A month or so ago a couple of ducks decided to go broody, so we quickly had the guys make nest boxes and threw in some straw.  The ducks promptly started filling up two nest boxes with eggs with one mama sitting on a clutch. The other nest box was a little slower to have a mama sit and warm the eggs.  Then, the third next box began to fill up with goose eggs!  We have no idea whose eggs are whose, but once this little duckling hatched, the geese protected it fiercely.  Hissing and batting wings with the three geese lined up in front of the next box and the mama duck and baby tucked into the corner.  A week later, another duck had her brood hatch, five in all.  Now the geese were really territorial about the enclosure and changing water and putting in food is a cause for caution.  The geese will come running from across the pasture to scold anyone who looks like they are even getting close to the babies.  And now we have a goose sitting on a clutch of eggs.  Needless to say we are currently short of cute yellow duckling pictures.

It will be interesting to see how the geese handle all these babies. And if it gets any easier to change out the water and give grain. We’ll try and keep you updated. But not at the expense of our knees.