Hurray - I have my garden back!

This weekend wonderful, long suffering hubby fenced off a section of our little field so that I could do a strategic move around of the birds & reclaim the back garden before it got totally trashed by scavenging hens & ducks! Twice injured ex-battery hen Jess had healed up again & re grown some neck feathers, but I wasn't feeling confident enough to put her in with the rest of the hens. Puddles the Khaki Campbell duck was much recovered from the unwanted & rather rough attentions of Seymour the Aylesbury, but it was pointless putting her back in the field with him still on the prowl. The rescued Mallard ducklings had adopted Puddles as surrogate mum, so where ever she went the ducklings would want to go. What was best to do so that every bird's welfare was catered for? Well, after a bit of head scratching a plan was hatched, birds were caught & after a few ruffled feathers & surprised squawks a slightly puffed out eldest son & I had got it all sorted. Seymour was moved into the sectioned off area with his own mate Daisy so that poor Puddles could safely go up into the field with her duckling charges. Injured hen Jess, being quite used to ducks, was moved in with them making her visible to the other hens but safe from any aggression. This tactic will hopefully mean that a further attempt at introducing her to the flock might be successful, fingers crossed.

When freed back into the field Puddles immediately waddled over to rejoin Donald the Khaki Campbell drake & seemed to completely forget about her babies, so they looked bewildered & vulnerable to start with. However, lovely Chalk, my special Muscovy duck, soon arrived to investigate the new arrivals & seemingly sensing that they were only youngsters immediately took up position as their protector, seeing off some hens who flew at them rather aggressively. So with their unusual bodyguard the ducklings explored their new surroundings & companions. Pop, the gander, headed their way, head down, & for a moment I thought they were in trouble, but he was only making his presence known as top bird & king of the field. After just a few minutes the ducklings looked quite at home & were busily foraging for goodies in the grass. I knew that one discovery would make them extremely happy - the ponds! Sure enough, once they discovered the water they were happy little fellows happily swimming & splashing about. All four can fit into one pond, which is quite sweet to see. One of the Mallards (the one we call Ibbity) has a complete set of feathers now, but so far has shown no interest in flying away. I have stuck to the RSPB's advice & not clipped their wings so it is a case of 'will they' / 'won't they' fly off. They seem pretty contented at the moment anyway.

Seymour & Daisy didn't seem too perturbed at being separated from the rest of the ducks, but Tom & Cherry, the Cherry Valley ducks, were quite confused by the fact that they could no longer follow Seymour about in the hero worshipping manner they have humorously adopted. Silly billy Jess managed to get herself over the fence into the main field & was immediately surrounded by unwelcoming hens & had to be lifted back to safety! No injury this time though, so some slight progress I feel. She hasn't tried again since!

This afternoon all looks peaceful, with Tom & Cherry sat at the fence gazing at Seymour, the Mallard ducklings sat with Puddles, who seems to have taken up position of mother duck again, & everyone else just going about their business as usual. So I think I might dare begin tidying up my garden & plan some planting. However, Hubby says he has a sneaking suspicion that it won't be too long before some other rescued or orphaned creature will take up residence again. I can't imagine what makes him think that!

To finish here's picture of my gorgeous Muscovy drake Cheese, just because he was posing so nicely!

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.

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.

Where to start...

When I first started my blog I wondered if I would have enough news to fill it regularly, but writing it has made me realise 2 things:

1. Far from being mundane, my life is full of wonderful & exciting events (not exciting by most people's standards in an adrenaline pumping way, but exciting in an Earth Mother kind of way)

2. I should make sure that I relish every single second of this wonderful life in the countryside & take more time out from chores & the every day hum drum just to sit, absorb & be thankful.

The last few days have been very eventful & I don't know whether to start at the beginning or start with what has been most important to me. I guess starting at the beginning is probably sensible otherwise I'm bound to miss something (THE DUCKLINGS HAVE LEFT HOME!). Oops it slipped out! Yes, the event that tugged my heart strings the most was on Sunday when it was time for our Muscovy ducklings, Chalk & Cheese, to leave the back garden & join the geese, ducks, chickens & goats up in our little field. I knew it was time, I knew it was the right thing to do; I knew they needed to mix with other birds & behave as ducklings really should - but it was sooo hard. They weren't going far, but I knew that it was inevitable that that very special, close bond with them would weaken. I reminded myself that was the way things should be & that I couldn't remain the focus of their world forever ,so it was a case of being brave, shoving the Kleenex in my pocket & getting on with it.

The duckling's new home

The first job was catching hold of them & carefully clipping their wings (removing the tips from the flight feathers to prevent them from flying away in the future). Then eldest son & I carried them up to the field. It must have been bewildering for them to be confronted by this comparatively huge open space & all of those rather large birds & even larger creatures on 4 legs. We popped them down on the ground & they stood, teetering on their webbed feet, trying to get their bearings & take everything in. A hen approached out of curiosity & caused immediate alarm. Both ducklings puffed their chests out & tried to hiss scarily at the strange feathered monstrosity. It was much bigger than the wild birds who had been their companions in the garden. Unfortunately, this provoked a reaction from a couple of the young chickens, which we suspect may be cockerels, who flew at them causing further alarm. So far, not so good! My heart was sinking like a stone & I wondered if it had been wise to release them at 10 weeks old. Perhaps they should be returned to the garden for a couple more weeks or so. But, of course, that was the selfish devil on my shoulder talking again! The 'cockerels(?)' soon realised the ducklings were harmless & the ducklings soon realised what lush grass was beneath their webbed feet & what a lovely space they had to run, stretch & flap about in. The goats & geese had a quick peer at the new arrivals & quickly assessed that they were puny & of no interest whatsoever. The other ducks tried to say 'hello', but the ducklings played shy & they waddled on by. So it was clear that the ducklings weren't going to come to any harm & on what was a glorious, balmy evening my babies successfully began their new, independent lives. (Yes, I did need those Kleenex!)

Chalk & Cheese suddenly look small in the field!

The ducklings soon look more relaxed

To make the evening completely perfect, wonderful hubby dug me a hole so that we could install the new 'duck pond'. We already have a pond up in the field. It's actually the fish pond that we used to have in the front garden, together with a dozen or so goldfish. When hubby decided he wanted more seating area in our front garden at exactly the same time as our neighbours were looking to stock their newly installed pond it seemed like fate. So the goldfish moved next door & the pond moved up to the field. Unfortunately when the geese plop into it they displace so much water that it makes it quite daunting for the 3 ducks to get into, so they had been giving it a miss & making do with a small tray of water. Shame! I'd been looking for a suitable 'pond' for the ducks for a while when I found what was being advertised as a cattle trough on Ebay for a very reasonable price, so I took a chance & bought it. When it arrived the invoice actually described it as a 'deep plastering & mortar mixing bath'. Cattle trough or mixing bath it proved to be just perfect! Here it is installed, with a submerged breeze block at one end to ensure the ducks can get out easily:

And here it is getting the seal of approval from the geese:

It's deep enough for the ducks to swim in, but shallow enough that the geese don't make such a splash when they get in, so the water stays put.
The ducks soon followed & then the ducklings, so with tears in my eyes I drank in the scene as they swam happily in the new pond & the other animals around them peacefully went about their business & I thought - what a perfect little corner of paradise!


I'm determined to waste many more such precious moments just gazing....

Well this has turned out to be quite a lengthy update, so I'll close here for now & leave the rest of the weekend's event for another posting.

TLC & roses

Sometimes when you're under the weather what helps more than any pill is a good dose of TLC! Yesterday we visited my Mum & Dad for Sunday lunch & to collect middle son who had been staying with them for a couple of days. Eldest son was there too & my sister, her partner & my niece Joanna-Mai popped in, so it was really nice. My Mum has that special thing that only mum's possess that helps when you're unwell or hurting. Just as a magic kiss on a grazed knee always made things better when I was little, a big 'Mum hug' now still helps lots. It's that tangible mother love that envelops you in that hug that soothes & mends I think. As for my Dad, he's just amazing. He has Parkinson's Disease and although I'm sure he has his dark & depressed times with it, he never lets it show. He is always cheerful, always has a joke & is always positive & determined. He really is an inspiration! I came away feeling fully refreshed, topped up with TLC & with the news that eldest son is coming home from Uni for the Summer next weekend. Hurray!
Family were forefront in my mind as I sat out in the garden today quietly looking at the beautiful roses in my garden. Roses always remind me in particular of my Nan, who grew the rose 'Whiskey Mac' in her garden. A while back I planted a bush each in memory of my Gran & my Nan, & one's that seemed appropriate to all the female members of the family. A couple haven't survived for one reason or another, so I was thinking that I must replace them. My roses aren't perfect, because I don't like to use sprays on them, but they do hold sentimental value for me.


Oh, and a young ducklet named Chalk certainly enjoyed the dead heads. I don't know if it was the rose petals or the greenfly she was relishing!

Chalk rummages through the dead heads

Animals are such a tonic!

I've been feeling under the weather with a flare of my fibromyalgia / cfs symptoms, which fortunately is a relatively rare occurrence these days. I try to do everything I can to shut it out & reduce it's affects on my life as much as possible, but it's at times when I feel unwell that I especially appreciate having firstly my very caring family & secondly my lovely animals around me.

The dogs were very confused because normal routines went out of the window. Because my blog has been filled with duckling & hen stories you wouldn't have guessed yet that I'm a massive dog lover, or should that be a massive lover of dogs? I may be heavier than I'd like to be, but not massive yet! We have four dogs; Polo the Westie, Maggie the border terrier, Meggie the lurcher & Mabel the Jack Russell / Yorkshire Terrier cross. They are all very special & I promise I will introduce you to them soon! They all sat outside the bedroom door while I was in bed & were besides themselves with excitement when I finally emerged. They were then glued to my side in case I disappeared again, nudging at me & wanting to be as close as possible to me. I do love them so! When I feel recovered I will treat them to long walkies & lots of extra pats & cuddles to make up for being a rubbish mummy these last couple of days.

Later I spent a quiet hour out in the garden with Chalk & Cheese the ducklets. They are about 8 / 9 weeks old now & far too big to be called ducklings any more. Here are some up to date pics:

'Chalk'

'Cheese'

They are so grown up now that it's time to start thinking about taking them up to our little bit of field & introducing them to the hens, Khaki Campbell ducks & geese. I want to do it while they are still small enough not to be a threat to Pop, our gander, but big enough to pretty much take care of themselves & free range with the other birds. They are really quite good at foraging in the garden now (with the odd treat of mealworms, lettuce or grated carrot) & only eat a bowl of their growers pellets in the evening before bed time. In fact they have become a bit too good at free-ranging! At first the worst they did to my raised beds was squish a few onion & shallot plants. But now all that remains of my baby leeks & beetroot plants is one small dug up beetroot & bare earth! However, sat watching them in the pleasant evening sunshine was such perfect, peaceful bliss that I really didn't care one bit. Cheese was especially funny listening to & watching the wild birds in the garden whilst chilling out in the pool, his crest feathers rising & falling inquisitively. Chalk was busy preening herself. She's still more feathered than Cheese & her beak is starting to develop it's red colouring.

Another thing that put a smile on my face was receiving my first parcel from Primrose Hill Studios. I have never opened such a beautifully wrapped package before! My little covered notebook & gingham lavender heart were made by a lady who clearly puts a lot of love into her craft work. Have a peak at http://www.primrosehillinteriors.com/.

And yet another big thing to be very happy about is that eldest son has passed his first year exams at Uni, with a first in Artificial Intelligence!!! I'm so excited & proud of him! Middle son has finished his GCSE's now, but he has quite a long wait for his results - fingers crossed that he's done as well as he deserves to after working hard for them.

So clearly no reason at all for feeling sorry for myself here! My life is full of so very much to feel happy about & I'm a very lucky lady. Onwards & upwards as they say.

Life's cycle

It has been a funny old week.....

Last weekend the weather was glorious. Eldest son was home from University for the weekend - yippee! The ducklings had been released into the back garden & it was time to give them their first swimming lesson. I had bought a child's paddling pool for them, not the inflatable type but the type that has quite rigid sides that are held up with the weight of the water as you fill it. It was a very exciting moment as we carried them towards the filled pool & placed them into the water. Oh dear! That was obviously not a good idea. Chalk & Cheese were both quite shocked by this mass of cold water & couldn't get out of the pool fast enough. Not what we were expecting at all! We thought that they would take to it.. well, like ducks to water. However, after a bit of reassurance the intrepid twosome decided the pool was worth a second investigation.

Chalk & Cheese give the pool a second look

First of all it was Chalk (the duckling we believe is female) who first dabbled in the water, then bravely clambered in to give this new experience another chance.

Well, it wouldn't do for a boy duckling to be out done by his sister, so it wasn't much longer before Cheese gingerly climbed in too. Perhaps he was more hesitant because he has more of his downy baby feathers left.

Chalk took a little longer to be persuaded into the water

After that there was no stopping them & they had lots of fun splashing us as we watched & laughed as the two of them had a thoroughly good time behaving just as ducks should do.

Watching our bird table it is clear that the ducklings aren't the only birds who are growing up fast. We have been treated to the sight of starling fledglings, looking bigger than their parents due to still being quite fluffy, being fed bits of suet from the table by very harassed looking adults. Gradually the parents have begun refusing to feed the fledglings & they have had to work out for themselves how best to tackle each of the different types of feeder on the table. One of the fledglings has a deformed leg. It seems to be at right angles to his body & he can't hang from the suet ball feeders like the other starlings can. Of course, my mothering instinct has kicked in & he has instantly become my favourite & I anxiously watch out for him each day. It is costing quite a lot to keep the table stocked at the moment what with hungry parents & even hungrier fledglings visiting, but we have been rewarded with quite a variety of visitors. Our regulars include green finches, chaffinches, gold finches, blue tits, great tits, robins, sparrows, dunnocks, ring necked doves, a magpie, a rather handsome wood pigeon (Sargent Major) & a lesser spotted woodpecker (Woody). Oh, & if you were wondering how the baby blue tits in our next box are getting on, they have successfully fledged, although unfortunately I didn't get to see them go. Hubby & I are sure we have seen a flash of another bird visiting the box. We are sure it isn't another blue tit, so we are trying to catch a proper glimpse of what may be a new occupant.

Family routine has been a bit upside down this week as middle son (16 yrs old) is on study leave as he is taking his GCSE exams. Eldest son (19 yrs old) has just finished his first year University exams. Youngest son (14 yrs old) is currently undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award. On a Wednesday after school he helps out with a scheme called Play Rangers to fulfil the volunteering section of the award. This is a scheme aimed at encouraging kids to take part in outdoor play, by setting up games & crafts activities in a local park. He also had a practise camp this weekend to give him a taste of what the expedition part of the award will be like. So I have been reflecting on how quickly my own 'babies' are growing up. I have to say I am a very lucky mummy & I watch with incredible pride as they each grow up into amazing individuals & with interest as they each start to grow into adults & begin to make their own decisions & find their own place in this big wide world.

The week has finished off with chilly downpours of rain & with a bit of sadness. Rodney, our lovely bantam cockerel who has diligently looked after our hens for 5 years or so, passed away peacefully yesterday. We thought he was coming to the end because, although he appeared perfectly healthy, he was spending more & more time sleeping. In the end it seems he went off to sleep for good & as his life's journey reached an end. We think he must have been seven or eight because he was 2 or 3 years old when he came to live with us, so I hope that counts as a good innings. Hubby buried him for me today so he can be forever amongst his hens.

And so the circle of life turns & as we enjoy the zest of the ducklings as they begin their life's adventure, & our pullets grow up, little Rodney's life ends. It's the way of things & we shouldn't dwell & be sad for long. We should all rejoice in each day, take time to appreciate the wonder of Nature around us & make the most of our own life journeys. For some reason the first few words of a hymn that I used to love as a child came back to me today, & although my own beliefs are far removed from my Sunday School days now, I looked up the hymn to share with you:

'Daisies are our silver,

Buttercups our gold,

This is all the treasure

we can have or hold.

Raindrops are our diamonds

and the morning dew;

While for shining sapphires

we’ve the speedwell blue.

These shall be our emeralds-

leaves so new and green;

Roses make the reddest rubies ever seen.

God, who gave these treasures

to your children small,

teach us how to love them

and grow like them all.

Make us bright as silver:

Make us good as gold;

Warm as summer roses

let our hearts unfold.

Gay as leaves in April,

Clear as drops of dew-

God, who made the speedwell,

Keep us true to you.'

Beautiful words don't you think, no matter what 'god' you believe in.

Duckling adventures in the BIG wide world!

The ducklings are growing so fast that by last weekend it was clear that they had out grown their pen & water tray & that it was time to introduce them to the wider world.

Chalk & Cheese's moment of freedom

So the run door was opened & Chalk & Cheese were allowed the freedom of the back garden. I felt a little bit like I did when I took my boys to nursery school for the first time, as I looked anxiously on to see what they would make of this big new world. There were so many new things for them to explore. They were clearly very excited, cheeping constantly to one another & shaking their tail feathers like exuberant little puppies.

The ducklings happily explore

They busily trotted around the garden, bravely testing out every new thing they came across like intrepid explorers. Until they came across THE ALIEN MONSTER FROM ANOTHER PLANET.....

What's this strange creature mum?

At first, although it looked very weird & was completely devoid of feathers it appeared that it meant the ducklings no harm & their curiosity was about to get the better of them, then....

Help mum! It's chasing us!

... the monster charged towards them, clearly intending them to be it's next meal or some such perilous thing! It really was funny to watch! The poor ducklings ran as fast as they could back to me to take refuge from the monster. (Of course, I am happy to say that after a few more close encounters the ducklings & the tortoise now happily co-exist in the garden!)

After the danger had passed it was time to resume the exploration of the garden, including waddling across mum's raised bed & trampling her baby leek plants & beetroot. However, it was impossible to get the slightest bit cross as it was such a joy watching the pair of them enjoying themselves so much. I think ducks always look as though they are smiling & are one of Nature's happiest creatures, but that day the ducklings were positively grinning.

Feeling confident in their ability to take care of themselves & not get into too much trouble I have been able to let the ducklings out into the garden every day now, firstly supervised on every occasion, then watched from the kitchen window & now just checked regularly. They have a ramp up into their hutch so that they can get inside if it suddenly rains or if they are spooked by anything & they very dutifully climb up it into bed every evening at about 8pm, which is a bit of a relief because their claws are quite long now!

It's time to end this blog here, as I have to ferry middle son to school for his next GCSE exam, but later I will let you know how Chalk & Cheese got on with their first swimming lesson.

Like ducks to water!

Today has been a very moving day in the garden for me. I gave the ducklings a larger tray of water to splash in & it was such a wonderful sight watching them take to the water just as ducks should do.

Just enough room for two!

As I topped up the bird table with various types of feed I wondered if the ducklings would like some of the dried mealworms I put out mainly for my regular robin visitor. Well this is how much the ducklings LOVE having mealworms thrown into their water!!

While I play mummy to 'Chalk' & 'Cheese' I am aware of the flurry of activity going on around me as other birds busily feed young ones. The birds in our back garden seem to have got used to me being out with the ducklings and boldly overcome their natural fear to gather food from the bird table literally just a couple of feet away from me. We have starlings nesting in the eaves of our neighbour's roof & today the parents were busily collecting suet from a hanging coconut for them. This year we put up a couple of nest boxes for the first time & we are lucky enough to have blue tits nesting in one of them. The parents have been fearless in feeding them no matter what has been going on in the garden:

One of the parent blue tits arrives with food

I felt incredibly privileged to witness one of the youngsters close up, peering out into the big wide world:

One of the blue tit chicks looking almost ready to fledge

It looked very well feathered & I almost thought it was going to fledge right there in front of me, but I guess it won't be long now. Mother Nature never ceases to bring joy & wonderment if we just take time out to watch!

Someone else was enjoying the sunshine in the garden today - Jenny, our tortoise. Here she is helping hubby weed the path:

'Jenny' the tortoise helps with the weeding!

And guess who else likes mealworms? You guessed it!

Mealworms taste good to tortoises too!

I shall have to buy a bigger tub!

(If you were wondering how we got on with releasing the pullets out into the rest of the flock then we decided to wait another day & will try this evening)

First a dabble .... then a paddle!

The ducklings may be imprinting me as some kind of mother figure as baby birds do, but one thing's for sure they are imprinting on my heart more & more with each day I spend with them. With better weather I have been able to let them out onto the grass more & I can quite happily spend hours just watching their engaging ways & their funny little characters emerge. They are very attached to one another, a definite pair. They are too big to be picked up together in one armful now & although they do not mind being handled by me they cheep loudly to one another until they are reunited.

I am pleased to say that they are thriving - bright eyed, healthy & full of an infectious zest for life. Food wise they have a more varied diet now - today grated carrot & snails for breakfast today with a spent potato plant for supper on top of their grower pellets & grass. No wonder they are growing right in front of my very eyes!

As it has been warmer & both are fairly well feathered on their undersides, I let them have a shallow plastic bowl of water to play in. At first they just enjoyed a jolly good dabble:

Then a paddle:

Chalk enjoys a paddle!

Then a lot of preening took place. They splashed water across their backs, pulled out loose bits of their baby fluff & had a jolly good shake of those new feathers. I told them how beautiful they were & they happily strutted about in their nice clean plumage, then posed for their close up shots:

'Chalk' above, 'Cheese' below

And talking of well groomed ducks, here's a picture of 'Donald' the Khaki Campbell drake ( I mentioned earlier that we got on the same day as the ducklings) with one his girls:

Now isn't he a handsome fellow? The two ducks, Jemima & Puddles, are a lot happier now he has arrived. We did have 4 Khaki Campbell ducks & a crazy Crested drake called Elvis (who had a wonderful quiff & for some reason spent most of his days dancing around in mad circles), but very sadly we lost 2 of the ducks & Elvis to a fox attack. It was the one night that somehow between us we forgot to shut them away, along with the chickens & geese, & I don't think we will ever forgive ourselves. I think it was only down to the fact that the birds share their field with 2 pygmy goats that we didn't lose all 5 ducks, possibly the geese & probably some of the chickens, because although they had roosted in their house the pop hole hadn't been closed. I'm sure the goats must have disturbed the fox & driven it away because I have heard that they usually massacre everything. I have a very loud alarm set on my mobile phone now, so that we will never forget again!! It was very upsetting.

Anyway to end on a happier note it's forecast to be nice weather again tomorrow, so the ducklings can have another lovely time paddling about. Also, we are planning to release our pullets into the rest of the flock of hens, so wish us luck with that because we aren't sure how it's going to go. The 8 pullets have been living in the chicken house with the other chucks, but inside a cage while we've been growing them on, so that the older birds can see them but not get at them, so we are hoping they will be fairly well received.

The pullets waiting to join the rest of the flock

I'll let you know.......