Update on the ducks

I was looking back through my posts and realized that I never told you what happened with the duck eggs. I wrote that we were having issues with some of the eggs getting squished/eaten, but just a few at a time. We were in a tricky spot because the ducks started to sleep out on the pond. With no way to get them in for the night and bossy pants laying her eggs very early in the morning, we didn't see any other option but to just leave the duck run open. This, of course, left the eggs vulnerable and eventually the dreaded raccoons came one night and ate all 14 eggs.  None of the ducks ever sat on the nest. We did catch two raccoons in subsequent days but after that the ducks seemed to be spooked from using their house at all.

Now they have claimed a new spot on the other side of the pond. They spend most of their days either lounging along the edge in the grass 

or floating about in the pond. 

They are definitely getting more confident in the water and love to dive under to eat. You often see their little butts up in the air. 

Bossy pants has also started to lay eggs on this side of the pond. Initially she just laid randomly in the grass beside the pond. Then she started to try to hide he eggs a little in the tall grasses near there. 

We decided to start collecting the eggs again since it will be cold soon and she wouldn't have time to build a nest of eggs, incubate and hatch them before it gets frigid. Maybe we will let her try again next spring but for now, we've been taking the eggs. It's a bit of a hunt in the morning to find them though. This morning she had pushed over a bunch of the tall grass and laid her egg underneath. 

It was like finding a hidden treasure when I finally saw it!

I made a video of feeding the ducks in the morning. Even though they hang out on the other side of the pond, when they hear me fill their dish they come swimming across the water. You can watch the video on YouTube.