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.

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.