First off, the Indian Runner ducklings, Maisie and Millie, are now a week old. Ducks grow so freaking fast!
We’ve been letting them out to run and play in the living room, and today, because the weather was so lovely and warm, they got to go outside and have a bath.
While I was outside with the camera, I also took a few pictures of the quail.
A gratuitous shot of Peabody because he is a camera hog:
And then I visitied Loki and Isis. When I open the door to the coop, Isis always comes running right up, expecting treats.
If I don’t immediately comply with a handful of seed or greens, she sometimes attempts to walk (always very calmly) out of the coop to go get her own greens.
It’s at this point that I give in to her wishes…
I really, really like these Golden Italians. They are so docile and sweet-tempered. Though Loki is always slightly suspicious of my motives. He’s a good male, and protective of his girl.
Speaking of quail, I said I’d show you pics of my new coop. It’s smaller than the others – I originally meant it to hook onto the from-scratch greenhouse I was going to build. I wanted to make sure they had an outside area they could escape to if the interior of the greenhouse got too hot.
The entire top lifts, for easy access to the quail. I wouldn’t have a top *quite* like this, if I didn’t trust my quail to be so tame they wouldn’t fly out. As it is, one of the girls does *pretend* she’s going to fly out if I’m not quick enough with the treats. But once I drop seed or greens in the pen, they all let me pet them, clean around them, and do whatever else needs to be done without fear.
Notice the chickens looking on. They have severe quail-food envy. The highlight of their day is when I scatter a few quail crumbles on the ground for them!
We aren’t doing a from-scratch greenhouse any more, for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being that we found a kit that is everything we want, for a reasonable price. It’s the Early Bloomer, by Solexx. We have the frame up, but we were accidentally sent the wrong size of anchoring/tie down pieces, so we can’t put the skin on it until we get those in the mail.
The company, Solexx is AMAZING to deal with. They are willing to answer all our questions over the phone, and after we bought one, the guy who gives help on building it gave us his personal cell phone number in case we had trouble and needed help after hours or on the weekend! Wow. That’s customer service you don’t often see.
If you’re looking for a greenhouse, I highly recommend checking them out.
And what’s new in the garden? My beans are coming up like wildfire!
I’m growing so many different kinds of snap beans this year. I want to can millions of them! Seriously, those beans I canned last year are so yummy. I’m also growing a couple of varieties for dry beans. Black Turtle and Saxons, neither of which I’ve done before, and Scarlet Runner Beans, which I do every year. The hummingbirds LOVE the flowers, they are gorgeous on the trellis, and the dry beans are wonderful. Similar to a pinto, I think, only creamier. Since I tried them as dry beans, I don’t bother picking any of them as young snap beans.
And here’s a picture of one of my favorite flowers, Forget-Me-Not.
Oh, and I almost forgot – we’re getting three new chicks this year! My broody hen, Josie, went broody at just the right time this year, so I reserved two Ameraucanas, and one Speckled Sussex. Every time I get an Ameraucana, it ends up being a rooster. Every. Freaking. Time. So this time, I’m getting two. My luck couldn’t be that bad, could it?
Don’t answer that.
Out of Eden 
Very cute ducklings! Look-wise I’m very partial to Runners. 🙂 I’ve heard they can be more “nervous” or “high-strung” but I think a lot of that depends on how you raise the ducks. There’s a youtube video of a guy and his (obviously beloved) Runners, and he’s holding them while they swim, they’re following him everywhere. It’s adorable. I never tire of quail updates. Picking up my incubator and supplies today and should hopefully have quail eggs this week. So excited.
Yay for quail eggs! I look forward to hearing about your hatch. Yes, Indian Runners can be very tame. I’ve had them before, and they are my favorites. I had one male that would walk around the garden with me, heeling like a dog. He’d stop when I’d stop, and we’d examine plants together and have a nice little chat. His female would get jealous, though, and call him back to her after awhile. He’d stay with her for a few minutes, then sneak back to me! 🙂
That’s so sweet. 🙂 Ducks are precious little guys! So much of how they behave is in how you treat them and you definitely have a way with birds!
My eggs shipped today! (The test batch, not the blue quail, but those are next.) They should be here on Saturday or Monday, and I’ll set up the incubator tomorrow. 🙂 I’ll let you know how it goes!
Cool! I hope your eggs have a nice, easy time in the mail.
Aw, they are such little cuties at this age. I love ducklings. If you have any dandelions in your yard, you can pick the leaves and cut them up small and put them in their water. It gives them a good vitamin boost and they just love gobbling them down.
Thanks, Robin! I’ve been giving some greens in their water, but I really need to get on the ball and give them more. They do love them!!!!