the cutest thing!

[aran]

Ok so my son and I have found a way to make this hobby EVEN MORE FUN for him. You will all most likely be aware that a weasel or mink or something killed some of his precious chickens and ducks including the baby chicks he had hatched himself. ( he actually hatched one himself with a toothpick and cotton buds when it got stuck in the shell...I helped him and we followed the thread advice on intervening in hatching) Well he was obviously devastated by the losses and so we have spent a small fortune on coop expansion and upgraded the alcatraz coop for added security. He wanted to get some little replacement chicks which we ordered and arrived nice and healthy from Ideal including 5 mille fleur duccles which he had seen at the county fair and wanted. We also replaced the one little female rouen duck which had been killed.

William swims with the duck in the bathtub! I kid you not...he fills the bath up with warm water and puts the little duckling in with him ( it is about 3 weeks old i think now) and she swims around him, cleaning and playing, nipping at his fingers and then when she wants a rest she climbs up on his legs and chills out for a bit then goes back to swimming.

Totally awesome experience for my boy and the duckling genuinely seems to enjoy it too.

For obvious reasons I cant post pics of this but trust me its REALLY cute.

 

[nccatnip]

It might seem like a simple, enjoyable thing for you as a parent to watch right now but trust me you are building wonderful memories for your son and great stories for him to share his entire lifetime.
Maybe you can pursuade William to don a bathing suit for you to get pictures for us to see!!!!

 

[aran]

he actually sits in the bath in his undies because he doesnt want the girl duck to see him without any pants on! Im sure I can find his bathing suit and get some pics of that.

 

[MissPrissy]

That is so sweet, Aran. What a beautiful childhood memory your son will have. Some day he will tell his grandchildren how as a boy he had a duck that swam with him in the tub and those children will think you are awesome for letting it happen and how cool he is for having the experience.

My husband thought I was insane letting the ducks swim in the kitchen sink everyday. For 6 weeks until we moved them outside I scrubbed the sink, filled it with nice warm water and let the babies swim for about an hour. They loved it! So did I. LOL

 

[ozark hen]

Aran, this is such a cool thread! Your son and this duckling have bonded so nicely! Does the duckling follow him around?

 

[bayouchica]

That's so sweet, great memories for your son.

 

[chickenranchwife]

That is sooo sweet, hope you can find his swimming trunks so we can see. What beautiful memories you are building for you and your son.

 

[bantymum]

I can picture this now, I would love to do that except my duckies poop whenever they hit the water!!!id love to see the pics too, even if you just show from your son's shoulders down in his swimmers, im very private with my son's photos as well!!

 

[Scrambled Egg]

That is so cute sounding and I can picture how sweet that must be - but don't post pics or some pervert will download them and distort something sweet into something disgusting and your son's memory will be so tainted. I wanted to get a little duck for my backyard pond but then I got worried it would eat all my goldfish and koi so I just appreciate the ones other people have instead!! Happy duck raising!!

 

[ChickieDee]

Very sweet. Reminds me of when we rented a house at the finger lakes in NY and a mother with her ducklings lived near our dock. They would swim around my son (he was 5 then) whenever he went in the water. It was sooooo cute and he just loved them. Whats cuter than a duckling?