Our Six Little Muscovy Babies

Yesterday was the day we brought our little ducklings home.

We went to the farm where the Mama Duck was taking care of 15 little ducklings born Sept. 20th. The owner wanted to make sure Mama had shown the little ducklings how to forage. We made a little home for them out of straw and a purple bucket.

I was amazed at how easy it is to tell them apart. At 5 days old they already have distinctive personalities and very different colorings. The kids have named them all. In the above picture, I'll name them going clockwise starting with Alice in the lower left corner. Alice is Kyle's duck and Kyle named his duck Alice because (as Kyle says) Alice can be a boys name or a girl's name. Alice is the one who likes to sit in the drinking water.
Above Alice is Mr. Drake (or Mrs. Drake...we haven't sexed them yet...I'll put their alternate names in parenthesis). Mr. Drake is very vocal and finds the food first. Next, with his head in the food trough is one of the "twins". The twins look very similar, but Reeve's "Roosevelt" (or Velvet Rosey) has a rose colored spot on the end of his bill. I forgot to mention that Mr. Drake's bill is spotted white with black spots. Reeve loves Roosevelt because Roosevelt is the smartest. I would have to agree. We put some fresh avocado and papaya in their pen, and Roosevelt was the first one to heartily eat it. Also when we were outside this morning Roosevelt actually ate a mosquito that was on my foot! I also saw him hunting an ant down.

The other twin is Calvin (Callie Sue). Reeve named Calvin as well. Calvin is for "Calvin & Hobbes", or Calvin Coolidge...I forgot to mention Reeve named Roosevelt after FDR...or Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time. I had picked out "Sandy" & "Dennys" for the "twins" names, because those are the twins' names in A Wrinkle in Time.

The all (mostly) yellow duck is Jemima (or Mr. Jeremy)...both from Beatrix Potter, however Mr. Jeremy was a toad. Jemima is sweet and is calmest when Stella holds her.

The very last one is Meg (or Charles Wallace)...again from A Wrinkle in Time. Meg has an all dark brown head and seems very headstrong...just like Meg from the story.

Above Kyle is holding Alice. Below I believe Stella has Roosevelt.

Today we will put the fencing up around their outdoor enclosure and we will continue to build their nesting box/coop, so we can keep them safe at night until they are a little older and able to fend for themselves.

Reeve with his Roosevelt.

Also...notice Stella's new haircut. She actually asked me to cut her hair when I was trying to comb out some tangles.

Above: Starting at 9 o'clock...Roosevelt, Meg, Jemima, Mr. Drake, and Calvin...Kyle must be holding Alice.

Above and below...from this morning.

Above from Left to Right: Meg, Calvin (top on the stick), Jemima (bottom on the stick), Alice, Mr. Drake, and Roosevelt.

We are in love! Sorry about the foggy pictures. The camera was cold from being inside the house and then going out to the humidity of the warm morning fogged up my lens.