We have five ducklings in Half-pint's bedroom and more should hatch this next Sunday. It's getting colder out, and we are still a good six weeks from fully feathered ducks. This brings us to our plan:
1. Introduce the mommy duck to the babies
2. Mommy will fall in love with the fluffy things and feel like keeping them warm.
3. We move the babies to the duck condo outside, while Mommy explains to Daddy that they're parents now.
4. Daddy duck will protect the little ones from the evil pecking hens.
5. We continue to add to their brood as the babies hatch.
Sounds good, doesn't it? We tried putting our dog kennel in the basement to introduce the Mommy to her babies, but she shivered in fear (couldn't have been from the temp because it was roasting in there). We let her observe them for little while before trying to put a couple in with her. She promptly nipped the little ones in the butt and the ducklings ran to Half-pint. There was no preening or happy looks. She was just instantly aggressive. The Daddy did a very loud happy dance when the Mrs. was returned to the sweet honeymoon condo sans ducklings. It was worth a try, but it looks like we will need to keep the heating lamps on for a while longer.
Also, our hundreds of sea monkeys have not hatched at all. Note that there is a slight sense of relief when I type those words. I think it may have been the cooler temps that caused the hatch to fail. However, they might make an excellent summer birthday present if Half-pint wants to try again.
Our farmlife count has gone up, but the division remains. It looks like Half-pint , not Paddles the duck, will be mommy dearest.
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