all ducks, all the time

tomorrow's post
won't be about ducks.

i promise.

but, today's post is ALL ducks.

marian & patito

patito's first swim.

a little less pecking, a little more socializing

swimming together

answers to a few questions that have come up:

"what are you calling the ducklings?"

i have always called the eggs & ducklings ducka.

(as in, "oh, DUCK-ah!")

weird, yes, but it seems right.

then there's pip, pippa, pippopotamus.

we've been calling patito by his/her full name.

maybe it's because it sounds like "petite~oh"

which suits tiny patito.

tito sounds tougher

& may serve him well in adolescence.

"what are you feeding the ducklings?"

we are feeding them purina "flock raiser"

(it looks like grape-nuts)

but they have also eaten lots of mosquitoes

in our backyard - they can catch them mid-air.

"what are you going to DO with these two ducks?"

well, we don't really have an exit strategy

for this egg rescue/duck hatching project.

some folks have suggested

turning them loose at our nearby ponds.
(note: the mallards are there year-round.)

others have balked,

saying that human-raised ducks won't have the

duck skill-set necessary to be wild ducks.

my sweet friend jessica,

who has experience with egg rescue/duck hatching,

says that once their ducklings moved outside,

they kept them in an enclosure

without a roof. 

they could fly away when they chose,

and return to a safe home-base

whenever they needed.

this sounds like the best option to me,

but i would love your thoughts & ideas.

♥