Duckling Diary
Monday
13th May 2024
Our First update for our Duckling diary! It has been the most exciting week here in Duckling class, with 5 new additions to our class for 10 whole days! Our duckling children could not believe their eyes when a gigantic cage and 5 little eggs was delivered to our classroom on Monday afternoon. Although they had known about it, seeing the eggs made it become very real for us all! 5 tiny little eggs in the incubator, all warm and cosy. The children kept a close eye on them for the rest of the afternoon and continually checked on them to make sure they were okay, and to see if any of them were hatching! The children were all so hopeful that when they came to school on Tuesday, that there would be some fluffy Ducklings waiting for them!
Tuesday
14th May 2024
Today was a slow day for our little Duckling eggs, as they were just not ready yet to leave the lovely warmth of their incubator. However, there was one or two just slightly starting to show signs of hatching, which quickly caught their eye when they came into class this morning. The children were predicting which one would hatch first, and whether it would be today or possibly tomorrow. The excitement in our classroom was becoming more and more. The children were amazing at remembering not to touch the incubator and to use very soft voices near the incubator and around the eggs. They were calm and gentle and we just know the Ducklings were excited to hatch to meet our special children! We all went home tonight, not knowing how many we would see in the morning but holding thumbs we would hear some chirping noises in the morning!
Wednesday
15th May 2024
And then there was one! One duckling had hatched overnight and was very excited this morning! He was a bright yellow little fluff ball and very very noisy!! We had to wait 2 hours after seeing him before moving him into the cage, and also we had to wait for another egg to hatch because the first little one needed a mate, so patiently we waited for another little egg to hatch. Over the course of the morning, our Duckling kids were amazed at how quickly the eggs were starting to hatch and how amazing it was that they were there to see it. They could not contain their excitement and it was wonderful to see! By lunchtime, we had 2 little Ducklings hatched and ready to be moved into the big cage! 3 had hatched, but the last little one was still very fresh and we decided to keep him in the incubator last night just to make sure he gains all his strength before he joins his siblings!
Thursday
16th May 2024
Our little Ducklings were so happy to see some human faces this morning!! They had a really good sleep last night, and are much stronger this morning and full of energy. Our little one that stayed a little longer in the incubator was looking ready to join their sibling so we could not wait to put him in the big cage! There is one little egg in the incubator, still busy hatching and hopefully he will hatch completely overnight, and so he will be able to join his siblings in the morning!
Friday
17th May 2024
The little ducklings were very happy to see some friendly faces this morning, and even more excited to get moving and get out of their cage! Some of our children that come to breakfast club read them a story, while they were all cuddling under the heating pad. Our littlest one, still in the incubator is still working very hard to get the rest of his sticky shell off him. Once he has done that, we will move him right away to the big cage - there is nothing a bit of sibling cuddles can't fix! This afternoon, while we were all in Duckling Class, we all had a turn playing with them on the carpet. We sat in a circle and put them in the middle and let them waddle around and the children were able to give them some soft cuddles as well. The Ducklings loved being out of the cage and even more so, being able to be around the children. Needless to say, they were exhausted and went straight back under the heating pad for a much needed nap! They will be going home with Mrs Bennett this weekend, so we will have some more updates and pictures of their weekend on Monday!
Week 2
Our second week with our little Ducklings was a blast! Not only did they have more energy, but we were also able to put them in their own little Duckling pond. The children loved watching them play around in the water, and slowly over a couple of days, the Ducklings became more and more confident in the water. They started dipping their head under and also would make the children laugh and jump by having ‘zoomies’ in the water by swimming around really quickly, making small little splashes on the children.
On Thursday, the children gave them one last cuddle and we said goodbye. It was a very sad goodbye as all the children loved coming in the mornings to greet them, and the Ducklings always woke up and came to greet them too. The children were all so kind and gentle with them and really looked after our visitors while they were here. They were all healthy and happy and we were very lucky to be able to look after them this last week! They are back at the farm, where they will be undercover for a while until their permanent feathers begin to grow, and then they will be able to explore the farm and roam amongst the other animals, even Alpacas!
