Our family is expanding again. Last week, we brought home four ducklings.

Ducklings have been in our plans since I built the coop. You may remember Ellie made a sign for one of the pens saying “where the waddles live.”

Well, the waddles now live with us!

Like with our chickens, we chose day old birds. When we went to the Feathered Acres hatchery to pick them up, they were probably less than a day old. They were so small.

We chose two Cayuga and two White Crested. Ellie picked the White Crested for their hair dos and the Cayugas for their colour. I picked the Cayugas for (hopefully) their eggs–grey or black shells!

Regardless of their looks, we love them all. They are currently brooding under a heat lamp in the living room. They spend their days making a mess with their water–typical duckling behaviour–and peeping. They get lots of cuddles too.

They are pets, so we’re working to make sure they’re comfortable with us and used to being handled. They are energetic and silly little babies.

We’re already starting to see their personalities. Ellie chose the name Wonder for our most curious duck. Poufy is the other White Crested, so named for her hair do. Our working names for the Cayugas are Midnight (all black) and Starlight (a little splash of yellow on her breast). We don’t know yet whether they’re males or females. We’re hoping for mostly females.

Ducks are such fun birds. I’m so happy to add their little flock to our family.