Ducklings go to School

(picture of wild ducks in the pond behind our house right after break-up. Our pond is shallow and one of the earliest to thaw out each year so we get some of the first birds of the season stopping by for a rest)

For a new and exciting adventures the ducklings got to go to school for a visit. 

Day one we went to Lulu’s kindergarten class over at Immersion. 

It was kind of funny because all the adults asked me how I got them… they thought I stole them out of a nest. It is funny because the wild ducks and geese are just coming in to nest and there are not eggs, much less babies, out on the tundra for wild gathering yet. So what they were really asking is where I found a nest to raid this early in the season. They thought I might be full of secrets and wanted in on it.  

When we (me and my box of water fowl) arrived in the classroom it was pandemonium since both classes came to see the show. I decided the kids could pet, but not hold the birds since they were numerous and very, very excited. I picked up a gosling to show the kids and it immediately proceeded to projectile crap all over me. The kids SCREAMED in horror and delight. I dropped that gosling and picked up the other one and it did pretty much the exact same thing. All kids then agreed that petting the birds was all they needed to do. I was left with an "incriminating stain" on my skirt that I wore like a badge of motherly martyrdom for the rest of the day.

The next day we moved up to Cal’s second grade class. They were also very excited and I let them hold them at first. Then we filled a tote with water and let them all take their first swim. That was fun, but then I had to deal with them all being chilled. After about five minutes the kids all started finding tissue to stuff up their nostrils to show me how smelly they find farm life to be. It was kind of like every kid in the room was suddenly recovering from nose bleeds.

Even inside the birds were chilled after their first swim even though it was warm water. So when we got home I stole the chicks heat lamp (switched them to a lesser light…which the delicate stinkers let me know was not cool) and gave the ducks two heat lamps for the afternoon so they could dry off and warm back up. I got really worried about Chilly because she seemed the worst off, but she perked right up and all ducks have survived ok. They also I think learned it is best to stay away from kids, which should be a good lesson down the road.