Recent content by Lori-in-Californa

It looks like a swedish blue, but without the bluing gene. A flock of swedish will have black, blue and white/speckled. Or it could be a 300, and this duck got the dominant black gene. I had a 300 this color.

I ordered what my son calls “puppy gates” on amazon. Black metal, 24” high, eight panels wide, with a door. There are several brands. Cost is $35-49. One set will go around a 4’ x 8’ raised planter bed, with some extra length. Keeps my chickens and ducks out. I had a chicken who liked to...

I read that with drakes (boy ducks) if you carry them under your arm as you walk around you are exherting dominance over him. He can’t move, and you choose where to go, and how long he is under your control. Would this work with a gander? I have one drake with 5 ducks, and he is very mellow...

My ducks and chickens co-exist in my backyard easily. They have seperate coops at night, and free range during the day. Ducks are a bit dominant when I hand feed mealworms, or if they think there might be something cool in a food saucer, but I can wave away the ducks to allow the chickens a...

I have four chickens, one drake and five ducks. They all free range all day in my backyard. Chickens put themselves to bed at night in a 3’x3’? two story coop. Ducks get herded into a small one story coop just before I go to bed. Everyone gets along. Ducks tend to stick together, chickens...

I live in northern california, which is desert country and I use deep wood shavings. It does not get muddy except for 25 seconds in the winter. I have ducks with deep wood shavings, and again… not muddy. Might be a different story in a different location.

I bribe them with mealworms. Sit on the ground, Put a few in your hand, replace after someone eats the first few. Repeat. And then repeat in a few days. Not everyone gets friendly, but most do. Remember, mealworms are like passing out sugar cubes, so let repetition do the trick, not lots in...

Is it possible to SHOW the neighbors how their chickens are aggressively eating your food? They might be more willing to believe you that their girls are really hungry.

I would think you could find a roo from someone who has a spare. My first four hens were actually a roo and three hens. And my three ducks and a drake grew up to be two drakes and two hens. And if you hatch your own eggs you get some portion of roos and probably dont keep them all. So I...

I subscribe to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy. And for the nearest neighbors I bribe with eggs. For my bees we call it “hush honey”, but I dont yet have a clever name for egg bribery.

A sample day...

I picked for different egg colors. My cuckoo maran lays the smoothest dk brown egg, and my welsummer egg has a rough finish on a dk brown egg with just a rosy hint. Silver laced wyandotte is a tan egg layer, and americaunas and easter eggers lay blue and green eggs. I skipped white, but my...

I have what appears to be a swedish blue drake. (Was supposed to be a 300 layer duck, double oops!) Assuming they sent the wrong breed and he's purebred Swedish, is he likely to have DOUBLE black? (EE) Such that he will throw a black E into *all* his offspring, so the offspring are all...