Today I’d like to give you an update on our ducks.
Seven brothers and sisters
A little after Parsley arrived, we got a family of seven duck siblings — once again a gift from the same neighbor next door. One of the ducklings had a right leg that, for some reason, curled up like a dinosaur’s foot, so a professional wrapped it for us, and later that duckling went to someone who rescues ducks.
That left four males and two sisters, and the four males just couldn’t stop fighting. I kept one male here and moved three far away, but they fought there too, and one got torn up, so I split them again. The two left together kept squabbling, but never dangerously.
Once things settled down, we decided to try putting them back together. Right after a storm, while everyone was still confused, I put them all back — and now it’s only lovers’ quarrels.
On the right is Howl. The one in the middle is… the one without a name, I think? Over there is Yonashi (“Western pear”). The other male is called Ringo (“apple”) — so what should I name the nameless one?
A hungry newcomer
Next to them, the one whose face is still pink wandered onto the neighboring lot from who knows where — but then, nobody knows where Parsley came from either. When I first caught her she seemed lost, with nothing in her belly, and looked close to death, yet she still ran from me. Once fed, it was “Oh, food! Oh, water!” and she looked so relieved. She fit in in no time and has recently started laying eggs, looking very proud of herself.
And here’s Chive, the clumsiest duck in the world, who hates people. Your face and wings are filthy — where have you been? “What does it matter?” Oh — Chive ran away. And Lady Veronica: your beak is getting long, your feet are dirty, and the back of your head is bald for good. I’m only telling you because I noticed!
Meet Ringo
Ringo is the mostly white one at the back, with a bit of black and a scary, bright red face. He’s the biggest — and also the gentlest, so he stayed here the whole time looking after the girls. He used to be the smallest, but staying here meant good nutrition and no more bullying, and somehow he grew the biggest.
Meanwhile, I refilled our homemade chicken feeder, which holds about 35 kg of feed. Three birds from totally different places sat side by side: Cinnamon from the U.S. mainland, a hen from town, and Tsuyoshi, born right around here. And the cat went for a stroll through the vegetable patch. Thanks for watching!