Great weather if you're a duck!

A few weeks ago on a Sunday morning we came into the barn to a lovely surprise...11 ducklings had hatched over night - the first sucess after three attempts of sitting on eggs that had all ended in - zip!  You know when the ducks give up on a nest because they roll the eggs all over the floor and break up their nest. It's been fun to observe the differences between these ducklings and the ones we bought at the Woodville auction last year.  Having moms to watch out for them and teach them is facsinating.  The moms make different noises to communicate with the ducklings and it doesn't really sound like quack quack!  The babies know exactly what they mean though and come running. 

Each day we let them ouside into the barnyard where they spend their time splashing in puddles and staying close to the mommas.   

The momma's co-parent the brood quacking loudly at any nearby chickens and grabbing them by the feathers and honking loudly if they get too curious.   The sheep and donkey had a good look yesterday and were trying hard to stomp the duckings - being the new kids on the block makes for a tough week!  All of them managed to get out of the way and get back to their pen safely but there were a few heart-stopping moments!