Natalies Ark

When I was a kid we had chickens for one summer. There were eight rhode island reds and forty white broilers. We also bought two turkey poults, two pekin ducks and one runner duck. We managed to raise every one of the chickens and turkeys and all but one of the ducks to adulthood. It was a fun summer. I was nine. We killed all the chickens and the turkeys, one duck had a seizure in the pond, and one got killed by coyote. The last duck was named Captain Quackers. He was a large pekin drake. He lived with the turkeys until just before christmas when we killed the big tom (we had killed the hen at Thanksgiving) and then he moved in with the dog. After the dog ran away he lived a lonely life on our porch and even followed me on the school bus one day. He got killed the next spring before we could get him a new friend. He was one of my favorite pets.

I have been wanting birds ever since. I was able to have three hens ten years ago for five months before someone turned a bunch of minks loose at a local fur farm and they killed all my hens.

Then last spring my husband and I were able to buy four chicks and two ducklings.


Mack the Pekin (drake)
Stoplight the Fawn Runner (hen)
Nugget the Buff Orpington (Rooster)
Bug the Amerecauna (also a Rooster )
KFC the Rhode Island Red(hen)
White the leghorn (hen)

The kids loved them. We let them name the new babies and they grew fast

Mack and Stoplight in the tub


Mack and Stoplight following my then 18 month old son


The first whold day outside

As the flock grew up we decided to add some new birds to the mix.


In the background you can see our new drake Toby in the background i was told he is a Black east Indie. He came for free off of craigs list.


This is Mima. She is a bibed call duck. She also came off of craigs list for free. she was given to me from a lady that had been butchering ducks all day and had one let and didnt want to pluck another one. she started having seizures three months later due to epilepsy. She is alive and well today. I realize from past experience this could end bad but she is happy and healthy otherwise. Luckily their pen is directly off my bedroom and she vocalizes when she has a seizure so i can usually hear her and can go pick her up. she is fine a few minutes later. I have also seen the drakes protecter when she seizes. they stand over her and spread their wings out dont let anybody get near her. Then when she snaps out of it they herd her away from danger (rocks, water, other birds, etc) until she is back to normal, and they preen her. It is very sweet.


Then we got 12 chicks from craigslist for free. We got them all as week old chicks(I didnt have a younger pic). We had two die by drowning and the surviving twelve ended up being all Roosters! I think i was scammed by a chicken sexer! They turned out to be RIR mixes, one of them looks like a RIR aracauna mix cause it is obioiusly a rooster but doesnt have a rooster tail. some are Barred mixes of some sort So.........Into the pot they go. that is way to many roosters for two hens!

So my husband bought me an Incubator and egg turner for my birth day. Now I am hatch crazy already.


My first batch of eggs I collected them from my RIR. The Buff Orpington fathered them all. I got five out of five hatched and three ended up being hens


the last to hatch


The new chicks. the one in the back is named Nemo. he turned out to be a Rooster. He broke his leg as a newly hatched chick and it healed crooked. He hops around on one leg and gets around just fine. He is going to be a yard pet, and is currently living with my newly hatched duckling ( the rest of the chicks have sinced moved to a small pen inside the coop to get used to the rest of the flock (at this point we still have four of the cragislist roos that are waiting for their date with the pot. im hoping one of the barred roos breeds my RIR)


This is Squirt. She is the surviving duckling of my first attempt at incubating duck eggs. Out of five had three make it to 16 days when my two year old got into the incubator and cracked one until it leaked, and cracked one that died four days later. Squirt made it to hatch but came out the wrong end and took a full 48 hours from pip to hatch. and that was with help. She lives with Nemo. they get along good. She sleeps under Nemos wing like she would her mother. They are inseperable. They will most likely be the two lucky lawn ornaments of the flock. She is still living in a dog crate in the house. it doesnt have the lid on it and when she runs out of water he jumps out and runs down the hallway to get you. she wont stay in untiil you give her water and then she is happy as a clam until she runs out again (Nemo cant jump out because of the leg and he stays in the crate chirping franticaly for her to return)

We also have many other animals here at our house. I am a vet tech so i sort of attract unwanted animals.
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