Babies have arrived! Pics! And now with video!

[Kaessa]

Thank you, I feel a little better. That is what I have also done. I have it at one end of that stock tank, so they can definitely move away if they get too hot.

I would imagine this gets easier once you've done it, but raising the first batch is kind of frightening! I am SO glad we have this forum with all of the information available. I actually feel like I know what I'm doing now. Sort of.

 

[Kaessa]

I finally got a plug for the tub so they could have a proper swim. They LOVED it.

 

[JessiLynn]

I finally got a plug for the tub so they could have a proper swim. They LOVED it.

SOOO adorable. I can't believe how big they are getting SO fast! Aww, makes me even more excited!

 

[Kaessa]

SOOO adorable. I can't believe how big they are getting SO fast! Aww, makes me even more excited!

They're going to be grownup duckies before we know it! I'm trying SO hard to enjoy every minute of them being little, and taking all the videos so I remember how tiny they were.

Take LOTS of pictures!

 

[Kaessa]

In case anyone was wondering how I set up my brooder:

This is actually working out pretty well. I have several changes of towels and shelf liner, so I just roll everything up and throw it in the wash after shaking it out, then rinse and wipe down the tub. I've been letting everyone have a swim while the tub is empty, then put everything back and let them warm up and preen under the light. I'm doing 2 loads of laundry in towels per day, but I have a REALLY good HE washer/dryer so I'm not too worried about water use. If I had one more set of towels, I could cut it back to one load a day, but this is working for now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

In case anyone was wondering how I set up my brooder:

This is actually working out pretty well. I have several changes of towels and shelf liner, so I just roll everything up and throw it in the wash after shaking it out, then rinse and wipe down the tub. I've been letting everyone have a swim while the tub is empty, then put everything back and let them warm up and preen under the light. I'm doing 2 loads of laundry in towels per day, but I have a REALLY good HE washer/dryer so I'm not too worried about water use. If I had one more set of towels, I could cut it back to one load a day, but this is working for now.

That is so cute I loved the way the one stopped and watch you so intently when you stuck your hand in the tub. Gosh how they have grown.

 

[Kaessa]

That is so cute I loved the way the one stopped and watch you so intently when you stuck your hand in the tub. Gosh how they have grown.

I swear, every time I walk into that room they've grown. They're really starting to warm up to me, too. They still don't like to be picked up, but they tolerate it now, and they let me scritch their chest and the side of their face. Mostly. If they're in the mood.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I swear, every time I walk into that room they've grown. They're really starting to warm up to me, too. They still don't like to be picked up, but they tolerate it now, and they let me scritch their chest and the side of their face. Mostly. If they're in the mood.

They are sure cute. Have you had them outside so the other girls have seen them? or is it too cold for outside fun yet?

 

[Kaessa]

They are sure cute. Have you had them outside so the other girls have seen them? or is it too cold for outside fun yet?

We took them outside briefly the other day when it was 75 degrees out. I let the big girls out of the pen and let the little ones loose in the pen. And, they immediately tried to run through the wire fence. CRASH! We're just lucky they didn't hurt themselves, because they could fit part of the way through but their little wings stopped them. I picked them up and moved them further into the pen, and they hovered around me like I'm their momma duck.

I want to give them another week or so to get bigger so we don't have a repeat of the fence episode. Then we'll spend some time getting acquainted through the fence with the big girls. Once we start, I want them to spend a good bit of time outside every day so the other ducks get used to them. Maybe then by the time they're ready to go outside, they'll all be friends and I can put them together.

 

[Kaessa]

Time for cuteness overload: