Meet the Flock

Part of the goal of the blog is to document the (rapid) growth of the babies as they mature from cute balls of fluff to mature egg-layers.  We can then also share our failures and successes for anyone else who is looking to raise "house chickens" and wants some advice. This is what we brought home the first night:

If you can tell from the grainy, Instagram-enhanced, cell phone picture that is 4 chicks and 2 ducklings.  We had pre-ordered 4 Easter Eggers (all female).  Medium-sized, can handle confinement and our local temperatures, pretty docile, and lay anything from brown to green to blue eggs.  The ducks were more of an impulse buy.  The conversation went something like this:
     Hubby:  I want a duck.
     Me:  A duck?!
     Hubby:  Yes.
     Me:  You realize you will have to build a pond for them?
     Hubby:  I always wanted a pond.
     Me:  Can you even have just one duck?
     Hubby shrugs.
     Me (to salesman):  Can you have just one duck?
     Salesman:  Well, generally they do better in flocks.  They might be okay if you plan on keeping it with the chickens, but if not you are going to want to get a couple.
     Me (to hubby):  We'd probably better get two then, just in case.  You're sure you want a duck?
     Hubby (to salesman):  Give us two ducks.

So that's how we came home with two ducks.  Now Hubby will probably say that it was I who wanted the ducks in the first place...but really, who is going to put up much of a fight over such cute fluffy things?  After all, we already are halfway crazy planning on chickens in the backyard, what's a few more poultry?  And I did say that if we were going to get them then I wanted one of the black and yellow ones because they looked like penguins (and as you may or may not know I have always thought that it would be awesome to have a penguin as a pet).

Now, individually:

This is Daffy.  See how he looks like a penguin?  And no, I don't know if "he" is a "he" or a "she" - I've just been calling the ducks "he" and the chicks (which were sexed) "she".  Daffy is quieter and shyer than the other duckling.  I think he is a Swedish Blue (a black one, the blue does not breed true) but time will tell for sure.

This is Aflac.  We think that he might be a Pekin, though again we will have to wait until he is grown to know for sure.  Nosier and bolder than Daffy, he is also less likely to sit calmly in your hands once you pick him up.  Supposedly Pekins make excellent pets though, and will learn their names and some basic commands.

This is Ginger.  She is the only one of the girls to not have the chipmunk-like stripe down her back.  At first she seemed to be a bit of an outcast with the group, but everyone seems to be getting along now.  She also is the calmest of the 4 so far.

This is Paprika.  Since Hubby chose Ginger's name I said we should stick with the spice theme.  The lighter parts of her chipmunk-like stripe are more tan than the other two girls.

This is Curry.  She has the most yellow on her chest.  She is also the troublemaker of the bunch.  This morning she hopped right out of the smaller box I had moved the flock in to while I changed out the wood chips in their primary home.  She will also struggle the most when you try to hold her.

And lastly, this is Basil.  She has more brown on her chest than curry, though their faces look similar.  She also has the small black spot in front of her left eye.

That's it for the starting pics - the descriptions are sure to change as they grow and get adult feathers and as their personalities develop more.