Almost forgot to mention the ducklings...

In all the excitement of the piglets, the ducks went about their business almost unnoticed. To be honest, I had lost count of which duck had been sitting on which nest for how long.
So when I shut the poultry up last Sunday evening and heard some familiar cheeping sounds I thought we might be in luck the next morning..... Sure enough, when I went out there was mother duck with her little brood of 7 (again!) sitting outside in the run for all to see.

Ducklings are so small they can walk straight through conventional chicken netting. Hence, we'd reinforced most of the large pen last Friday with some very small half inch square netting. But of course the ducklings appeared in the pen which was not yet reinforced. So first job Monday morning was to fix that. Engrossed in this task and almost finished, I looked up and noticed two ducklings had apparently escaped through a 'secure' section of fence into the main pen. Stopping in my work, I walked round, scooped them up and replaced them with their mum.

But she wasn't. Within seconds I had two very indignant ducks quacking at the fence for all they were worth - and two tinies trying desperately to squeeze through the unsqueezethroughable fencing.....! Quel Domage. Nothing for it but to scoop up the indignant ducks and put them in the pen with the other mum and all the little ones.

Three mums and 9 ducklings in total.

Checking the hen house I discovered the nest that the two ducks had been sitting on for 4 weeks had no other eggs left in it. Most unusual.

So two ducks and two eggs.

At least, I thought, they're all safe in the reinforced pen.

When I shut everyone up last night Daffodil and her three chicks plus the three ducks and their offspring were all in the little boudoir. I thought.

This morning when I opened everyone up what did I see? Two little ducklings on their own in the pen outside the boudoir. Then another three ducklings in the main pen - and how they got there goodness knows. And what a noise the confined mums were making.

What a sight when they were all reunited.

But doing a head count I realised we were 2 ducklings short. OH DEAR......

Now the three mums are even more protective and I note tonight, having checked thoroughly, that all are safely tucked up in the boudoir.... At least I think so....