These are the ducklings we got right at Easter time, April 1st. They’re now a month old and basically full grown. Last night during evening barn check, they escaped their pen and went running in the barn. All eight of them promptly fell into the gutter in the floor. If you know about old dairy barns, you know that the gutter is a trough about two feet deep that runs around the center and its job was to catch the cow manure. Luckily, we don’t have cows and so the trough is empty. However, ducks can run pretty fast, especially when everyone’s all a-fluster. It must have looked like fun, because Bella, the dog, wanted to play “Catch the bird” on my team.
There are pieces of diamond pattern cast iron on the floor covering the gears so folks can walk over them without getting caught in the machinery. Since the machinery is long gone, this makes a nice tunnel for ducks to hide in. I had to pry up the flooring to grab the ducks. Did I mention the pieces are cast iron? Meanwhile, the dog discovered that the cats have used the tunnel for their latrine, and there is nothing better than cat poop to a dog. Except maybe chicken poop. Combine all this with the slime on the bottom of my boots from the wet floor in the duck pen, and I’m slip-slidin’ away. Thank heavens there are no video cameras in that part of the barn!
During all of this, a hefty thunderstorm is brewing with lightning. I’m glad to say I got all the animals fed & watered, all the ducks back in their pen, and the dog and myself into the house before the storm really let loose. The last task of the night was a bath for Bella and a shower for me.
A good (?) time was had by all.