Yes, it's time the ducks got a bigger home. They have out-grown their box which seemed way too big for them when they were first put in there. As their homes are all temporary at the moment, at least until they can go into their (yet to be made) new, outside home, it makes little difference if their new accommodation is a plastic storage box, a state-of-the-art designer duck house or, as in this case, a coffee table turned upside down with a pond liner to keep the little webbed-footed delights enclosed.
The first home
The chicks had this as their home to begin with, and ducklings took up residence a week later
The first place they moved to was a series of plastic greenhouse frames to extend the height of a storage box we had.
That worked for a while, but it couldn't last, they grow so fast!
Just keep swimming!
Their next home was a taller box and it has worked well for a good few weeks. They are now cramped because, as I said, they grow really fast! They were smaller than the chicks to begin with - the chicks hatched a week before the first of the ducklings.
So we built a new enclosure - and I hope this will keep them happy until they can regulate their temperature. They need to grow feathers to be able to live outside. At the moment, the chicks and ducklings are reliant on a heat source. When their feathers come in, they will be able to regulate their temperature themselves and that's when we will need Cluckingham Palace and The Quack House.
Adventurous little ducker
They needed a step to their water at first. Now, I have to use different water containers because they tip the container over and complain about it being wet in their home!
A bit bigger than they were!
This is where the phrase 'Mucky Duck' came from - maybe
They are a lot bigger now!
No names for them yet, but I am toying with 'Cover', 'Roll', 'Dive', 'Weave' and 'Vanish'. Can you guess why?
One coffee table
*Add a pond liner and a few more water containers and the ducks have a new home!