Puff & Squeek – Super Cute Fluffy Yellow Balls

Being my day off today means I’ve got time for blogging.  First I thank God that another duckling hatched last weekend after the 2nd healthy-looking one died within 24 hours of hatching.  Now I have 2 ducklings again.  It’s always good to have them as pairs.  I only had 8 duck eggs set in the incubator, 2 were infertile, 2 full-term failed to pip, 1 pipped but failed to hatch, and 1 died within 24 hours of hatching.

I got interested with ducklings when my massage therapist suggested the natural progression before I get a couple of goats or sheep is to try ducks first.  And ducklings are very cute.  Much cuter than baby chicks.  Since I only have two ducklings, I gotta have names for these fluffy yellow balls.  I don’t know their genders yet but the bigger one (first born) I suspect is a male (drake) and it is very bossy.  The smaller one is more reserved and possibly a female (hen).  I’m just guessing at this point.

I’m naming the bigger one Puff (the feisty first born) and the smaller one Squeek.  I helped Squeek crack the egg and it’s a miracle he/she survived.  Today, Squeek is 4 days old and Puff is 5 days old. 

Here’s the picture of Puff (the bossy one).  Look how big it is compared to the 5-day old baby chick.

And below is Squeek.  Trust me, it's not a toy.  It's a real duckling!  Ducks have permanent smile on their face.

And here's the video I took of Puff.

Since they live with 25 baby chicks, they probably think they are chickens, haha.  By the way the first picture below suggests, the heat lamp was too close to them that's why they are sleeping in circular position.  I pulled the heat lamp higher so they feel a lot cooler.

And I’ve introduced Squeek to Sweaty cat.  They seemed to get along.  

And below is the video of Sweaty Cat being introduced to Squeek (or the other way around).

 

Our cats don’t harm any chicks at all.  I’ve left the brooder open and had already 3 batches of hatchings.  One time I discovered the cat sleeping with them though and eating their food.  Not a good idea.  But he never harmed the baby chicks.

Their parents are Mr. & Mrs. Ducky.  This was taken this spring.  They made the eggs and I hatched them in my incubator.

On the other hand, Mrs. Ducky has not laid an egg for 3 straight days.  I’m wondering if she’s laying it somewhere else as I let them free-range all day.  It’s unusual because she should lay on a daily basis and her diet hasn’t changed at all.  Well, except now she’s eating more bugs.