Sitting Duck

Well, I just about had a heart attack. Anna Maria was put up in her bathroom nest for the night, and I went outside to give the rest of the ducks their nightly peas. I could only find five ducks! There should be six. There are always six. Every now and then, someone will be slow, but those ducks usually meet me at the porch because they LOVE bedtime peas.

I called and called and called. No duck.

I looked everywhere, but it was getting dark, making it difficult to see much of anything. I went inside to get the flashlight and told Ron what was going on. He had just come in from putting up the chickens and picking up all the food on the property, so I figured he surely would have heard any kind of commotion. He had heard nothing. Still, I could not find that duck.

I took the flashlight outside and looked all over the back area where the ducks live. It’s about half an acre and very sturdily fenced, so I didn’t think anything could get in. There are always the owls, but I saw no signs of an attack.

Finally, I asked Ron to come back outside to help.

“Can an owl carry off a duck?” I asked.

“There would be feathers at least,” he said.

Then, I saw where Ron was heading, and I was hopeful. We have a burn area surrounded by rocks, and it’s full of branches right now. I crawled down and shined the flashlight and there she was! Just sitting there, still as could be. In a little nest she made perfectly amongst the branches.

“She’s trying to go broody,” I said.

When I got her out, I could see she was sitting on a stash of six eggs. She must have decided to go broody just today, as I have seen her every other night without fail. She is tucked into the duck house every night after peas.

Still, just to be safe, I candled all of the eggs. Nothing. Because ducks live so long in the right conditions, we do not plan to get more ducks. It was tempting to think about little ducklings running around though. Tempting indeed. I love baby chicks, but baby ducks melt my heart.

Of course, I am mainly just so glad she’s okay.