The ducks are here!

I have ducklings! Yippee! I've been wanting Golden Cascade ducks since this spring. First, I ordered hatching eggs from someone in Colorado. I don't know what went wrong, but every single egg was developing nicely, almost all pipped the shell at hatch time, and then died in the shell. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

Then I learned that a hatchery in Iowa sells Golden Cascades. It was about an hour drive from me. So I ordered some. And then I waited and waited and waited... These things take time, you know. Sometimes there are complications, like I had myself. So finally, I got a call this week that my little quackers were ready!

At that point, I asked if they had any extra runner ducklings. You see, my dear husband saw some runner ducks at the county fair this year. If you've never seen a runner duck, you have to follow this link for a good laugh.
(http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Runners/BRKRunners.html)
They are long and upright, much like a bowling pin with legs and a beak. As soon as he saw them, Dave asked me, "What is THAT?!" I told him a little about the silly runner ducks. He immediately told me that if I was going to bring home ducks, he wanted at least one of those crazy looking things. :)

Anyway... it just so happened that the hatchery thought they might have some runners. So when the kids and I drove out last night, there were two runner ducklings in the box as well. The funny thing is, they are buff runners, and the Golden Cascades are a buff color too. Right now, all the ducklings are yellow and you can't really tell them apart yet. Guess we'll have to wait until they get older. Originally, I only wanted 4 or 5 ducks. So I ordered 6. You know, just in case... Well, the hatchery had already sent an "extra", plus the two runners. So now I have 9 ducklings. Funny how they multiply, eh? Of course, they are totally adorable. As I type, my son has a sheet on the living room floor and is watching tv with a couple of them. See for yourself.

Check out this little one. Cole has already taught her to smile pretty for the camera! :)

Stay tuned. There will undoubtedly be many duck updates in the future.