Did you guess the surprise addition to the homestead? We had an early wake up call from the post office that a box had arrived for us that needed to be picked up asap. Can you tell what was inside?
I hadn't told the kids what was on the way so woke I them up by sticking the box next to their ears. Chloe heard the peeping and yelled, "Ducks!" That's right, a box full of 2 day old Khaki Campbell ducks. I'll only be keeping a handful, as we don't have room for more than that, but I had to order 15, according to the hatchery's policies. A fellow homesteader will be taking the rest (to eat) but a lucky few ducks will be staying here to increase our egg productions. Khaki Campbell's are known for their egg production (up to 320 annually). These ducklings were hatched at JM Hatchery and I was very pleased with their service. They shipped 16 and I only lost 1 in the shipment, so I am thrilled, especially with the bitterly cold nights we've been having and the fact that these little guys spent more than a day traveling via the USPS. (let's hear it for something the USPS is doing right!)
packed tight and arrived safe and sound (mostly)
settling into the temporary cage in our laundry room
I couldn't stop taking pictures...they're are so dang cute!
After school, the girls wanted to check out the ducklings
Essie
Chloe was an expert in about 10 minutes on catching these quick little runners.
They move so much faster than the baby chicks did!
Essie wanted to take a video of the ducklings.
I also had to include a picture of today's egg collection. I had 1 that was soft shelled (which Caesar disposed of) and then later found this massive one. It has to be a double yoker. Its about the size of a normal duck egg (which we won't be getting for at least 6 months). I'm pretty sure "Big Red" is laying these big eggs, which I get about once or twice a month. She is our dominant hen and a bit bigger than the other ladies. The speckled egg was a nice surprise today as well.
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