Sleet Nest Duck Eggs

[Tnballgirl]

Maybe one of the moms has some questionable heritage...

But now you MUST update us as they grow up, the story is not done! Does the little black duckling grow up to be different kind of duck?

It sounds like a kid's book....

We bought 2 mallards 2 years ago, a drake and a Susie. Last year, the Susie raised 11 babies to adulthood. One was hit by a FedEx truck in the Winter. The rest have paired and thrupled up. These eggs are from one of them...not sure which because she never sat. But they all should be mallards...

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

We bought 2 mallards 2 years ago, a drake and a Susie. Last year, the Susie raised 11 babies to adulthood. One was hit by a FedEx truck in the Winter. The rest have paired and thrupled up. These eggs are from one of them...not sure which because she never sat. But they all should be mallards...

The little black duckling doesn't 100% match my Kahki Campbell babies, the beak is different and mine are not so very black at birth as your Mischief was. I suspect @Miss Lydia is right and the baby is a black Mallard.

Gosh what fun!

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's only a guess but since they come in white why not black. Hopefully, we can keep following these little ones and see how this blk one turns out once feathers start coming in.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Hopefully, we can keep following these little ones

We seem to all have become emotional involved with this impossible story of overcoming obstacles... And gosh, that baby was just delicious sitting on her hand as though it was a divan... (Sigh)

We don't want the story to end!!

 

[Tnballgirl]

Update: the 4 horsemen are outside.

Now for the even stranger update.
One of my susies came up with newly hatched babies 3 days ago.....4 of them.....and one is black. Its a carbon copy of my hatch!
Unfortunately, there are.only 2 of hers left this.morning but it appears she has enlisted the help of a goose.(not our goose, no idea where the goose came from) but it is guarding the babies and momma and hissed at me when I went out to feed this morning.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Oh! They are so adorable!

The duckling looks like a Kahki Campbell but there are some others that look similar when little.

I love that picture in the pond. I understanding correctly that you had 3 standard and one little extra and then another identical clutch showed up? That seems pretty unusual!

 

[Tnballgirl]

Oh! They are so adorable!

The duckling looks like a Kahki Campbell but there are some others that look similar when little.

I love that picture in the pond. I understanding correctly that you had 3 standard and one little extra and then another identical clutch showed up? That seems pretty unusual!

YES! I hatched the 3 expected mallards from the ice, and then one of my Susies(there are 4, the original mother and 3 adults that she hatched last year) had an initial group of 3 regular looking ones and the one little black one! So 2 different sets of the SAME outcome....
Except the "wild" ones are down to 2 babies, the black one and one regular one. My four are all still growing, now in their outside kennel.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

YES! I hatched the 3 expected mallards from the ice, and then one of my Susies(there are 4, the original mother and 3 adults that she hatched last year) had an initial group of 3 regular looking ones and the one little black one! So 2 different sets of the SAME outcome....
Except the "wild" ones are down to 2 babies, the black one and one regular one. My four are all still growing, now in their outside kennel.

You might want to buy a lottery ticket. Those numbers are just too odd! randomness is broken in your garden

 

[Tnballgirl]

Glad you could give me a smile today. Been a rough weekend (and week) and I'd just found this thread. Makes me happy and tingly inside.

And that little dark one should be named Mischief.

Check out the update

 

[bhaugh]

Nothing better to protect those ducklings than a Canada goose!