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Ducklings Move Out, Cinnamon Moves In

 

Lots of food, water, and Cinnamon's warmth yielded vigorous duckling growth.

After one week, it became important to move the chucklings (friends have had fun coming up with hybrid names) outdoors. So I built a brooder coop for the family. By the time the youngsters were two weeks old, they were consuming over three gallons of water a day. No kidding. I could hardly keep the waterer full! Between eager drinking and bill-smacking splashiness, the water disappeared. Here you see the brooder coop placed adjacent to the large coop, where Bess looks on and Cinnamon stands guard.

When the chucklings were two weeks old, a new owner for the babies was found, and one by one I collected the plump, warm little siblings and put them in a box. Cinnamon protested, trying to protect them, but never pecked me. Yesterday, I allowed her to jump out of the brooder coop for her first foraging jaunt around our property in many weeks. Re-integration with Bess and Vita is a little rough, but getting better today. Cinnamon has had her brood, and is resuming life as a free agent hen.

The babies will be kept warm by a heat lamp, and by each other.

Cinnamon's Family

June 14 UPDATE: Please scroll down to see the video~

Unaccustomed to a human hovering over their box, the babies scamper into the carrier and under their mama when I approach, so I'm not certain of the final duckling count. So far, I've counted six at one time. They all look perfectly fluffy and highly mobile!

All seven babies are alive and well, and living in their box as well as on YouTube. Here's a new video taken when they were four days old, June 14, 2012:

 

 

Birth Announcement: Cinnamon Succeeds!

 

Yesterday, Cinnamon stayed nestled in her preferred corner of the nest box.

As I type this, Cinnamon's life as a surrogate mama chicken has begun. The Khaki Campbell eggs are hatching today! As a routine check on the broody little hen, I opened the nest box cover to peek in. The sight of a broken shell prompted me to lift Cinnamon up. Had an atrophied egg been broken? No! I saw a wriggling mass of damp, downy ducklings! I also saw an egg in the process of being pecked open. I quickly replaced Cinnamon, who was distressed of course. Later today, I will move mama and babies to the brooder box I have set up for them in our greenhouse.

 

I called Amy and Eli and announced the hatch, which is coming a day ahead of the estimated 28 days. Eli warned me (as I am now warning my readers) that there may be deformities as a chicken hen may not have the perfect hatching technique for ducklings.

Two large boxes with a cat carrier and lots of fresh wood shavings will be the temporary home for the new family.

The one duckling that rolled out from under Cinnamon's wing when I checked the progress a second time looked hearty indeed. I'm keeping my chicken-and-duck-keeper's fingers crossed! Photos will soon follow..