I was at Orschelns the other day and definitely thought about bringing home a duckling...why I would want one I have no idea but they are so cute!
I haven't been on for a while but I wanted to say I have buff orpingtons and they are now 4 weeks old going on 5. They are all in my basement and I set the food and water on shoe boxes to keep them from pooping in them or getting pine chips in them. This morning I went down stairs, walked right up to the brooder and found a chicken standing on the fencing going around the cage there to greet me. The last week or so I've noticed a huge difference in their reactions to me and my husband. They no longer run away and instead just stand there looking at us which is exactly what this one did. So I picked it up and put it back and moved the shoe boxes away from the wall of the breeder. I have a feeling she just jumped from the shoe box up onto the fence.
I'm glad to hear everyone's doing well. I attempted a hatching project with my students at school and they only got 7 - 8 chicks out of 36 to start with. I gave them the responsibility of all of the turning and that didn't lead to a good hatch but I think it was a great experience for the kids, many of whom had never seen chicks in real life (thus the question "aren't they all supposed to be yellow and fluffy? Why are they so ugly looking?" Haha). I think next year I'll be sure to be a little more strict about following protocol when it comes to the chicks...
