittish, which is good. I don't want them turning tame and deciding to set up a permanent residence in the backyard. They're adorable, but definitely getting to the "messy" stage.
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| found a bug! |
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| they really get into their food |
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| literally into it |
They're eating "meat bird crumbles" now, having graduated from non-medicated chick starter, but I'm still soaking it into a mash to make it easier for them to eat. (And at the rate they're eating, I'm thinking it's time to make it a little
less easy for them to eat.)
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just big enough to tippy-toe over the edge without going
tailfeathers-over-teakettle |
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| family photo! |
They're really hard to get good photos of in lousy light, because they move so quick. So even though they're fuzzy, they still give a good idea of their antics.
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| duckling dervish |
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| the lilies are looking a little worse for the wear |
And I shot these this afternoon, day 12:
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| Mama took them on safari around part of the yard |
They went on walkabout around the yard this afternoon. Mama is kind of antsy some days -- she picked a yard that the only way in and out is to fly over the 7' tall block wall. Her instincts tell her to move the babies...but they're not going anywhere until at least 50 days, when they'll be feathered out enough to fly. However, being "stuck" in our yard isn't exactly a hardship. And they certainly won't get regular meals anywhere else.
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| smart ducklings pause and rest in the shade |
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| the one on the right nabbed a bug |
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| SO inquisitive |
Their bills are growing now, and starting to look a little awkward for their faces. They're still adorable, but I think we're heading into "awkward teenager" phase fairly soon.
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| streeeeeetch |
They're really good at stretching while laying down. I think they grow a little bit more with every stretch.
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| prowling the backyard |
I'm not sure there's anything cuter than ducklings...
ReplyDeleteThey are so cute! And nice that they are protected. I see many turkey babies out right now, then fewer, and soon the mama only has one or two, I feel so sad. Your ducklings are getting the good life!
ReplyDeleteThey're doing so well...still have all 10 of them. They're really enjoying life...so much energy and enthusiasm. I was just outside watching them do "duckling zoomies" around the pond.
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