February - diary starts

17.02.04

We had some visitors to see the newcomers, two days after their first "release" from the hutch, (my daughter) Annie and her girls (Charlotte and Eleanor). They found them wonderfully funny, particularly the way their legs seemed to run as if they were pedalling a bicycle, were impressed with their accommodation, but were very worried in case a fox came and got them (our garden is wide open to all comers). This was expressed immediately in these drawings by Charlotte:

19.02.04

Annie and the children left at 10 past 2. I spent all afternoon outside with the chicken ("Edna", the last remaining of our 12 Lohman-Browns) and the ducks, and managed with much throwing of worms to entice the ducks into the wider environment of the pond. Every time, however, when they noticed that they were more than 12 metres away from the pond, they ran back to the water in a great panic. This morning, by the way, they dashed straight out of the duckhouse even though we were still standing there. So they are getting braver every day.

21.02.04

I had just cleaned out the duckhouse when I saw all 4 Indian runners standing there on one leg, head under a wing, sleeping! That was the first time I had seen that. I crept up with my camera, took one snap, and then a dog barked in the distance. All four woke up immediately, stretched their heads up high and came running towards me. On this last picture you can see Pearl in front on the right, Gertie on the left, and the two "boys" at the back - I can't tell them apart yet. When Charlotte and Eleanor were here we were throwing worms to the ducks, and we saw that one of the boys had a black mark on his "nose". We were glad to have found a distinguishing mark and decided that this was Rudolpho (because of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer). But then came the disappointment: the black mark had been mud and was gone after the next dunking in the pond.

24.02.04

Your idea with the runner ducks really was a good one, if only because they make me smile every day. Just you wait till they start laying. It's been documented that the record was 332 eggs in 335 days, of just one duck!

In the evenings we still have to chase our new pets into their house. Just like small children they never want to go to bed. On only two days did they go in by themselves. It was ever so funny last Tuesday. I was looking out of the window when it was getting dusk, to see if they would go in. They made several starts running into the direction of the duck house, but no, they turned around and went to the other side of the pond again. Then, all of a sudden, they were half way down the little slope and I think that's it. No, another turn and back to the opposite side of the pond. A quick drink, and finally the complete line-up (they always run as if they had been tied together and somebody was pulling the string) ran, hey presto, to the entrance of the house. Were they in? No! They appeared once more, examined the side and the back of the house, and then, FINALLY, they went in.

Their little "forays" are getting more and more adventurous. Yesterday I only fetched out the big garden fork and the wheelbarrow and they turned up at once. My bribery with worms had made an impression! Pearl was the best at snatching the worms, but the others got their share as well. Sometimes they came right between my feet in order to pick one up, but then, as if overcome by their own courage, they quickly ran back to the pond. I have noticed, however, that they are daring to advance further into the garden, all by themselves. This afternoon in the rain, for instance, they had reached the upper end of the orchard. 10 metres further and they would have found the lower pond near our house.

25.02.04

You're right, the winter has returned. It's been about three days now. On the last two I had to remove lots of ice from the bird baths and also from an area in the duck pond. But the ducks are quite patient. When their beaks hit ice they just lie down and wait for the thaw.

26.02.04

Today it was even colder than yesterday; even the bucket of water inside the duckhouse had a thin layer of ice on it. This afternoon I spent another good hour digging out weeds, and the ducks came at once and snatched the worms almost off the little fork. The four snails I found I had to smash for them (how cruel I am!), they couldn't yet manage to crush them by themselves.

When it got to be 5 o' clock I cleaned up my gardening shoes, took the garden fork, and said to the ducks: now you've got to fetch your own worms, I'm going in. And all four of them immediately turned around and waddled back to the pond! When John and I went out at 6 in order to shoo them into "bed" they were already on their way to their house, and they never came out again. Aren't they good!

28.02.04

The snow only lasted one day, really. Everything looked very nice with a thick layer on leaves and branches. "Doesn't it look pretty" I said to John as we were going down to the duckhouse in order to let out the runners. His prompt reply: "Pretty awful!"

The ducks tumbled out of the door as usual and ran to their favourite place on the other side of the pond. They noticed, however, that something wasn't quite right. They tried to lie on their tums (but as they weren't on a slope they couldn't go "wheeeeeeee ......." and slide down), standing first on one leg and then on the other and, no, it was no good. Within 5 minutes they were back in their duckhouse and only reappeared at half past 10, when the snow was melting.