Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

[CanuckBock]

She is such a lady...never mis-bites/mis-pecks...always careful to peck pieces of the food, never me!​

I know, I know--not suppose to hand feed birds...hand feed any critter but she's my down fall...she's my Achille's heel when it comes to acting badly! I am ever so happy to see her enjoying her life and can't help but spoil her.

Speaking of spoiling...yeh, those two tiny Choco Calls sure got themselves a treat(MENT) today!

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These two have NEVER been on water...get to play in their big bowl of marbles but never been a bathin'...

So with the conducive weather being with us for a stretch...today they got a real ducky fun-fest, a spa TREATment fer waterfowls! No need to make them duckers wait for real spring to go paddling...knowing full well I put a nice clean cage in front of the woodstove and plunked the spunky ones in the rubba dubba tubba...

Can y'all hear the echos of their QUACKS??

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Into the tub with them. Never known what it meant to paddle...to be Puddle Ducks! Well today, they sure do...was hilariously good fun...not sure who enjoyed it more' ME or them FTD Squeakers!

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And jest to mess with Diva's mind...I tossed in a handful of the miniest of wubber duckies...for the duckies to play with...in the tub...well of course!

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One of the songs we would sing at the Exhibition Poultry Club meetin's :

Like a duck to water...what a hoot...

Quote:
Originally Posted by drumstick diva

Tara . I hope there is NO chance of the chocolate call ducks getting smaller and smaller each generation till they disappear. I'll start my worrying early(now) so I can get enough of it in.

I never mentioned this yesterday but you do realize Diva...that extinction or disappearance of these Chocolate Calls is not really avoidable...extinction is kinda expected. I would not waste a second worrying about it, it is a bonafied GIVEN. Chocolate is the rarest of the Mallard duck derived colourations. It is not like the oldtimers had plenty of these choco ducks; like a century of working with chocolate Call ducks. Only a recent up surge and you know what will go EXTINCT before these them here Chocos do?

Well, yeh, um uh...that would be ME! And as I pointed out in my last post...in two year's time if left to their devices and even if left in other's hands that don't quite know what they are doing...well my Dear, you can bet your bippy it is going to be happening. Not a maybe, but there will be no more Chocolate Calls to be had like the ones we have here now.

Us oldtimers are kicking regular like and with us, well no matter how we try and get the word out...provide examples to others & spread the information we have about the Fancy...the information we have collected up over our decades of doing and learning and keeping at this...it goes with us when we die. Simple basic truth there. If I kicked tomorrow, that's 45+ years gone POOF!

Well them little coco beaner ducks are pretty much plenty dry...take them out and snap a few pics and return them to their quarters. Been a fun and thrilling day for the lil' blighters but time to slide them back into their routine. We ain't thru winter quite yet. Just a momentary reprieve to act foolish like...no fool like an OLD one, eh?

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Day six...

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What a gorgeous, albeit windy day today.

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A very flag flapping windy day and WARM is the wind.

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I am not much into winds as I don't like all the clatter of things flapping about (past the flag and wind chimes)...but appreciate that the wind will help melt the snows and the ice.

So windy, the sheepy Jacobs were in the barn...

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I guess they wanted some peaceful tranquil place to bunk out and chew cuds this morning.

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The moon is still hanging out in the morning sky. Winter sun has not made her round about yet to really light things up. Still got areas in shadows.

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I can see the spruce cones that were blown off the trees out dotting the snow, and the snow has that glazed sheen on it...a layer of crusty snow...not fluffy and powdery. Happens when it warms up...

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Fixins is patiently waiting on me...time to play bally she says!

OK...not so patiently waiting...here she is blasting me with doggy BARKS.

Dog time already! ​

She better watch out...I see those tiny black toe nails of hers are not getting trimmed up on the snow covered grounds...I might have to clippy clip her toes...give her a pedicure. She hates that and complains profusely. But cheese in chunks makes it all better...Right Fixins? Can one say, "CHEESE pleases???"

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Snow is off three of our six '36 Maple Leaf Trucks...

Snow in just one day's time on the geese houses is melting and shooting off the roofs. Starting to see bare ground in places.

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I am thinking it is way, way too spring like being that it is the first half of December.

Spring like the spring in Fixins' gait now...now that she's lubed up again.

Lookit her GO!


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BQ sauce I made a few days back, here is a pic of it bottled up. Forgot to mention I did not make just 5x's the recipe, went eight times...there was enough ingredients to finish off some of the containers of ingredients, so may as well stock up...weather acting up warm too! LOL

So as said...took some piccy's of the two Choco Calls.

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There is indeed a "type" difference between these two Chocolate Call Ducks. One is WAY more SOP compliant than the other...here is another picture to show you this...

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Body size is pretty much the same...it is more the extremities that differ.

One of them is more "mallard" like, the other more "call" like.

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I am drawn to the more Call like one...after all the SOP description is suppose to explain the ideal shape and form for a Call duck!

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Improvements one could make on her...shorter bill (width is good, just too long), shorter legs... What I am pleased with is her size, general body shape is good, she stands very nice and level (some produce Calls that cannot stand level...and have twisted limbs...not good in my books; no foot, no animal!) and NO WHITE feathers or lacings! Bully there considering what I wanted to do was transfer the colour of larger coarser self-chocolate ducks to a more typey petite Call form.

Now if you ask this Chocolate girl if SHE likes the other duck...well it is a very much a given...they are very, very good buds.

Here she is giving her buddy a nice KISS!
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In the reality of all things...SOP or not SOP...there is truly more to this enjoyment here in Pear-A-Dice over who suits a written Standard better. No competition on the fondness these birds have for their companions, eh?

Love a duck! Fear the duck; FTD!​

Wondering who else has an SOP compliant eye for Call Duck breed shape?

I can tell what duckling is gonna be pretty SOP compliant at the day old stage. Anyone wanna guess which duckling day old is which from the two I kept back? One I will label "M" for mallard, the other a "C" for call. Tee hee...

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These are the two Chocos I kept...one on the left and one on the right...which one is which now in the juvey stage? M for mallard like and C for more Call like.

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Here again, a herd of the day old Calls...which one is which one of the two I kept? M or C?

A bit of a helper hint...the one lower one in the middle is NOT one I kept back...this one is a BIBBED Chocolate
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See the really light coloured yeller chest? That becomes a white bib when they grow in feathers. The Black Call on the far left has a WHITE bib...see the yellow area on its chest? eliminate the one in the very back...that is a White Call...they are yellow downed. So you got four duck day-olds to mull over...LOL Did I make this too difficult?

How about a funny to cut the stress of choosing...a laugh at my expense is always good.

I wanted to get going outside, so I quickly changed into chore clothes...into a pair of pants with a nylon outer layer that would be more wind proof. In my haste (makes waste!), I somehow managed to put them on backwards...not upside down but back to the front and vice versa. I laughed as I was half way out the yard before I was searching for a pocket to put the camera lens cap in...yeh...great...oh well. Best people don't look in here...bound for a surprise or two... "Oh my eyes!"

I mentioned this to Rick that I was having a wonderful day...only complain is that I was out in the yard with my pants on backwards. I did however mumble it was a GOOD day because at least I remembered to put ON a pair of pants...so warm out, how would one know, eh?

This of course reminded me of the old off key joke we know...about Boris and the Beach...apologies if you have heard this one before...


Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Day SEVEN...

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Yes, if you count all the actual swans, more than seven pictured...AH but the line in the song says SWIMMING! LOL


Been very interesting watching the snow go...the winds died down yesterday at mid day...they certainly help wick away the moisture...speed up the disappearance of the snow and ice.

Roofs are pretty much bare...barely any snow and can see the ground in places ​

But a good thing still...the places that need snow coverage are still with a good depth.

Raspberry patch...elevated bed but protected with a nice amount of snow​

The birch pile is delightful now...

I took the time to wipe the piled up snow off and now it is pretty much just wood waiting to be loaded and hauled into the house for burning! ​

I expect and want more snow...have not had my fill quite yet of the white...needs to be some more please...so LET IT SNOW! Love the snow...bring it on please!

Decided to have muttloaf and scalpers with a salad last night. I am not giving up on enjoying the comfort foods...jest because the snows and ice are melting off...we are still allowed to enjoy all the benefits of being in winter mode, eh!

Muttloaf​

Scalpers​

Assembled and into the oven​

Salad with shredded cheese, chicken chunks & hard boiled pullet eggs
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We got EGGS coming outta our ears...nice to have that problem in winter eh?, especially when prices for eggs is high and the demand for Christmas baking and such increases the want for them. So lucky to have the bird birds...indeed a blessing!

Hmm...looks done...done like dinner...​

And tada...dinner IS served...​

Cooked up some wild sole fillets for Fixins...
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She got hard boiled y'eggers, shredded chicken and FISH in her kibs last night!

Hmmm...yeh, not so appetizing to look at but hey, this was for the DOG...

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What say the dog Fixins about sole, egger and chook added to yer kibs tonight?

So sayeth the Fixins..."NUM!"

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How warm is the winter weather we have right now...how warm?

Call Duck egg​

Warm enough to convince them Call Ducks someone has to mess with Tara's mind again by throwing an egg her way. No want though to set it. Got two setty hens too...NOPE...don't quite have the want to have fuzzer butts just yet. All that just means I had an excellent hatching season this year and no inkling of a need for more birds at the moment. Very nice to be SO content and happy with the hatches from 2014. Ah...so wonderful, eh.


Yeh...one of the many delights to living here in Pear-A-Dice is we get some of the most sunshine in the Land...yeh, very cool indeed seeing as I was raised on the WEsT Coast and had to endure winters with 90 days straight of overcast and rains...blah!

Might get some cold weather here but as Rick and I have come to expect...the sun shines and SHINES indeed. Makes even forty below tolerable...happy and joyous dressed and conditioned for it. It is indeed heavenly here with the sunshine to help you feel happy. We are a two hour drive away from Calgary...333 days with just over half the daylight hours being SUNNY...yeh, that's alot of fun in the sun we get to enjoy!

Sunniest Cities in Canada, http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/Canada/sunniest-cities.php:

Sunniest Cities In Canada: The Cities With The Most Sunshine In The Country, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/26/sunniest-cities-in-canada_n_4165107.html:


So no worries we are not getting a nice dose of our Vitamin D...our sunshine vitamin!

I am told if you lack this vitamin, one can often expect a bout of depression. Might explain why we have no wants to be any where else on the Planet, eh! Keep that gloomy weather away thanks!

So yeh...jest another day here in Pear-A-Dice enjoying the sunshine!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[lularat]

Tara, the food looks delicious as always and Fixins fish looks pretty good too. I agree about the sunshine. When its cold and you have sunshine, you don't mind it, but lately we have had a lot of cloudy and rainy, 40-50 degree days. Makes you blahhhh. Still hoping for my snow though

 

[drumstick diva]

when our temps go up temporarily - to the 40's the humidity makes it feel so much colder - bah! It's pretty pretty dreary to. Just want to hibernate for awhile.

 

[lularat]

You're right Diva...the humidity with the cold makes it feel colder and throw a little wind in the mix, it's even colder.

 

[scottcaddy]

Tara are Red Golden Pheasant poultry? Do they only have the same 2 feather colors to work with?
Thanks for the posts!
Scott

 

[CanuckBock]

Shoo...get back home you renEGGades!​

Them older girls can be so CUTE!

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Rick had some time away from his paying day job (if 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. is considered DAY time) and began clearing off some of the snow and ice, making it like a nice parking lot to get about on.

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Divine!

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And got the Christmas sillies on too...means out I go to retrieve the Xmas junk and hang it off fence rails, gates, anything standing still long enough to get adorned...

BEFORE THE MADNESS...madness is hung...work in progress at this point...still hope I slide off the driveway and get snow bound in the ditch...can't do no more cause I lost a boot and have to hop home...give up...never try to do this again...there is HOPE at this point...

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All hope is lots...nope, found the strength, the boots fit the socked feets...the deed got done!

AFTER math....

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The tackier, the better the Christmas decorating IS!

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Welcome...welcome...come on in and get a CANDY caning...if you dare...

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Santa and a reindeer...hung on the flag pole like some sorta sic hunting trophies...

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Even the MAN porch is not safe...

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Tis everywhere...run run run fer yer lives...

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Not even the dogs are safe...eventually I capture each one by Christmas day...and strangle them with holiday garlands...oh the shame of it all...

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I think the dogs let me catch them because the waif of turkey roasting is on the air and well...dogs will do most anything for turkey in their dinner bowls, eh? They do get revenge...I find pieces of tinsel and garland strewed about the pastures...everywhere bits and pieces to pick up...

Today, another load of birch...

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Another toss of the toy...

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Another, get the dog inside cold toes...

Hurry along...got cold toes...hurry! I need inside!
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Not so tough for such a Fixins dog...lookit those muscles in that neck and shoulders!

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Quote:
Originally Posted by lularat

Tara, the food looks delicious as always and Fixins fish looks pretty good too. I agree about the sunshine. When its cold and you have sunshine, you don't mind it, but lately we have had a lot of cloudy and rainy, 40-50 degree days. Makes you blahhhh. Still hoping for my snow though

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In winter, we get to relish the food...need it to keep warm and trudging along...

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Fun thing about choosing a chicken breed that lays eggs so well in winter...

Project Chantecler bantams...MEDIUM sized eggs...purdy good for widdle gals!​

We have a bounty of eggs which ensures the meals we make with them are delicious and good for us too!

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Maybe there is some EGGY envy going thru the place here...I DO have to wonder about those silly bantam ducks...been presented with FOUR eggs now and that is not a seasonable expected wanted trait in the bantam ducks...eggs in winter...

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Really...nope, no webbers will I have hatch in winter...I know better than they do!

Tara are Red Golden Pheasant poultry? Do they only have the same 2 feather colors to work with?
Thanks for the posts!
Scott

Scott, working on a post to reply to you...should be a good one...hauling out my copy of the Pheasant standard even!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[Wisher1000]

Where is my book?!? I ordered it in early October and it hasn't shown up yet. I guess it's stuck in the Christmas package avalanche at the post office. Nope. It hasn't even shipped yet.

I'll be letting you know as soon as it gets here and I get a chance to read through it (mostly.)

Order placed
October 9, 2014

Rare Poultry Breeds
Scrivener, David
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC ​

Total
$37.03
Ship to
Not yet shipped
Expected delivery: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 - Monday, January 5, 2015 by 8pm

Order Received - October 9, 2014 7:14 AM
We've received your order, but we haven't started preparing it for shipment yet.
The amount of time your order spends in this status can vary based on the availability
of the item(s) and the selected delivery.

​

 

[ronott1]

Where is my book?!? I ordered it in early October and it hasn't shown up yet. I guess it's stuck in the Christmas package avalanche at the post office. Nope. It hasn't even shipped yet.

I'll be letting you know as soon as it gets here and I get a chance to read through it (mostly.)

Order placed
October 9, 2014

Rare Poultry Breeds
Scrivener, David
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC ​

Total
$37.03
Ship to
Not yet shipped
Expected delivery: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 - Monday, January 5, 2015 by 8pm

Order Received - October 9, 2014 7:14 AM
We've received your order, but we haven't started preparing it for shipment yet.
The amount of time your order spends in this status can vary based on the availability
of the item(s) and the selected delivery.

​

Amazon usually cancels orders that are this late on me.