Natural Instincts

Among my menagerie of animals is a pair of muscovy ducks.  This spring the female started laying eggs in the chicken coop.  Once my hens saw this mound of eggs they couldn't help themselves but to "brood" on the nest.  It's very interesting how hens are mesmerized by these tiny oval creations; natural instincts and mother nature truly are remarkable.  The female duck began to lay eggs somewhere else so I decided to let the hen "adopt" the nest and just see what happened.

Everyday I would gently kick the old hen off the eggs and collect any new chicken eggs that were laid.  Well today I went out and found this......

I tried to put the little creature back under the hen but she wanted no part of it and even started pecking the poor little thing.   I've heard that hens will go as far as kill deformed chicks so maybe this was also the hen's uncontrollable instinct. The duckling was probably only a few hours old and would die if left outside so obviously I had to bring it in the house.  Insert eye roll from my loving husband.

The boys helped me make a home for our newest arrival out of a cardboard box, straw and the living room lamp.  Chase googled how to look after a duckling and we got it to eat and drink a tiny bit.

He (I'm calling it a he until proven otherwise) is still very unsteady on his feet and his head awkwardly bends back.  The maternity nurse in me settles him to sleep by swaddling him in a face cloth.  He goes right to sleep once he is all wrapped up.

He tends to sleep for awhile and then awakens, unwraps himself and calls for his "mama".

While writing this the little guy was "peeping" and Chase woke up from bed.  He said he just couldn't sleep knowing the duckling needed something.  I caught the footage.  It's a bit blurry but I wanted the video to be candid so I didn't attempt to get a better angle.

I love how Chase is so gentle with animals; it truly melts my heart.  I guess even little boys have natural instincts to care too.