Our egg ducklings are now three weeks old, and the weather is nice and warm. We are moving them out of the brooder!
By the bucketload!
They will be locked in the duck-mobile for the next couple of weeks, though. They are too small to be running around without overhead cover. They are just snack-sized to a hawk.
5 in the first bucket, then back to the shop to load up the next 4.
This works best as a team.
Seppi’s job is to make sure they don’t hop out of the bucket, because chasing baby ducks around the shop is not fun.
The “automatic” door is unplugged so it will stay closed until we are ready to let them out to forage.
They are not at all happy about what is happening to them.
They don’t know what all this bright yellow stuff is, but they are pretty sure it must be deadly for ducklings.
The older ancona ducks were politely interested in the plight of the newcomers.
But perhaps more interested in why the door to their duck-mobile was suddenly closed so they couldn’t get in.
It’s a small space, and will get fouled with poop quickly so we will have to move them regularly for a few weeks until they are big enough to be out on their own. Ideally we want them trained to spend the night in the duck-mobile.
As is not the case with the older Ancona ducks.
Little Farm in the Big City 