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We got ducks!! I finally went out and bought some. It was my first experience going to an auction and buying something for myself. I've walked through the auction barns at the Kitchener Stock yards but that's about it. It was fun. What a thrill doing the bidding thing. It turns out that I ended up getting the cheapest ducks that day. Probably because I ended up making friends with an old regular who came just for the fun of it. He knew all the ins and outs and told me exactly what to do. The cage that I was bidding on had five muscovy ducks in it. I only wanted three but figured I could use a couple more. So, I took the 3 females and 2 males home and set them up in the coop with the other animals. The goat didn't care about them (it just meant more grain that she could steal). The chickens, though, were pissed. I actually saw them attacking the ducks once in a while. I decided to keep them inside for a few days to get over the auction and used to me. No problem. They really liked lots of water and got it really dirty really fast. On Tuesday we let them out of the barn when we got home from work. It was sooo fun seeing them find the water. They went to the huge puddles instead of the pond but that's okay. They loved it! They splashed, and flapped their wings and just went crazy for a while. I was kind of worried about them staying outside all night but supposedly that's what you do with ducks. They find their own way. Besides, muscovies supposedly will roost at night. Well, I guess not these muscovies. The next morning there were only 4. Sigh. I like to think that since it was the first night she probably just ended up walking away by accident since she really didn't know where she was. It probably was something that ate her but the other four are still around. Maybe they just got smarter. who knows. We'll see how long they live. Turns out it was a good thing that I got 5 instead of 3.
Oh, and I'm expecting again.... chickens and ducks this time. again. My mom is planning on hatching a bunch of eggs in her classroom this year again so I decided to profit off of it. My in-laws neighbor breeds ducks and chickens for showing in special poultry fairs. I like my 3 egg-laying chickens but I'd love to see some funkier birds walking around the property. I can't even tell the difference between the 3. I guess I'm looking for some more character. So this guy is going to sell me 3 dozen chicken and duck eggs. The duck eggs are going into the incubator on Wednesday and the chicken eggs are going in the following wednesday. That means that hopefully, around May 16 (or is it 23?) I'll have a whole bunch of new babies. The kids will be taking home some, I'm sure, and I'm sure some won't hatch, but after all that I bet there will still be too many left for me. Mom and Dad will probably keep them at there house in the special chicks cage that they have set up until they are big enough. Maybe I can get mom to post some picture updates of the whole process for me.
See ya!!!