New Discoveries With The Ducks And Chickens

 Last evening when I went to start up the tractor to mow, I found a great surprise. Technically, our hens should not be laying for another six to eight weeks.

But as you can see, we have an egg. We don't have straw for the nesting boxes in the hen house yet. We were going to wait until closer to egg laying time. Getting the hay in too early just makes for a big mess.

But our little hen just couldn't wait. We're not sure which hen is laying early. Both the Rhode Island Reds and the Plymouth Rocks lay brown eggs. This small egg is small for both breeds of chicken. This is normal for a first lay though. 

 I proceeded to mow and here came all the chickens. Sassy was the first one to hop upon the mower to my left. And then, A RIR had to copy her. Sassy has made herself my pet hen. She's the only one that will fly up into my arms and let me hold her.

They just kept huddling around the mower as I tried to pull away. I'd like to say it's because they wanted to spend more time with me. But, I'm pretty sure since I had already mowed and acre or so,

This is a mallard with the blue stripe and green head and white neck ring.

This is a mallard with all the markings except for the blue stripe. I'm not sure why some drakes have the stripe and others do not.

But this is another great change amongst our birds. The fact that our mallard is definitely a male. He has had the blue stripe for several weeks but no other signs of being a male. We didn't know what to think. With the color change on the belly and throat turning from brown to white we were getting suspicious. And then, his head started turning a deep green. He is a male.

We're pretty sure the Pekin Duck is a female. The male got taken by a raccoon. You can see how much larger Pekin Ducks are than mallards. Yes that's Sassy in the photo. She has really been competing for my sole attention.

 This is Beaker. He is still the most adventurous of the Plymouth Rocks. The other chickens are reluctant to balance themselves on the edge of the duck's pool. But not Beaker. She has always been a fearless hen.

Once again Sassy feels the need to try to be top hen. She doesn't have the courage to perch on the pool. But she is still determined to get a drink. Streeeetch that neck Sassy. JoJo is content to just watch. We are still trying to figure out exactly what breed she is. She has a very flat comb. We do know that Hark can swim after the chasing of the dog. She wants no part of the pool. And is nowhere to be seen while the rest of the chickens are curiously checking out the water.