Mother Hen Hatches Ducklings!

The long awaited day has come! Yesterday, the duck eggs started hatching. By bedtime we had 4 ducklings. There was one more when I went down to check them this morning. I’ll give the remaining 2 eggs until Sunday to see if they hatch.

Red looked up at me like, “Are these really mine? No wonder it took so long. Man, I’ve been sitting on these eggs for 28 days!” That’s a long time to sit in one spot with only periodic leg stretches and bathroom breaks.
The ducklings look very healthy. They are sticking close to Mama Red and the nest. I have given them fresh water and a home mix of starter feed. In the days to come I’ll be supplementing their diet with milk, yogurt, scrambled eggs, grubs, worms, insects and some other goodies.
Home Mix Starter Feed
Corn Meal
Bone Meal
Chopped Alfalfa
Kelp Powder
Wheat Germ
Wheat Bran

The eggs came from the mating pair of Indian Runners we got from Pat. She told me that they had the genes for producing offspring of all colors.

I apologize for the poor photos. If you click on them you’ll get a better view. I hope to post some better ones this weekend. They’re so cute!