This morning we went and picked up five new ducks. They're supposed to be Indian Runner, but one may be crossed with a magpie duck. One has a white collar stripe and the blue patch on the wing, so it may turn out looking like a mallard. One is a dark brown color with an olive green beak. Two more are brown, but have a lovely creamy color along the backs. The last one is black and white splashed (the mix). They're fully feathered, but they're still babies (they were eggs in the incubator back when we brought Josh and the first two ducks home on October 1). I brought them home in a large wire dog kennel, and transferred the kennel right in to the bunny barn when we got home. I left them in the kennel for the remainder of the day, allowing Leonardo, Tweak, Captain Barnacles, Dashi, and Josh to meet them and get to know one another behind the bars (though all the ducks could stick their heads out/in, so they were nuzzling and chatting a lot).
At night before bed, I closed up the bunny barn and let them out. They are flock animals and they went straight over to Josh and the ducks. I refilled the heated water bucket (that I brought in the bunny barn just for today and tomorrow while they're penned up), and they all gathered around it and drank. I refilled their food, and a few wandered over there. I hope that Josh is able to keep command of his now large flock of ducks. He started with two, then four, and now he has nine. A couple days in the bunny barn together should help them to learn each others' languages and what is expected of them when Josh calls to herd them one way or another.
Josh is an awesome guard goose for the ducks. We've had bald eagles come to the yard a few times, we've had hawks circle over the fields while they were out, but so far (knock on wood) we have had no predatory losses because Josh keeps them safe, running them back into the barn or into the trees for cover when aerial predators are spotted. I highly recommend a goose as a flock guardian! That said, ours are free range, so they aren't likely to get stuck against a fence or pulled through a fence, it would be hard to corner them.
So far just the one with the white neck stripe has a potential name. It reminds me so much of a bow tie that I wanted to call him Matt, after Matt Smith, who plays The Doctor on Doctor Who (he always wears bow ties, because "bow ties are cool"), but then the name wouldn't fit if the duck is a girl. So perhaps Mr. Smith, which can be changed to Ms. Smith if it turns out to be a lady. Or maybe we can scrap that and name them all collectively... Gem names, like Pearl, Ruby, Amethyst, Onyx, and Opal. Or maybe nature names like Twig, Brook, Branch, Stone, or Pebble. Or flower names (Marigold, Peony, Zinnia, Pansy, and Petunia)... or herb names (Thyme, Rosemary, Mint, Basil, and Sage). But I get ahead of myself. I need to wait until they mature to see which ones grow the curled tail feathers (boys).
When we returned from getting the ducks, as we pulled up I saw all of the chickens huddled outside the chicken coop. It's snowing and cold, and I wasn't sure right away why they were all outside. I went to go take a peek and here they'd bumped the door shut and couldn't get back in! As a result, the eggs in the nest box had gone cold, and Boss Lady has abandoned them. In a strange twist, there were only six in the box when I pulled them after she left them and they cracked. I searched for the seventh but didn't find it. Weird.
Today was also #4's Christmas program at school. I think she was more excited about being able to buy ice cream for #5 afterward using her own money than the actual singing.
And in other news, the chomp on Babylon's nose is much worse today. She's got a bit of a flap, and an open space, but she seems alright otherwise so far. She was a little hesitant to let me pick her up today, but I was careful not to touch her nose at all, so she will be more trusting tomorrow when I go to catch her to check how she's doing.
For dinner we'd planned to break in our new smoker that my parents bought us for Christmas. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it to work and have to return it tomorrow. The pork chops were wonderful, the brine and rub flavored them up nicely, despite not smoking them. Hopefully we can try the recipe again when we have a functioning smoker so we can fully appreciate the flavors.
I spent yesterday boiling the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving and then de-boning it. Tomorrow we're having turkey soup. I just have to add in the vegetables and cook it tomorrow and it's good to serve. Tasty!
Wow it was a busy day! I am really hoping that Tony gets up with kids and #5 lets me sleep in. What a day!