An Original DUCKumentary...

...from the Nature show on PBS!

Watch it here:   http://video.pbs.org/video/2289741878/

We hope that you enjoyed that!

The New Kids

 We got a few chickens for bug/grasshopper control:

 

The ducks are wondering: "Who are you?!?".  

2 of the cottontail bunnies were out at the same time. =)

Cottontail Bunnies

Last year the pair of cottontail bunnies had a baby...they hung out in our yard and we even got to watch the mama nursing the baby under the peach tree nearest to our back porch...we sat on the steps and enjoyed....Our ducks would go up to their fence and visit with them and watch them...it was quite a sight to see...we'd know the bunnies were near when we saw the ducks up next to the fence visiting!  The baby used to hop back and forth through the duck's electric fencing!    

This year all three bunnies still come hang out every evening and into the night...our yard is a safe refuge for them and they don't seem to mind us sharing their space!  Debbie always says 'hi bunnies" to them as she walks through the yard or to the garden. 

Also this year there are three young ones that play "leap bunny" and "chase"!  

Our garden is safely fenced and we've never seen them eat anything in the various flower beds that we'd care about...one good thing about not having a dog...yard bunnies.  =) 

 

One evening last week, one of "our" yard bunnies was just sitting in the back yard, facing the house, perfectly still listening to our music...."A Thousand Years", "Village Lantern", "The Motion Waltz", "Send Me On My Way", "If it's Love", "Barking at the Moon", "All Over Now", and the bunny left during an Ed Sheeran song. =)  Is a wild bunny listening to 7&1/2 songs a record? He was really cute~ a little statue- head just slightly cocked, not even chewing his cud! =)

The latest news!  Our "Yard Bunnies" had 4 baby bunnies! ♥ We are so happy and proud of them!  Pleas discovered them under the trees behind the compost bin and nestled in a deep pile of leaves!  So cute!  

 

 Watch your step!

Want some kids of your own?

 Remember our "We Went Visiting~" post?  I was asked how to connect with Rick, and phone is best.

Rick's number is 972-722-7545

Rick has some sweet kids-

We went visiting~

~Rick Donaldson's Farm. Rick sells his own Homegrown Fresh Organic Produce at the Rockwall Farmer's Market, in Rockwall, Texas. (He also sells goats.) Hubby (Pleas) has been to visit Rick a few times, but this was our first trip. (Pleas was sick and missed out on the fun.)


The 3 "bottle-baby" Kids loved to suck on Adrienne's fingers...2 or 3 times she had more than one kid sucking at the same time, on the same hand! But they would stop when I got the camera out. :-(

Friends, Kids & Lunch in the Great Outdoors~ what could be better? (thanks Garry for taking this photo)



Rick and his little "bottle-baby" boy (after lunch)!

Our first duck eggs~

We are getting between 5-8 eggs every morning.

The brown egg is a regular sized chicken egg (from a friend)...you can see that it is pretty close in size to the duck-pullet eggs on the left of the photo. The large egg on top, is actually about full size for a duck egg! So, one of our girls is laying full size eggs already! =)

Still life~ Duck Eggs.
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(Pleas, with the egg basket that his oldest sister gave us- thanks Bess!)
Pleas, decided that fresh eggs are the way to go...he collects the eggs, brings them in cleans 2 and cooks them for breakfast (ducks lay their eggs very early in the morning). He does not want to eat "old" eggs again! (In order to take this photo with so many eggs in it, I persuaded him to eat chicken eggs for just one morning...he did, and said "YUCK"! We've been buying fresh chicken eggs from friends, but they just don't compare!

We've kept chickens for eggs before, three different flocks through the years. We decided we'd try ducks this time and raised them from ducklings. That was a first, we'd always bought young laying chickens.

The Pigs are getting big!

Pork is the pig in front, and Beans is behind.

When the Pork & Beans are hungry, they sound like they are dieing!
...such shrieks, squeals, and general pain you have probably never heard before....

Soaked wheat & rye, pig feed, oats, ground almonds,
apple scraps (left from the pie) & fresh garlic....

....make fat & happy pigs! See Pork's fat jowls?!?
~~~~~~~~~
To quote from the movie 'Babe': "Pork is a nice sweet meat!"

Our babies are growing up...

1. A couple of weeks ago, the Drakes voices changed. =( Somehow I thought that they would just go on "peeping", even though the Ducks' voices changed a long time ago...(I'm not really sure when).

2. They are starting to flirt.
One evening last week, one of the Ducks was standing by herself...maybe 3-4 feet from the rest, and one of the Drakes walked up to her, and said something to her. He stood next to her, and they put their bills together, and started to quietly talk (at the same time). The other 12 heard them and immediately stopped what they were doing, and the throng noisily joined them.

3. Tonight, was the first "date night".
I went out to lock them up for the night, and all was quiet, and I thought they had gone to bed. So I was praising them for being such good babies, when I spotted a duck head "slipping behind the barn" so to speak!
You guessed it: a Duck & a Drake trying to stay out all night....I had to round them up, but at least they went in willingly enough, and the Drake led the Duck in. =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FYI: What do you call them?
Male- Drake
Female- Duck
Baby- Duckling
Everybody- Flock

Pork & Beans are happy pigs! =)

We got our very first pigs at the beginning of July.

Sorry that it took so long to post about them!

Recycled concrete walk to the pig pen.

Mom and piglets~ they had no shade. =(
We bought our piggies from Rose Creek Farm.

We are home!

(dirty pigs!)

They were very skittish at first, not at all socialized.
But they like us now, and I can play with their ears! =)

This is our first experience with four-footed livestock, and we are enjoying them a lot.


Wilbur Beans in the pig house~ made of good old fashioned wooden doors!

(clean pigs!)

"Charlotte" who lives on the gate now! (she moved in after the video was taken)



That's all folks!

Uncle Pork

The Duckies Are Here!

Wow! A tiny little package! We ordered 20 Welsh Harlequin Ducks, and they sent 2 extras. We ordered from www.Holderreadfarm.com David Holderread wrote Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks. They all seem healthy and alert after a 36 hour trip from Oregon to Texas!

Pleas peeking at the little peepers!

Dipping their little bills in the water. One teaspoon of honey and a handful of chopped fresh garden greens in each quart jar.

Our reference to nail polish - we used Honeybee Gardens water based non-toxic polish. We dabbed a little spot on the right foot of the ducklings we presume are males. They have the darker bills. (But it did not stay on- it had come off in just a few hours- now how can we mark them, and they stay marked?!?)

Our Little Duck House, or "Duckingham Palace"