Duck un-house....

[flick]

This morning's experiment wasn't hugely successful: the ducks came outside and shouted at us for fifteen minutes, then hopped through the fence and went looking for their pond (which was in the polytunnel, sigh).

Some herding later, we managed to get them shut in the polytunnel, which mostly held them with much complaining. While we were poo picking, Agnes managed to get out but then stood next to it wondering how to get back to the others. It probably needs tying down better at the bottom, but that's not happening in this nasty cold rain. Poor Erzulie couldn't get away from Magrat, either, and Magrat seemed to have decided that it was All Erzulie's Fault.

I don't much like my chances of getting them in there on my own this afternoon / tomorrow morning (Mike's away overnight for his mother's birthday), but we'll see what can be contrived.

Comments

[batwrangler]

Oh, contrary fowl!

[flick]

I've just taken them their afternoon corn, and they were tremendously excited to see it being put in the bowl.

Then I put the bowl in the polytunnel, and when I came back indoors they were standing on the other side of the netting squarking at it. Sigh.

[batwrangler]

It doesn't seem like they could survive as a species with that level of inability to solve problems, so maybe they are playing at stupidity to train their obviously sub-standard human in adequate duck husbandry?

[flick]

The whole inability to fly thing would probably scupper their chances in the wild as well!

Within their areas of experience, they are pretty good at managing. They know, for example, that it's worth following me around when I'm gardening because at the very least they can rootle through the disturbed patches and often they also get thrown worms.

When we first got Erzulie, she was completely bewildered by the concept of steps and couldn't figure out how to go down them (even having seen the others do it), but these days she comes up onto the patio quite happily, and goes up the step to the front door to see if there's anything tasty under the doormat.

They are, however, very unhappy if their routine changes*. I'm hoping that they'll get used to the polytunnel. When I went to put them to bed, their corn and pond were both completely un-touched, and they were *starving*, *starving* I tell you.

* I understand that commercial duck farms have to do things like make sure that people always wear the same colour overalls, otherwise the change is enough to put them off lay!