Once again, covering about 5 days with one video.
Biggest ‘news’ is the duck eggs in the incubator started hatching yesterday, with three (of about 15) hatched thus far.
Ducklings are just SO damn cute. I’m always amazed to hear them sounding just like baby chicks, at least for the first few weeks. At some point, they take on the “duck sound” that differs from the “chicken sound” … but it takes them awhile to get there.
Deuce … as always … is just DEUCE (which is to say: a complete knucklehead). I could never hate him, so I’ll define our relationship as one of love-dislike. I love him in the extreme, but I dislike some of his behaviors and personality quirks. For example, he is by far the most vocal dog I’ve ever owned. He doesn’t just bark. No … any ol’ dog can just bark! Deuce yells, screams, sings and somehow vocalizes about a half-dozen other emotions. Can’t say I wasn’t forewarned. The breeder told me he was “very vocal.” He’s also one of the most destructive dogs I’ve ever had. You should see the porch. Absolutely LITTERED with rocks, shredded sticks, torn up boxes, and other random ‘toys’ he’s found around the house and property. I clean it up, and he takes it as a personal challenge to mess it up again, even worse.
Doesn’t matter how many times I correct him with his static shock collar … if he wants to do something, he’s going to do it. “Bring on the SHOCK! … that ALL you got?” … I can almost hear him thinking.
Kitchen counter surfing … check! Can’t leave anything out at night. As soon as I go to bed, he runs a nightly checklist. 1) Scarf any food off the kitchen counter, 2) drink out of the toilet, 3) if the kitchen garbage isn’t closed/secured, rip all the garbage out and distribute it over the front room and outside porch, 4) if the wind blows the front door closed, poop on the hardwood floor, 5) check for ticks, if any found, crawl into bed with Dad, … etc.
Okay, done venting. If you can’t tell by the videos I share, I clearly LOVE him more than I DISLIKE him. My love is unconditional. My dislike is episodic and transient (to use a few temporal geekisms).
As soon as the incubator hatch is completed (maybe about 5 days from now), I plan on putting another 10 duck eggs, and maybe about 10 chicken eggs, down for a second set. Need more ducks, and the chicken flock could use a few new recruits to keep the local hawks, coyotes and lone red wolf busy. 😉