six little ducks

For the past couple of weeks, Petal has been coming back to the garden and pond with her handsome mate, Ringo. Her brothers Evan and Jake f...

Tom died on Sunday 12th December. He seemed to have a cold for the previous couple of weeks, then became weaker a few days before dying.

Tom in a basket. Tom in a pram.

That Scaly Leg Mite spray didn't do the job. So it seems that the problem is something other than Scaly Leg Mite. It hasn't been p...

For a while now, Tom has been biting his legs hard with his beak; sometimes making them raw in places. We've sprayed his legs with Sav...

Tom feeding on the moss on an old doormat. Tom out for a walk in the rain. Tom asleep in a shirt.

We've rejigged and moved the pen so that it's better suited for Tom to go through the winter. It's near the house, so more shelt...

Day 68. Wednesday 8th September 2010 This morning, we walked Violet, Jake and Evan round to the pond where Petal and Rosemary were. They a...

Day 67. Tuesday 7th September 2010 This afternoon, four of the ducks flew off. Two came back, leaving Petal and Rosemary staying away on a...

Day 66. Monday 6th September 2010 A short video of the ducks out in the field. A hen pheasant takes advantage of the ducks' absence.

Day 65. Sunday 5th September 2010 Weather for ducks. Out for a walk.

Day 64. Saturday 4th September 2010 Today was the ducks' first day of freedom. First out, Petal - the smartest.  The others are ea...

Day 62. Thursday 2nd September 2010 See how the wings tuck into the feathers on the duck's underside. These feathers on the duck...

Day 61. Wednesday 1st September 2010 They turn it to mud. They dig it up with their beaks as they forage for roots.

Day 60. Tuesday 31st August 2010 Lex is back from holiday.

Day 58. Sunday 29th August 2010 A very short video of Petal flapping her wings: Here it is again, in slow motion:

More madness in the pool as the water is changed. Without the fence in the way of the camera this time. There's the usual argy-bargy in ...

Evan checks to see if his beak is as long as his neck.

Day 56. Friday 27th August 2010 8 weeks old. Here they all are (waiting for their presents):

Day 51. Sunday 22nd August 2010 This short video is an attempt to catch the iridescent colours in the band on the females' wings. They...

Day 50. Saturday 21st August 2010 I found a good forum discussion on droopy wing duck . The general advice seems to be to leave it for the...

Day 49. Friday 20th August 2010 It has rained a lot lately. This doesn't bother the ducks at all: they're outside whether it'...

Day 48. Thursday 19th August 2010 I fell asleep on the sofa the next night as well, and woke about three o'clock. When I went out to c...

This is the ducks' favourite pastime, after swimming and preening: ferreting with their beaks in grass made swampy with the hose pipe. ...

Day 46. Tuesday 17th August 2010 I haven't been sure that all the ducks are finding a place in the bedrooms. So, first I tried a smal...

This is the mother duck with her brood two years ago, hatched in a plant container. That year's ducklings. This video shows the same...

Day 43. Saturday 14th August 2010 Three typical stances by Tom.

Ducks make mucky ponds. After two or three days the pools are filthy. Fortunately, our pen is at the top of a slope, so it's easy to sip...

Day 41. Thursday 12th August 2010 At present, the wings on all the ducks droop often and they pull them back up again, but little Tom seem...

Day 39. Tuesday 10th August 2010 Hooray! And another visitor.

The mom and dad in April this year. The girls look like their mom already, but the boys have got some way to go before they look like th...

Wing feathers coming on. A close-up of the quills with the wing feathers growing from them. They look like a set of little paintbrushes.

Day 37. Sunday 8th August 2010 This is Evan with Rosemary and Violet (I can't tell the difference between the two). You'd thin...