Indian Runners

One of the biggest projects I have taken on this year for my homestead is purchasing 4 gorgeous Indian Runner ducklings. I named them after the Golden Girls--Sophia is the gray, Dorothy is black, Blanche is chocolate, and Rose is the fawn. After reading up on backyard chicken projects versus ducks, I felt ducks were more appropriate for what I wanted. These ducks can produce 200-300 eggs per season for at least 3-5 years not to mention being strong foragers. The project is still young. My ducklings turned 1 month old on the 4th of July, so there's not much I can report except that there is quite a bit of work involved. I keep them inside in a small dog kennel lined with newspaper under a heat source for now. Originally, the girls were bathing in the sink in just a small amount of warm water (they don't develop their own waterproofing oils until about 4 weeks and aren't strong swimmers until that develops) once each morning. But, now that they've grown so very much in the last month, they're bathing twice a day in the tub in a limited amount of warm water. They have access to water and food during the day and also occasionally get mealworms and crickets as treats. Despite the work, though, I have to say that so far I do not regret the decision to start this project at all. In fact, the girls have really been my saving grace after a tough year at work. So, without further ado, here they are (I'll post updates as we go):

At 1 week above and 4 weeks below