Pipd's Peeps 2014!

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Okay, 'Little One' is still drying off a bit and my good camera doesn't want to take pictures through the window on the incubator, so here are some crappy cell phone pictures for now! Let's see if I can get this to work...

Stretching it out

Baby's right eye doesn't seem to want to open all the way, although as it dries it seems to be coming further open.

Crash! Such a precious baby!

Little One is so much stronger than I expected! I had heard call ducks were frail, and even though she was a bit of work to get to hatch, she seems nice and strong already! She keeps lifting her head and looking right at me! She's been sleeping with the thermometer (that round, black thing in the pictures) for a while now.

 

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Nice work Little One! Can't wait to see her? Him? Which ever is preferred!

I keep calling the baby a him, although it would probably be better if it turns out to be a her. So let's go with her for now.

Yay!  Can't wait to see "her"!   Are you going to raise her with chicks or what?

Well, I hadn't planned on only one hatching and figured I'd have at least two to keep each other company. I really don't have the room for more chicks, so for now, I'm going to try to raise this baby on its own. I'll be decking her brooder out with a stuffed animal to cuddle with and hopefully a mirror to keep her company.

 

[lightchick]

She's adorable!!! That face! If I get a duckling I'm only going to get one, but I may raise it with a chick or something. I've raised a black sex link chick by herself before and I turned out ok!

 

[ChickenChatten]

Ahh she is so adorable! I can't get enough of her! So excited to watch her grow!

 

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Little One is out in her brooder box now and bobbling along just fine! Can't believe how quickly she took to her feet! She is under the EcoGlow and I put a paper towel curtain over it to help her feel safe and keep warm on her own. I haven't found a stuffed animal suitable for keeping her company yet, but she seems just fine as is. Maybe the curtain is enough? She's so clever, too! She figured out the water dish before I had the chance to show her what to do with it! EEK, she is just too stinkin' cute!!

Pictures, of course! She's all fluffed out now, but has just a little 'egg gunk' on her head, so she still looks a little slicked back there. I've been gradually cleaning her off, but it does not make her happy, so I'm trying to take it slow.

Here's the baby!

Bright eyes!

Look at this face!! It almost looks like she's smiling!

...And when ducky's done with the photo op, she makes it quite apparent.

ETA: Oh, I forgot to mention. It isn't very clear in any of these pictures, but her right eye did finally open up the rest of the way.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Your daily dose of cuteness! I have a paper towel draped over the EcoGlow so that the baby is able to stay warm on her own, and I cut strips into it to give her the 'walking through mama's feathers' sort of feeling. And then she did this! I'm dying here! Peek-a-boo!

In other news, the chicken babies are having their first free-range! I'm so nervous right now!! I have the fence open for their little area, and thus far, they have stayed inside there since I opened it. I hope they know where to come back to tonight!

 

[lightchick]

Adorable!!! Does she peep a lot? When I had a chick by herself she would peep a whole bunch if I left her too long! But of course she was used to having other chicks around her before that.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Not really, to my surprise! She does chatter quite a bit when she's eating or drinking, but it doesn't sound like a distressed peep. More of a happily chattering to herself kind of noise. And then she wibbles her way back under the EcoGlow and has a nice nap. It may be because I have a baby monitor in the chicken coop, and so it sounds like there are other birds around her. Anyway, she seems content as is. I have a few things ready, though, for if she gets too needy.



Speaking of, I haven't really been calling her Little One so much--in fact, the nickname Wibbles has been my most common go-to when talking to her. She wibble-wobbles all over the place, and plus I've noticed that when she peeps, she kind of goes, 'Peep-peep-wibble-wibble-wibble'. It's too cute. So anyway, I'll probably refer to her as Wibbles for now when I post about her.


And on the babies' first free-range, it actually went quite well! I had to herd them back from the driveway gate once, but for the most part, they stayed either in their yard or across the driveway in the bushes. They did so well! My babies! I'm so proud! I did have to shoo some of the big girls out of their section of the coop so they could go to bed, though. Poor things were scared to go in there!

 

[lightchick]

Wibbles is a very cute name. Now I want a Duckling more then ever!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Well, I don't want to neglect my other babies, and so I have fresh pictures of them from today! I did not take pictures on Sunday, even though they were 13 weeks old on Sunday, because this is my last week of summer vacation. I expect to be too busy for much else other than school as of next week, and so unfortunately that means I will be going down to once monthly photo ops every 19th. :/ So today was their official 3 month photo op!

Anyway, here are the babies! It was wet and rainy today, so some of the pictures are somewhat dark. Also, some of the girls didn't want to pose nicely (I'm looking at you, Elly!). But oh, well.

Elda!

Kit!

Georgie!

Louise!

Mabel!

Poppy!

And Violet!