Friends for Thelma and Jill

Our two lonely orphan girls got some new friends today.  Jill - our lone goose - and Thelma - our lone duck - have been spending much of their time together but I wanted to increase their flock a bit.  I found a listing online that sounded promising.  A gal was trying to rehome her five ducks, a drake and four hens.  That was perfect for us.  You really only want a single drake (if any) and the hens earn their keep with eggs.  I made a deal with her to trade the five ducks for ten pounds of fresh pork.

I brought the whole flock home in the back of the Mazda.  It was stinky and loud, with five backseat drivers telling me to slow down, but we made it home.  When I opened the back of the car, they began quacking.  Thelma heard the commotion and joined in the chorus.  Jill honked in recognition of her fellow waterfowl. I brought everyone out and set the cage near the pond.  We don't have a large pond for them yet, but we are working on it. In the mean time, we have several smaller "ponds" for them to bathe and play in.  Jill immediately came over to investigate, sticking her big beak into the open cage door, sending the five ducks into the far corner.  I shooed her away and tried to get the ducks out.  The eventually headed out the door and straight into the pond.

Everyone seems to be getting along just fine.  All five of the new ducks fit snugly in the pond.  They seem to enjoy floating around.  Yesterday I watched Jill observing from the side.  Then, like the unwanted kid who cannonballs into the pool, she somewhat gracefully slipped into the pond - and displaced enough water to float everyone else up over the sides and out of the water.  The other ducks quacked in disgust while Jill looked as if she were confused about the abrupt ending of the party.