May 11, 2026, the 131st day of 2026
Baby Bonanza!
It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though the flowering trees are barely showing more than leaf buds.... View MoreMay 11, 2026, the 131st day of 2026
Baby Bonanza!
It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though the flowering trees are barely showing more than leaf buds.
It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though it was 24°F this morning and the cool breeze chilled us when it blew over us as we sunned at 53°F.
It is definitely the middle of Spring now, even though May 11th looks and feels more like the beginning of April.
Why? Because of the baby bonanza today more than any other day!
One mama hen not only hatched one chick egg--which is not too unusual--but she hatched 10 ducklings as well!
Ducks have been hatching babies since May 5th. 5 ducklings hatched on the 5th. Then 2 ducklings hatchef on the 8th. 1 duckling hatched on the 9th. Not a lot on any one day, until today!
11 hatchings in one morning, from one mother, on the 11th!
Well, mama hen could not keep the 10 ducklings. They are waterfowl after all and need a duck to raise them. So they had to go to a mama duck.
It is not that unusual for a chicken egg to get hatched by a duck, though often they will get crushed because duck eggs are so much harder and require getting wet near the hatching time. If a duck manages the chick needs removed right away because the ducks have big feet and are not delicate at all.
There is a time difference as well. 21 days is usual for a chick to hatch. Most ducklings hatch in 28 days. But Muscovey ducklings, the kind that hatched today, usually take 35 days.
The chicken egg had to be laid on that pile of eggs at just the right time for a 21 day hatching to happen at the same time as a 35 day hatching.
So that was pretty cool!
After all that hard work mama hen has one baby chick, but there are still more chicken eggs, so she should be getting more babies yet.
All I can say is what an amazing job that little mother hen accomplished!
God works in mysterious ways, that is for sure! And His creation is a marvel to behold!
Stay strong! It is always good to do your job well, even if another gets the benefit of it.
NAN
