A few months ago, I wrote about ordering baby chickens through the mail, and how we wanted to get a couple “fluff butts” as pets. The fluff butts were supposed to be frizzle chicks – bantam chickens whose feathers stick out at all angles.

And while I still highly recommend looking up pictures of the frizzle chicks, we didn’t end up ordering any because the minimum order was 15, and frankly, we don’t want that many chickens that do nothing for us but look cute.

However, since the frizzle chicks were supposed to be a present for my stepson, we had to find something to fill that gap. Enter the ducks.

While we were deciding on what breeds of chickens to order, my wife came up with the idea that we get a couple of ducks. She had a few growing up, and since they are a little more intelligent and interactive than chickens it seemed like a good idea. They would give us eggs and are cold hardy, plus, she found a hatchery in California that would send us just two ducks, instead of 15.

So back in April we received a box with a couple of chirping little ducklings. Forbin and Ophelia made quite the mess in our office as they grew and grew and grew. Pine shavings and duck poop were cleaned up regularly, but the reward of having a new set of animals on the homestead was more than enough to offset the quacking.

The ducks grew a lot faster than the chickens, and now that they’re a few months old, the pair is at least the size of our full-grown chickens. There are a few small pools scattered around the yard for them to swim in, and even though Ophelia doesn’t really like to swim that much, Forbin will go to town dashing, diving and splashing.

One day a few weeks ago, as Audrey and I sat on the porch watching the ducks and chickens sniff around the yard, we were talking about how lucky we’d been with predators. We lost one chicken over the winter to a marten that got into the run, and last week one of our Auracana chickens vanished, but other than that we haven’t really had any problems.

Our conversation soon turned to the ducks, who have basically no defense mechanism. They can’t really fly and their bills are kind of soft and smooth, unlike the chicken’s hard, sharp beaks. Plus, the chickens have sharp claws and an enormous rooster name Poseidon to help keep them safe. The ducks have no such protector.

We watched as Forbin chased after the dog with an open bill, making a big show of how tough she was. And as we laughed, we realized that they were an easy target and we could conceivably be left with only one duck as the result of a predator attack. That would be a shame since they are so attached to each other, and one lonely duck is not only sad, but would be noisy and needy as well. At least, that’s what Audrey convinced me of as she was ordering another pair of ducklings.

We had placed an order for 11 chicks that were due to arrive at the end of May, and since we want the chickens and ducks to get along, our second set of ducklings was set to arrive the first week in June.

We had decided on a variety of chicken breeds, and when they arrived the little peepers looked nice and healthy. And fluffy.

The next week, we got our second set of ducks, or as I like to call them, the insurance policy. I don’t really bother naming chickens anymore since we have more than 20. Not only is it hard to keep the names straight, but since they might get picked off by a predator or turn into another rooster (dinner), naming the chicks makes no sense. We did agree that if it becomes apparent that any of them will be roosters, we will name them after what they will become, so it is possible we’ll have a chicken named Stew or Marsala.

But the ducks are another story. We only have four, so Cactus and Possum have now officially been added to the roster of pets at the house.

The ducklings are much larger than than the chicks, and for now we’re keeping them in separate housing. They’re all about the same size, even though the ducks are a couple weeks younger. We have introduced the new ducklings to the new chicks, and other than some curiosity pecking, they all seemed to get along. It’s funny watching them try to figure what each other are, and the ducks seemed confused by the chicks’ ability to fly a little bit already.

While we were disappointed that we couldn’t get any frizzle chicks, the ducks seem to be a nice addition. They’re smart and fun, even if they are loud and noisy. But watching them swim and try to attack butterflies is supremely enjoyable. Oh, and we’re looking forward to getting some duck eggs. I sometimes have to remind myself that’s why we got them.