Dot and Dash, my pair of Ancona ducks hatched 7 little ones. She had 8 eggs, and one didn't quite make it out of the shell. I tried to get a picture of all of them, but they are running around like crazy having a good time, so I didn't get them all in one shot. I was surprised to see how helpful the drake (Dash) was while hatching. He went in the nest too and would brood the ones that were hatched while the hen kept incubating the remaining eggs. He still helps keep them warm. He's a good daddy!

Here's some more baby duck pictures.
Taking a nap. I think you can count all seven on these pictures. When they are awake, they are running all over catching bugs and playing. I can watch them for a long time and enjoy them.

There's nothing much cuter than a duckling.

The only thing cuter than a duckling is 7 ducklings!

I haven't raised ducks in years, and the last ones I had were Muscovy. I forgot how active they are. This hen is a great egg layer. The first year she produced an egg all but 5 days. the second year she dropped down some, and this year was doing quite well, but of course once I let her keep them she stopped when the nest was full.

awww, those are so CUTE!

Oh my are they ever cute.

- And I'll bet they are already twice as big as in those photos; ducks grow so fast.I think we need an update.

Awwwww so sweet Tom!!

They are getting bigger every day. It's so fun to watch them. I'll have to take some more pictures.

Yes, you will!

Here's some pictures from this morning.

Little cutie fluffy butts!

They're growing so fast.

I had a scare tonight, when I went out to feed the horses I checked on the ducks and there was a little one stuck in the water and couldn't get out. I could see at a glance that it was in lots of trouble. I ran in and took him out, he was pretty week and could hardly walk. I put him in a sunny spot and kept checking on him. He began to preen a bit and clean himself up. Still had a hard time walking. About an hour later he was snuggled in a cluster with the sibling and mom, and later when I checked I couldn't tell which one it was they were all running about eating like nothing happened.

They have been jumping in and out of the water for several days now, so I wasn't worried I guess this one hadn't and didn't know how to get out. Guess I need to take that out of there until they are bigger. Maybe put some bricks in there for steps to get in and out. I'm really glad he made it.

That was a lucky break that you happened to see him needing help.

Awwww, happy ending!

Yup, it's doing fine today. I took out that water trough until they get bigger.

tveguy3 said:Yup, it's doing fine today. I took out that water trough until they get bigger.

Good idea!