Sharing a picture of "Lucky Duck" who wakes me every morning with a long sounding alarm call. She has a little story about her that some find fun.
It was June '14 and we were busy preparing for Fair, and with all that goes into that I was trying to find some ways to simplify. I was sure one of my last pair of ducklings was a drake. So I let the father go, as he was not of any quality. And his Drake ways were giving me more to do at home, when I should be doing other things. With in a week my hens from Holderread had started molting and stopped laying. I thought it such a blessing I had decided to cull the drake as I now had no eggs for him to fertilize.
Days go by, now here we are fair week. It is hot and we are out a lot with other projects, and my silkie will not leave the nest. Her brooding booty is firmly planted, she has no care in the world for any of her young adult babies, She. Wants. More! Though we had no plans to add to our load during the craziest month of our year, ( even more crazy then any December) Trying to convince her that now in the hottest month of the year, during the time of year NON of us have an extra minute to spare, that she should give up on her latest motherhood endeavor didn't sway her in the slightest.
It was almost a month of my drake being gone, and two weeks since my hens had been laying, but in exasperation, one morning on our way to the fairgrounds I tell the kids to go grab whatever duck eggs we have in the fridge and go give them to her. I thought hopefully the cold eggs would turn her off the idea, or what the heck- could they hatch? Almost a month since fertilization was a possibility, a two week old egg that had been refrigerated.... How lucky would we be to have that happen?
Through candling we know, one egg was infertile, one was a late death, one was obviously stolen by a critter and the last one we waited to see. We watched its fluttering heart beats and hoped this little one would make it. She hatched on Labor Day, I found her on evening rounds after we arrived home from a BBQ.
And though I racked my brain for something less corny, failed, as so she is named "Lucky Duck."
It was June '14 and we were busy preparing for Fair, and with all that goes into that I was trying to find some ways to simplify. I was sure one of my last pair of ducklings was a drake. So I let the father go, as he was not of any quality. And his Drake ways were giving me more to do at home, when I should be doing other things. With in a week my hens from Holderread had started molting and stopped laying. I thought it such a blessing I had decided to cull the drake as I now had no eggs for him to fertilize.
Days go by, now here we are fair week. It is hot and we are out a lot with other projects, and my silkie will not leave the nest. Her brooding booty is firmly planted, she has no care in the world for any of her young adult babies, She. Wants. More! Though we had no plans to add to our load during the craziest month of our year, ( even more crazy then any December) Trying to convince her that now in the hottest month of the year, during the time of year NON of us have an extra minute to spare, that she should give up on her latest motherhood endeavor didn't sway her in the slightest.
It was almost a month of my drake being gone, and two weeks since my hens had been laying, but in exasperation, one morning on our way to the fairgrounds I tell the kids to go grab whatever duck eggs we have in the fridge and go give them to her. I thought hopefully the cold eggs would turn her off the idea, or what the heck- could they hatch? Almost a month since fertilization was a possibility, a two week old egg that had been refrigerated.... How lucky would we be to have that happen?
Through candling we know, one egg was infertile, one was a late death, one was obviously stolen by a critter and the last one we waited to see. We watched its fluttering heart beats and hoped this little one would make it. She hatched on Labor Day, I found her on evening rounds after we arrived home from a BBQ.
And though I racked my brain for something less corny, failed, as so she is named "Lucky Duck."