Trying to fit 4 into 3 always presents difficulties, so it has been for me with 4 broods and only 3 large pens.
The Incubator ducklings were recently moved into the outhouse pen, but this left the mother duck with 5 ducklings confined to a coop in the same outhouse !
This Mother and 5 ducklings have been cooped up for 2 weeks and had to be given proper space to bathe and move around.
The only solution was to move the incubator ducklings outdoors during the day, and allow the mother with 5, the run of the outhouse during the daylight hours before putting the incubator ducklings back in for the night.
Today I bit the bullet and got the rota system going, time consuming since they had to be watched over to avoid being taken by predators. I also got my repaired camera back, and have taken today's shots with it. I was pleased to see the mother from the coop having a right good bath in a tub that was big enough, she fair enjoyed it. Short movie clip showing the incubator ducklings foraging under a bush below.
2 comments:
Amazing to see how much they've grown already and also how white the two yellow ducklings have gone.
Aye, the yellow ones will be totally white in another 3 weeks. Being fed adequate food of the right kind, means growth is faster than in the wild. Mealworm, soft lettuce, and chick crumb starter gives them a good start in life.
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