Ladies and Germs, in lieu of Microscopic Monday, we are bringing you some serious cuteness!

Meet the Muscovy duckling!

@Stitchybitch has taken to calling him "Mal" but I prefer "Mallard the Magnificent, Ruler of The Twelve Realms, Slayer of Grasshoppers, Terror of the Grass Seeds, Begger of the Bread.. The Third.".

Here is the whole family! For a while, it was only the male and the baby that came through. Muscovy ducks are interesting in the way that the males take the babies out for their daily walks and feeding. Then one day I surmise they couldn't keep the noms all to themselves and they told the mother that there were some happening eats being thrown their way!

She was definitely not as excited as the baby or dad. I suppose she was skeptical.

peep peep peep peep!

Muscovy ducks usually lay anywhere from eight to sixteen eggs, so seeing just one duckling is a little sad!

Which is why we've been giving them some handouts. There are a lot of feral cats around so seeing ducklings in this area is becoming more rare. We can at least give them some treats!

And convince them to get closer and closer!

The father is incredibly watchful and isn't quite sure if he should trust us or not.

There have been many times that the baby runs full speed towards me and the male "yells", the duckling then promptly drops onto his butt and awaits further instruction.

Aforementioned butt drop and eager peeping for the food in my hands!

We woke up yesterday to a rude surprise. The male and the baby were waiting at the screen door as usual. But next to the fence, led by the mother, was another group. She gossiped!

We don't mind feeding the duckling and its family, but we can't have a hoard of ducks hanging out and bothering us!

Although, they are easily domesticated..
I mentioned a "duck army" and Stitchy gave me a glance of disapproval. She was right, we couldn't afford to feed an army. A battalion will just have to do.

Aside from the number of them being problematic, we knew that if the bigger males figured out that they would get fed, they would chase off the baby. Which we watched him do after we brainstormed how to handle the situation.

I decided that the best course of action was to show the baby and the male they are welcome. The others are not. This was achieved with grapes and a broom.

I sat on the ground and fed them exclusively while I waved the scary yellow stick at the others.

They were none too pleased, but seem to have gotten the hint.

They haven't returned.

However.. the trust is building beyond all expectations!

The baby eating from my hand today!

And this was taken about 30 minutes ago!

They are coming onto the porch now to get treats!

(Also, try not to feed bread to birds except in small amounts! It is bad for them and the waterways!)

Stay tuned to my and @stitchybitch's blog for more updates! She tends to have all the cute pictures of creatures on her page!