So early this morning, I was laying in bed waiting to hear that backyard alarm clock. I was tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but I was just rolling back and forth. C'mon I thought, it's sunday. Around 630, I heard him crow. But it sounded like he was choking on something. It was only a half crow. Gruff and low in volume. Shit, I thought to myself, I have to get up. A second later though, there it was, errt erret errreeuuww. Loud and clear. Oh great, I can crash back out for a little while I thought. Then again he crowed, but again, it was half volume and gruff, and only a short crow. I started to get dressed to go out and check on him, and there it came again, loud and clear. I finished putting on my shoes, and heard him again, louder then ever, crystal clear. As soon as I opened the door to the deck, I caught the smell of bacon coming from a neighbor's house, and thought, I'll bring the eggs. I guess he is a great alarm. lol On my way down the deck stairs, he crowed, but low and weak again. I heard the girl's stirring and the duck was making his ducky noises. As I neared the door, it hit me. No,,, not the rooster, the cause of the change in his cockadoodledooing. One of this springs hatch, was a baby new hampshire red. A rooster. It was him. lol And Einstein, aka gismo, our silkie rooster, both taking turns alerting the predators, that they were there to protect the girls. And yea, wake up the neighbors. I thought, this is their alert for protection? It sounds more like a here we are, come and eat us . I watered them and opened up the coops. The baby ducks were first on the scene. They drank from the water bowl and then jumped right into it. I opened the big coop, and duck was the first out. He is the drake. Followed by the chickens and then Gismo. I took a couple of handfuls of dry mealy worms, and threw them into the duck pool. The chickens circled the pool shoulder to shoulder, and kept the baby ducks out. Duck was in his spot eating, and sucking in the food and water. Every time one of the ducklings tried to get near the pool, the chickens pecked them away. All of a sudden, one of the baby ducks, ran waddling fast, and busted through, between duck and a chicken right into the middle of the pool. She swam around eating all the floating mealey's and no one else could touch her. The other two just watched. I thought , pictures, pictures. Yea right. Next time. Happy Sunday. I hope we all have a great week.