New Magpie Thread!!!!

[SkyBlueJar]

My Magpies are 10 weeks. Try picking your bird up. If it makes that whispery soft quacking, it's a drake. If it says, "Quack!!" it's a female.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

Hello...Hope I can join the group... I LOVE my magpies, but they are very hard to find. I had 2 drakes last fall until one got killed by a opossum. I got him a runner buddy until I found some more magpies then sold the runner. Kept my pekin girl cause she is just super sweet. Right now I have 3 drakes , 2 blacks and a gray/dunn and 2 black girls and my pekin..Always looking for some more. And would like to sell one of my black drakes. The kids are 16 weeks today. I can't wait till they start to lay eggs so I can hatch some out...

Anyone close to NY?

 

[willowbirdks]

We brought these Magpie babies home this weekend... They are about 3 weeks old, and a coworker of DH's gave them to us for free. They had 21 hatch out from broody ducks this year, and can keep only a couple! I couldn't believe getting them for free, especially an uncommon breed like this, but I'm thankful. Two in particular are pretty heavily marked, but they do come from a stock of good layers. Hoping to get at least two hens. One is either older than thought or an early bloomer... She's quacking more than she's peeping on a regular basis!

These will be kept in with our Anconas once they get big enough. Our Ancona hen is fine with them already, but one of the drakes is pretty aggressive towards them... They need to get a bit bigger before we let them fully integrate!

 

[willowbirdks]

Hello...Hope I can join the group... I LOVE my magpies, but they are very hard to find. I had 2 drakes last fall until one got killed by a opossum. I got him a runner buddy until I found some more magpies then sold the runner. Kept my pekin girl cause she is just super sweet. Right now I have 3 drakes , 2 blacks and a gray/dunn and 2 black girls and my pekin..Always looking for some more. And would like to sell one of my black drakes. The kids are 16 weeks today. I can't wait till they start to lay eggs so I can hatch some out... Anyone close to NY?

I love your silver drake! So pretty... Well, they all are.

 

[them chickens]

they are the best ducks ever n want to sit on the wife's lap n will chase you across the yard for fun .do we need to make a nest box like for the chickens or just let them find there own place to lay the eggs.

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

I think that you let them find their own spot. Ducks see to like to lay their eggs early in the AM. My pekin is the only one that I have laying right now and she just made a nest of sorts, it is more like a crater in the corner of the duck hut. I find an egg most mornings when I let them out. I try to make sure that I keep it filled with clean shavings so that the egg isn't all covered with poop.


My ducks chillin in the shade during the heat of the day. They love to sit under there in the afternoon.

 

[Stacykins]

Without fail, I get an egg a day from each of my Magpie females. They're always done laying by the time I am done milking, and then I let them out to free range.

I now have six total Magpies. This is one of my own I hatched this year. I didn't do much hatching, because a new job meant I had little time to 'mother' a huge gang of ducklings. I love how this girl turned out, she has a nice balance of white and black.

 

[them chickens]

I have two hens and three males. I would love to get like two more hens so the ones that I have won't get worn out.someone know Any place around western Washington that might have some available .

 

[willowbirdks]

With everybody at 5-6 weeks old, we are quite confident that we have three hens out of the four Magpie ducklings! Hurray!

I'm not sure if these are coming into their voices earlier, or if we just know better what we're looking for this time around... I feel like it took up to that 10 week mark with my Anconas before I was confident about the genders.

They are fitting right into our flock very nicely, too. We still house them separately at night, but they are spending more and more time free ranging and hanging out in the run together. I will have to post an updated picture when I can get to my computer, since the mobile photos still seem to be a bit dysfunctional.

 

[sondieblondie]

Here are my magpie girls gabbie and lovie. Still waiting for eggs and I was told they were 5 months old when I got them back in june!