Nature at Chater Infant School

  Day 9 & 10  The ducklings were taken to visit all the different classes in the school yesterday.   All the children (and staff) were very excited to see them.  The children asked some very interesting questions and learnt more about the ducklings.   Sadly today it was time for the ducklings to return to their farm in Norfolk.  The farmer has collected them and they are now on their way home.  They will be living on a free range farm in Norfolk and as soon as they are old enough will get to live outside. The children in Nursery drew some pictures of the ducks before they were collected.  Some children even made duckling pictures on the computers.

  Day 8 Over the weekend the last egg hatched.  Now we have five ducklings in Nursery.   The newest duckling is much smaller than the ones which hatched first.  Look at the difference in sizes in this picture! This shows how quickly the ducklings grow in the first few days. Today the ducks had their very first swimming lesson!  We put the ducklings in some water in the sink and they were able to swim straight away.  They enjoyed splashing in and out of the water.  Watch this video to see how much fun they were having.  After they had a swim the adults needed to dry the ducklings with a towel as their feathers are not yet waterproof.   Did you know.... Adult ducks have waterproof feathers.  Ducks have a preen gland near their tails and this makes an oil which ducks rub onto their feathers.  The oil stops the feathers becoming water-logged and helps keep them dry.

Day Five Another duckling hatched overnight so now we have 4 ducklings in Nursery.   Here are some pictures of children in Nursery handling the ducklings!