Duck, Duck, Goose ... x 2

Time for a 2017 edition of the Blackham Backyard Birds.

Part 1 "Duck, Duck, Goose ... x2"  

(parts 2 and 3 will come later)

Starting with the Spring set.

Duck eggs in the incubator. Of the seven started, four eventually hatched. This set of four was a little more feral than other ducks we'd raised in past years. They were wild, not eating from our hands or even coming that close. Admittedly, we were a bit distracted by the geese (their story below) who were extremely interactive. These four seemed very petite ... we wondered if we had four females, but they flew away before we knew for sure. They sure didn't stick around for long.

 ... while we were waiting for the duck eggs to hatch, Grayson bought two baby geese from a breeder. About twice the size of a  duckling, they were adorably off-balance (they would easily topple over before they found their feet, and their swimming was not nearly as graceful... they ended up going backwards most of the time). These babies loved human interaction and would eat out of our of our hands and snuggle by our feet. One of the babies (a few weeks old at that point) got under the fence and into the front yard just as a little girl was riding by on her bike. Little goose girl followed the her all the way around the neighborhood (we did track them down and brought Goose Girl safely home). 

I know Canadian Geese have a reputation for being mean ... but not these two. They were so sweet and just wanted to play (and to be fed). They would hang out on the back porch, peeking in the window, and even came into the house a couple of times, They loved lettuce and greens more than our ducks ever had. They pooped everywhere. They grew so fast and outgrew our backyard so they had to move onto larger, greener pastures. We sure missed them when they were gone. 

Here's a video montage of the Spring experience ...