Feeding time

Part of my morning routine is to feed the ducks. As I enter their enclosure they hastily climb out of the pond and follow me over the bridge quacking loudly. This morning I took my camera with me, so that I could get this shot as the crowded around the second tray of food (the geese always grab the first). 

Having ducks has been a double edged sword. I could watch them all day, so the bring a lot of pleasure. However, last summer we started with 14 ducks (8 ducklings and 4 adults) and from that group we only have 6 left. We lost one of the ducklings early on to disease. The fox has taken 6 and one of the females was killed by the drakes (they can get very rough when they are mating).  So there is some sadness mixed in with the pleasure. 

There is good news we haven’t lost a duck to the fox for at least a month now. I think the night I chased him off at 3 am helped. A fortnight ago we picked up 3 new females to rebalance the duck to drake ratio, so there is less tension. And if this wasn’t enough we are getting regular eggs now.