All the ducks are doing well: the four offspring of Miss Duck are getting larger and have developed visible necks and tails. Yesterday was their “weekiversary,” as they came to the pond on Sunday, July 19.
Miss Duck is taking good care of them. It was wicked hot yesterday, but they survived by immersing themselves in cool water as well as sleeping most of the day. Here are a few snapshots from Sunday, including one video and two turtle snaps.
The lovely Miss Duck. While I love all hens, she is an exceptionally pretty and graceful one, possessing a long, slender neck:
Head-on shot:
A thriving duckling:
A video of the brood swimming, dunking, and diving after lunch:
And we musn’t forget our four turtles. Miss Duck is afraid of them, pecks at them underwater when she can, and quacks and moves away when they’re swimming nearby. But when the ducks are on the rocks, the turtles avoid basking there. I guess they harbor a mild dislike of each other, but there is no real animosity.
Here are three doing “turtle yoga,” stretching out their necks and limbs to catch the sun:
And one of the red-eared sliders. I believe it’s a male based on the long front claws.
How unusual is it for the hen to be raising the brood without the father around helping?
Another question: are the babies doing “zoomies” yet?
Love the Red-eared Sliders. They won’t hurt Miss Duck and are too small to touch her brood. She’s mistaking them for snapping turtles! But better safe than sorry.
She is truly the most beautiful of them all!