Day 8 Update

I can't wait until Cheyenne can withstand cooler temps. The heat has been cranked up in the house, all the windows have been shut, and I've been sleeping under her heat lamp for eight days. lol She's well worth it, of course, and I certainly signed up for it :) The reason I'm most anxious to get her off the lamp is because I have to cut our play time together short before she chills. Swim time, especially. If she's in her "nest" under the lamp or with her heat pad in the play pen and I have to leave the room for a second, she lets me know she isn't happy! In the next couple weeks, I'll finally be able to let HER decide where she wants to go. I power a blow dryer on low after she bathes, though, and let her decide how far to sit from it while she preens to warm up her feet. That seems to help.

I started giving her free-choice grit (no oyster shell) on day 4. Something told me to wait until she darn well knew her mash was her feed and not the grit. I was just worried she would confuse the two if I introduced it too early. Maybe I'm too paranoid. She's doing well with it and rarely picks at it. I bought a ten pound bag and I'll probably have left overs in 100 years from now!

Let me tell you, she is a pooping machine! It's astounding. If you bring your hatchling home and think, "Hey! That's not bad at all.... they barely mess their cage", think again. Once that feed starts flowing and once they start growing, they poop and they poop a lot! I highly recommend having a large supply of rags and towels ready for your duckling. I use them for everything. You will be washing their 'bedding' often and will need replacements while it's in the dryer. You will want to place a towel or two around their 'mini pond'. If you aren't diapering now or ever, you will need a towel on your lap, and you will want rags to pick up any 'accidents'. Taking the advice of The Goose's Mother, I use Easy Liner layed-out on top of a towel in their 'nest'. Trust me, it will make your life easier.

She's eating a lot more. By the end of the week, I'll have to upgrade from the egg poacher to a cat dish, which she's now big enough to eat out of.

That's about it for now :)