The Old Folks Home - Page 3

Why hellooooooooo there!

I have to say, I'm a kid-less 30 something...

..........Until tomorrow that is.

Then these guys move in!

We also offed 3 roosters today in anticipation of the new arrivals... not quite the same body mass, but I'd like to keep the mouths to feed around the same number. At least, that's what I told BF.

(What he doesn't know is that Banty the crazy broody hen is hatching ducklings any day now)

Hi All, I'm inviting myself, i meet the criteria and i have no problem admitting I've replaced my kids with chickens. that doesn't sound right but you know what i mean. Daughter is married and lives nearby with my darling grandson,  

Cooper loves to come over and "feed" the chickens. He throws handfuls of oatmeal at them, their favorite treat. And my son is starting his junior year at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Some kids are just born to leave the nest and I doubt he'll be living nearby once he graduates.

I too want a little of everything i see. I have 3 Buffs. 1 Aussie and 3 pretty Swedish Flower hens right now. Coming soon a couple of EE chicks from a local family and a Swedish Flower roo coming all the way from FL. 

I've been drooling over ducks, want some runners. they are great layers. And I'm looking real hard at the Pilgrim Geese. Ducks and gees for next spring but if anyone has any experience with them I'd love to her about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisher1000 

 

Arielle- I was just telling Stumpy that I plan to put up some fences as soon as it cools off some here.  Are you hatching any poults this fall?

I promised myself I wouldn't--everyone must be out of the house by winter. I guess I should put a more concrete date than that. I've stopped putting in ducks and turkeys. Just put in marnas, and maybe another dozen going in Sunday night if the eggs don't sell.  I was actually thinking of offinf a couple of the turkeys including the TOm--to decrese the winter numbers.  It gets TOO COLD here too fast for fall poults. If I could kick a horse out of his stall, well that might change things.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by superchemicalgirl 

Why hellooooooooo there!

 

I have to say, I'm a kid-less 30 something...

 

..........Until tomorrow that is.

 

Then these guys move in!

 

 

 

We also offed 3 roosters today in anticipation of the new arrivals... not quite the same body mass, but I'd like to keep the mouths to feed around the same number. At least, that's what I told BF.

 

(What he doesn't know is that Banty the crazy broody hen is hatching ducklings any day now)

 

If only 10 horses equalled 10 chickens!! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathiesue 

Hi All, I'm inviting myself, i meet the criteria and i have no problem admitting I've replaced my kids with chickens. that doesn't sound right but you know what i mean. Daughter is married and lives nearby with my darling grandson,  

Cooper loves to come over and "feed" the chickens. He throws handfuls of oatmeal at them, their favorite treat. And my son is starting his junior year at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Some kids are just born to leave the nest and I doubt he'll be living nearby once he graduates.

I too want a little of everything i see. I have 3 Buffs. 1 Aussie and 3 pretty Swedish Flower hens right now. Coming soon a couple of EE chicks from a local family and a Swedish Flower roo coming all the way from FL. 

I've been drooling over ducks, want some runners. they are great layers. And I'm looking real hard at the Pilgrim Geese. Ducks and gees for next spring but if anyone has any experience with them I'd love to her about it.

Personally I'm passing on geese, I've heard they are good guard dogs. THis is second hand info mind you. We have a few muscovy. Not friendly. Seem to tolerate us and we love them. THese are a perching duck; and certainlydon't look like a runner duck.  I never could understand the funny looking ducks in the Peter Rabbit stories. NOW I get it!!   LOL

Wisher, I don't blame you for waiting on the fence work.  I did a lot of the work on my run in terrible heat.

Oh, someone had to bring up ducks!     I have wanted them longer than I've wanted chickens!  I'd really like to have a water "feature" for them that has a drain in it so I wouldn't be constantly scooping and trying to turn over kiddie pools.

I didn't realize Muscovies were like that -- glad to know it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisher1000 

To them, 30 is old (I know better) and you will fit right in! 

 

Are you kidding me? 30 is old. I feel it every morning when I get up and creak and crack. I know many of you won't agree - but about 10 years of doing heavy gymnastics when I was young took its toll on my joints. That straightjacket of mine doesn't help much, either.

As far as geese go, I probably won't ever do that again. If I do, you'd better believe I'm hatching them out or starting as really young birds. I got maybe 6 week old birds a year ago. It was not a good fit. They hated me, I hated them. They regurgitated their food at me like that velociraptor in Jurrasic Park in the car scene... I was very glad when they ran away from home. I promise you if they didn't have webbed feet they would have proudly displayed "the bird" as they scooted off down the driveway to better pastures.

Ducks... ducks don't love you the same way chickens do. My chickens follow me around and flock to the gate when I come home. They're excited to see me. The ducks? Not so much. However, the ducks are a good player for the farm here. They eat their weight in slugs and their poop water is fantastic for my plants. And they are DELICIOUS. And really cute in their pool splashing around. I only have 1 girl but she is a better layer than a leghorn hands down. She started laying May 15th and has only missed 1 day of laying since then (and the day before laid a double yolker, so...). It's insane. I keep urging her to take a few days off. She won't listen. The worst part about ducks is the muddy, messy water. I've minimized that by letting them free range all day. It's worse in winter though because up here everything just freezes. Their run was an ice cube last year and I was hauling hot water from inside then having to break up their ice with a hammer... If I lived in a place with a more mild winter it wouldn't be a big deal, but it's really like 5 months of that... In the summer I have a hard rubbermaid tub that is easy to flip, unlike a flimsy kiddie pool (although we have one of those, too).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisher1000 

I have only had ducks once when I was a kid and Dad got rid of them because of the mess.  I always thought that I would get an oval stock trough and terace a hillside so that one side was at ground level (or a bit above) and the other side would be exposed so that the drain plug would flow down the hill.  That way, you unplug it, hose it out, plug it up and fill it.  I do live in a mild climate and wouldn't have to crack ice but once or twice a year and probably only in the early morning.  I may look into some...... hmmmmmmmm........

I'll be happy to send you some eggs to hatch. They'd be pekin crosses most likely. I have a pekin female and a pekin drake, a rouen drake and a black swedish drake. The pekin drake is gay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisher1000 

I have only had ducks once when I was a kid and Dad got rid of them because of the mess.  I always thought that I would get an oval stock trough and terace a hillside so that one side was at ground level (or a bit above) and the other side would be exposed so that the drain plug would flow down the hill.  That way, you unplug it, hose it out, plug it up and fill it.  I do live in a mild climate and wouldn't have to crack ice but once or twice a year and probably only in the early morning.  I may look into some...... hmmmmmmmm........

Or, in an effort to further enab-  -- I mean help you, this could have a double use.  Instead of a drain, install a faucet/hose and run that duck water into your garden.