The New Flock

This weekend we went to the store to buy pine shavings for the chicken coop.  I had just hosed it all out and removed the build up that happened over winter. We got to the store just after closing.  So we tried again the next day and went to Aslin Finch.  We completely forgot our mission when we saw baby chicks.  I had my eyes on some Golden Sebright bantams online at my petchicken.com and I recognized one in the assortment.  I also recognized another Easter Egger.  We left without either (and mind you, any pine shavings) to go explore Big R.  The next store had quite a selection of chicks in many different breeds including another Golden Sebright.  So we nabbed it with the intent of purchasing the other two at Aslin Finch.  But... we also came away with three ducklings!  How's that for a simple trip just for pine shavings?  Two stores, six birds and finally the shavings!

Can you see how delightfully fuzzy their down is?

Everybody gets along, phew!

The ducks weren't the kind I had in mind, but that was a familiar story- such as how we ended up with the first three chickens last year.  I wanted Khaki Campbells, but we came away with 2 Swedish Blues and 1 black Cayuga. They have won us over already. The chicks remain unnamed, but the ducklings are Cheese and Quackers, Cecil, and Hershey.  Here's what Baby Dragon has to say about his duck Quackers, "I like ducks because they cuddle you, nibble you, and follow you around.  They're fluffy, cute, adorable, and fuzzy."  Yes, he said all that!  And it's all true.



Cecil receiving the near death grip.

The nice way to hold a duckling!

You know that saying, "like a duck to water?"  Well that's because they really do love it. We are astonished at how much they drink and play in it.  They can't swim because they don't have their feather oil yet. They have huge webbed feet that have a hard time on slippery hardwood floors.  Their bills are so much bigger than the chick beaks.  And their duck bum fuzz is so darn cuuuuuute!

Duck Bum