frittata or duckies

this is a thought going through my head and when i just write it down here - maybe i find a solution....
we got the runner-ducks for 2 reasons:

1. they love snails and all the other insects and do not scratch the heck out of my garden.
2. the internet says they are very good egg-layers, up to 250 eggs a year.

the 1st point is right, the 2nd kinda, they laid a lot of eggs - for sure not 250 more like the half of it. but the point here is that i ate the eggs last year - they tasted good, just like chicken eggs. but now i took 6 eggs and they turned in this darling creatures. whenever i find an egg from Nancy i think : there is such a cute little thing in there - only 30 days away--- how can i eat this????? i am a vegetarian? i thought? i am for the right of a women to choose to have a baby or not. but i also think there is a new person in every fetus.
kinda difficult thoughts in our natural peaceful life at the end of the gravel road....
'frittata or ducky-babies'?

sechslinge

we always wanted baby-ducks and Nancy our only female duck able to produce fertile eggs started laying after the winter break. we were thrilled and after the weather got warm enough we left them in the nest. she started to sit - a bit - and got more interested in water games - laid more eggs - sat again and so on... i counted 13 eggs. and still not ready to sit all the time. i decided after Queeny got also in a sitting mood - and stayed - on her unfertilized eggs ( she and Udo do NOT like each other and even if - these are 2 different birds and make some strange babies) to put Nancy's eggs under neath our good white duck Queeny; and she sat and sat 30 days. she got barely anything to eat, just some short times in the water and back on her eggs. i lifted her wing after i heard a tiny noise and yes - there was a baby-duck.

wild activity followed. we did not really knew if there is anything coming out of the eggs and got some duckling feed, a waterer, and prepared a box. and the next one hatched underneath good mother duck and at the end of the 26. of may we had 6 ducklings.

we decided it will be too difficult to let them be with Queeny. she would have had been totally isolated from runners and chicken so --- we took them into the living-room and i became the mother of 6 newborn babies, how sweet they were and still are. but boy they grow fast.

our 1st day outside:

and the 1st bath:

one ducky today 17 days old:

of course in the last 2 month happened a lot, on the little house more things are getting done, soon the upper cement floor can be poured and the gardens are using a lot of time too. but i just had to put these little friends up and share them with you.