Why I do it

Some readers of my blogs in recent days may wonder why do I do it? Why do I keep so many animals? It seems to have been one trial after another, one heart break after another. Yesterday the sun was out & as hubby & I took a wander around our little field I took some pictures that I think capture just exactly why I do it.

From reading other people's tales I think I am quite lucky to be able to keep all my animals together in one space, but 99.9% of the time it is a happy, peaceful place. It is my sanctuary, my church if you will. I don't believe in a traditional 'God', whatever that might mean, but I do believe in a Life Force that you sense if you only open yourself up to it. I can sit on the grass amongst my animals & feel at one with Mother Earth. I can feel the breeze across my face & feel at one with the Air. I can watch my ducks happily splash in their ponds & feel the joy of the Water element. The passion I feel for each & every one of my animals stirs Fire in my veins. It makes me feel whole.




If you look in a duck's eyes you can see a spark, if you look closer you can see the intelligence there. You can see a joyful lust for life. There's poetry in the lines of a duck, in the beauty of it's feathers. To see a duck become both graceful & playful in water is to smile with your heart.

To watch a hen is to instantly feel more attached to the earth. To enjoy them happily free ranging in the grass, feed on a handful of grain & then present you with a perfect egg is to begin to understand the bounty that Nature provides. The fluffy, frilly petticoats of a hen & the way she will sit tight on that egg until it hatches makes me feel my own Motherhood more strongly.

To raise a bird from a tiny ball of fluff to a large, powerful, magnificent creature like a goose is to witness life's miracle. To remain close to that bird & know you will always share a special bond swells your heart with love & pride. It is to be treasured far more than any trinket.

To win the trust & respect of a larger animal like a goat is a truly glorious thing. To have that animal look up at you with that trust showing in their eyes is humbling. To be able to run your fingers through their coat & know it calms them & gives them pleasure is in itself surely one of life's greatest pleasures.

I am a Mother, a Wife, a Daughter, a Sister, a Friend. These things are dearest to my heart. But my love of animals is part of my being, my very fabric, & always will be.

The loveliness of ducks & the darker side of hens

This weekend started off very well. Hubby & I were up early for a Saturday as we wanted to get the new goose house built. All the panels had been standing in the garage waiting for the weather to be good enough for the job. After all the rain we've had recently it also seemed like a nice day to move Tom & Cherry, our Cherry Valley ducklings, up to the field to join the rest of the ducks. Tom was relatively easy to catch, but it took a while to catch hold of Cherry & in the process I managed to give my head a good whack against the edge of the ferret's big cage - OUCH! However, when we finally had hold of the two of them they were as good as gold & were very calm as we carefully clipped their wings & then carried them up to our little field. We set them down on the grass close to the other ducks & then stood back to see what would happen. Well, Tom & Cherry are talkative little ducks at the best of times & certainly made enough noise to let the others know they had arrived! Straight away my sweet little Chalk, the female Muscovy ducklet, ran over to greet them hotly pursued by Cheese the male. She made a very peculiar noise - it wasn't a quack, more like an excited little crying sound. At first Tom & Cherry were a little alarmed at these slightly odd looking ducks & the noise level increased even more! But as tends to be the way with ducks their friendly & inquisitive natures soon took over & before you knew it they looked like best buddies who had always been together. Chalk & Cheese seemed to take them on a tour of their new surroundings, introducing them to the other birds as they went. It was very sweet! Daisy & Seymour the Aylesbury ducks took to them especially well, maybe because they are so similar looking. When they came across the ponds Tom & Cherry couldn't resist diving straight in & having a good old dabble. All -in- all it was a very successful introduction & we had two happy looking ducklings enjoying their new surroundings & new found friends. (Of course I had a few tears, I always find these moments very emotional!)

Tom & Cherry with new friend Chalk

Although it was the duckling's day, I couldn't resist taking this picture of Cheese. He is starting to get the trademark Muscovy caruncling around his eyes now & I think he looks gorgeous!

My handsome boy Cheese

The new goose house flew up a treat. We bought it from Steve Fisher Woodworking, the same place we got our large hen house from. I'd definately recommend him for well thought out, well made, good value for money poultry / waterfowl housing.

So the weekend continued in the same successful vein.

Until it came to the ex-battery hens. I knew they had been squabbling a bit, but they hadn't seemed to be hurting one another so I had let them be to establish their pecking order as hens must. I had tried letting them out into the garden each evening to give them more space, but they hadn't been brave enough to venture out. However, when I checked on them this afternoon, one poor girl had a nasty wound on the back of her neck where one of the others had obviously had a go at her. Because the wound was bleeding the hen had to be separated to prevent further bullying. I was so upset! I have only witnessed the odd squabble with hens - nothing like this! It does warn on the BHWT care sheet that they can be quite savage to one another, perhaps due to the savage conditions they have spent their lives in, but I still felt responsible for this hen's suffering. Fortunately, with the Cherry Valley ducklings up in the field the old rabbit hutch was free again so the injured hen is in there while we treat the wound. She seems quite OK in herself, considering the nastiness of the wound, so I'm hoping she will recover well.

On a more positive note, the rest of the ex-battery hens finally ventured out of the shed today. I can't be angry with them for what has happened. It's just a darker side to hens.

They didn't venture very far, they stayed within about a five foot square area just in front of the shed, but it was enough for them to wreak havoc! The totally stripped the leaves off some raspberry canes I had growing in a large pot & then set about shredding the leaves of my rose bushes! Oh, those naughty hens! If only they would venture a bit further onto the grass they would have all the grazing they could possibly ask for without destroying my garden. But I have to say it a joyous thing to watch them. They had very wide open, blinking eyes as they enjoyed all the new sights, sounds & sensations of being out in the fresh air. They looked so contented as they trashed my rose bed that there was no way I could get cross. They really are coming along very well & their feathers are even starting to re-grow. I'm hoping with the whole garden to explore they will now have enough to distract them from any further nasty bickering.

So, if it hadn't been for poor injured hen it would have been a perfect Saturday really. Let's hope she makes a full recovery soon.

A week on...

The little rescued Mallards continue to amaze me with their progress & fortitude. They have almost doubled in size I reckon & they are beginning to develop little characters. One is bigger than the rest, so maybe we have 3 ducks & 1 drake? Who can say - we'll just to have wait & see on that front! Here is an up to date picture of the little munchkins:

Ibbity, Bibbity, Bobbity & Boo approx 2-3wks old

They are so cute!

Fortunately long suffering hubby is completely smitten with them too, because at the moment they are living in a run in our bedroom. I must admit it is rather pleasant waking up to the sound of their cheery little cheeps in the morning, but not so pleasant having a constant whiff of duck poop in the air! But to see these little ones flourish when their story could so easily have been a very tragic one is more than compensation for that They are absolute darlings & quite happily let me climb into the run with them & 'chat' to them as they go about the business of feeding & stretching & preening. They are still on chick crumbs which they moisten with water before guzzling up this sort of duckling porridge. They have also enjoyed a limited amount of freshly picked grass & finely chopped lettuce.

This evening they have been splashing water from the mushroom drinker all over themselves & having a good old rub down. I think they are ready to have some shallow water to splash about in. As they are indoors I don't think a shallow dish of luke warm water will hurt for a few minutes. I know it's important not to let ducklings get wet & chilled, but as they are indoors & can be towel dried if necessary it seems important to let them fulfil their instinctive need for water.

The ducklings have been trying to wet themselves so they can preen properly

I gave my neighbour Mary a photo of them to pin up in her kitchen so that when they are big enough to join the rest of our ducks (which she can see from her window) she can remember just how tiny & vulnerable they were when we rescued them. That will be a happy day!

My biggest ducklings have seemed rather over shadowed in my blogging by the tiniest, but Tom & Cherry are also coming along just fine. They are very well feathered now, so hopefully they will be going to join the rest of the flock in our little field just as the rescued ducklings are able to go out into the garden. We have gone from having 3 ducks to 17 in a very short space of time & things have been a little hectic! I haven't spent nearly as much time with Tom & Cherry as I did with my Muscovy ducklings, but this hasn't stopped them being just as friendly, entertaining & lovable.

Tom & Cherry the Cherry Valley ducklings

So it's ducks, ducks & more ducks here ....... and then came along 6 ex battery hens! But that's for another blog.

Amazing little ducks

It's funny how different breeds of ducks have totally different personalities. Chalk & Cheese, our Muscovy ducklings, were pondering & inquisitive creatures who just absorbed every little thing about the world around them with a rise & fall of their crest feathers. Tom & Cherry, our new Cherry Valley ducklings, are a different kettle of fish altogether. They are very animated, talkative & cheeky little characters. For the first couple of days they appeared quite nervous & I wondered if I would have as close a relationship with them as I had with my lovely Muscovies. But with patience, a lot of time spent quietly talking to them & with a bit of bribery with titbits such as the trusted old meal worms I have quickly gained their trust. Now they seem to love my company, come trotting over to see me whenever I appear & will happily eat from my hands.

We kept them in the old rabbit hutch with a ramp down to a caged off patch of garden to begin with, so that when they felt confident enough they could venture out in safety. They have had a shallow trough of water to paddle & splash about in from day one as it's been so hot. (I don't think this would be so advisable normally as they still have a fair amount of baby down left, which in cooler weather may have got soaked & led to them getting chilled.) Then yesterday I let them out of the run for the first time. Here are their first few tentative steps - you can hear the way they constantly 'chat' to one another:

A few minutes later you would have thought they owned the garden space! They grubbed about excitedly in the longer grass, fought over a feather they found & then discovered the wild bird seed on the ground table & pilfered it. They had a peck at the toes peeping out of my sandals & decided they didn't taste so good, then they came & tugged on my t-shirt as much to say come & play too mum! They reminded me of toddlers - tearing around & having to poke their beaks in to anything they found. It was lovely to see the transformation in them. Of course I am totally crazy about them, but whereas it was relaxing to spend time in the garden with Chalk & Cheese it is quite exhausting watching the two of them!

Tom & Cherry pilfering wild bird seed

Grubbing about in the longer grass (a good excuse for hubby not to mow it !)

They are amazing little ducks!

We really are completely quackers!

We really have been bitten by the duck bug! Since raising the Muscovy ducklings we have fallen more & more in love with these enchanting creatures. They always seem to be happy & it's impossible to spend time with them without that cheeriness rubbing off on you & a big, soppy smile appearing on your face.

Chalk & Cheese continue to do very well up in the field with Donald, Jemima & Puddles our Khaki Campbells & Daisy & Seymour our Aylesbury ducks. They have remained very tame & will still come running if you rattle a tub of meal worms & greedily gobble them out of your hands!

Chalk & Cheese taking shelter from the scorching weather under a bench

But I think we were all missing that close contact of having baby ducklings out in the garden. We were tidying the garage when hubby, spying the half used bag of duck & goose grower pellets, completely out of the blue said that I should get some more ducklings so that the feed wouldn't go to waste. I tried not to think too much of it, but later in the day, having spent a lot of time working up in the field repairing fence posts surrounded by our lovely ducks & hens he suggested that we go to the Domestic Fowl Trust the next day to see what ducklings they had available! I was over the moon at the prospect of having little fluffy ducklings to hand rear again & Sunday just couldn't have arrived fast enough for me.

Now as we arrived at the Trust we did have a vague game plan that what we were ideally looking for were 2 Aylesbury female ducklings. The reasoning behind this was that our Khaki Campbell drake Donald had taken a real shine to Daisy the Aylesbury since her arrival & as her mate Seymour didn't seem at all perturbed we were not sure if the affection of 2 drakes would have an adverse affect on her well being! So we could take some of the heat off her as it were by upping the female:male ratio. Did we stick to this game plan? Well, not exactly! Well, not at all if truth be told! Hubby made the fatal mistake of asking if I wanted to have a look in the main sales room before asking to see if they had any ducklings available for hand rearing. As soon as we walked into the room we were greeted by the loud quacks of 2 truly beautiful crested ducks in a pen. I looked at hubby & he looked at me, & I knew we had both fallen in love with them, but I kept myself in check (only just) & after a quick look at the hens on sale for the day we carried on out to find someone we could ask about ducklings. Crested ducks are a bit special to us because we had a very eccentric crested drake Elvis not so long ago, but very sadly lost him to a fox attack. Anyway, we tracked down an assistant, a really lovely girl who I recognised had actually sold us our Muscovies & Donald, & before I could even get a word out hubby declared that to start off we would like to buy the pair of crested ducks!! Was it my birthday I wondered, or other such special occasion that had slipped my mind? No, I was pretty sure today wasn't a special day. Perhaps we were due a lunar eclipse, or maybe the heat was getting to hubby? I looked at him with my mouth open, as it is his more level headedness that we rely on really to prevent our place from being totally over populated with creatures! He just smiled & proceeded to ask the girl about ducklings & off to the duckling room we went. There was a brooder full of little ducklings even smaller than Chalk & Cheese had been that were so sweet, but hubby did manage to be stricter at this point & explain that what we really wanted was slightly older ducklings that could go straight to an outside pen to finish being reared. It was at this point that we were introduced to our new babies 'Tom' & 'Cherry', a pair of Cherry Valley ducklings.

Introducing Tom & Cherry the Cherry Valley ducklings!

I had never heard of the breed & they were quite a bit bigger than Chalk & Cheese had been when we first had them, but it was love at first sight! So they were coming home with us too! Now I'm not quite sure just how this last bit happened, it had all become a bit of a blur & I was already in duck heaven, but someone mentioned that there were also Indian Runner youngsters going up for sale that day. Hubby instantly remembered me saying something about Runners & asked me if that was the breed that I had mentioned fancying keeping at some point. I nodded furiously & he said that we may as well go the whole hog & take a couple of them too! At this stage I was starting to feel the need for someone to pinch me very hard! But before I knew it the 6 ducks were boxed up & we were heading home. They really were all ours & they really were coming home with us! On the journey home I started to just slightly worry a bit if we were doing the right thing in taking on so many in one go, but as I went through a mental check list of everything they could need (housing - tick;water - tick; feed - tick; room to free range - tick) I realised we did have the means & the capability of taking care of them & giving them a high standard of welfare. So I relaxed & just went with feeling of overwhelming excitement & thanked hubby over & over again! So here are the first pics of the new arrivals:

Tom & Cherry find their feet

Louise our West of England goose inspects the new arrivals

Introducing Harold & Rosie the Crested ducks & Indian Runners Big Chief & Little Wing!

I'll leave their stories here for now, except to say they have all settled in really nicely, have been excepted by all the other birds & we don't regret our purchases one little bit.