That Sinking Feeling

"Hey lady! Where's the WATER?"

Day One of my vacation was somewhat busy for me. I woke at 9 which is uncharacteristically early for me, but I seized the opportunity to get some things done around the house. I put the ducklings out in the grass next to the back deck and gave them their food and water, plus a bowl of water to play in. They thoroughly enjoyed their time outside and I didn't bring them in until 7 p.m.! I think they grew since morning too.

When Jim got home we headed to Perrysburg to pick up a huge display case and some slat board from a "Linens & Things" that was going out of business. It's good quality stuff and Jim got a good bargain on it all. He's putting it in his gun shop to help display items. The display case was used for kitchen knives and it will work well in a gun shop. We borrowed my father-in-law's truck to bring everything home. On the way back from from returning the truck to him, a young buck ran in front of us on the bridge. This is a long pair of bridges that span the Toussaint River that borders the family property. Jim saw it coming well before it was too late but we still bumped him with the truck hard enough to knock him off his feet. Since he couldn't escape from us by jumping into the river he ran ahead of us until we got clear of the river, then he jumped into the ditch! What was really scary was there were two cars coming at us from the opposite direction and I wasn't sure if they could see the deer too. I kept elbowing Jim and telling him to high-beam the oncoming cars so they would slow down and not hit the deer.

Deer are STUPID and not cute at all. I've hit two in my lifetime. There are no large predators in our state to keep them thinned and I think there should be a year-round open season on deer in Ohio. PERIOD!

I have come to the very painful conclusion that keeping four roosters in the flock is out of the question. Just this week Roo has become very aggressive to little Silver and I am genuinely concerned for his safety. I have also seen Hector the Australorp display typical rooster behavior. Now don't get me wrong, I fully understand the function of a rooster and I'm not anti-rooster. I am, however, responsible for the well-being of the entire flock and must quickly decide what action to take. Penning the extra roosters separately is not an option so the reality is which three are going to end up on the table?

Everyone likes Silver because he's the snazzy medium-sized Hamburg with the pretty feathers. He's smaller than the girls and they don't really take him seriously, something that keeps him from becoming domineering with them. I have a feeling it's going to be the three heavy breed roosters that will have to go. I can't tolerate the constant fighting, chasing and screaming. I've seen Roo grab Silver by the neck feathers and not let go. Silver's neck is starting to look tattered and he refuses to come into the run if he sees Roo in it. Enough is enough!

Never again will I order roosters. They are more trouble than they're worth, unless you want to have them for breeding purposes.

Now, for more pleasant things...check out the ducklings enjoying a warm bath in the sink! They are intrigued by the water pouring from the faucet and they try to bite it. I would recommend ducks to anyone with the means to keep their desire for water satisfied, ideally a farm pond. I wouldn't have ducks here if I didn't have the pond. It would be cruel to deprive them of what waterfowl need to thrive. At the rate the ducklings are growing it won't be long before they'll be swimming in the pond.

Another interesting thing about ducks is they can't stand to be separated from each other. When I transfer them from their cage to the sink for bath time they peep loudly to each other as if to say, "Where are you?" Even if I only take two from the group, the others will call incessantly until they are all back together again. Ducks are wonderful birds, dedicated to each other to the point of affection.