Heel low:
Here is a bit full of our own personal experiences and opinions in regards to Australian Black Swans (Cygnus atratus)...
Summer of 2013; Pearl flapping, Fixins reclined, Ember standing in the foreground
My spouse and I have been raising poultry, gamefowl, livestock, and canines for a combined 90+ years. Yeh, we have taken care of our family duties and now we are running amok on the property, having the times of our lives...these are my opinions on Australian Black Swans...a wonderful reality for us here.
It was always a dream of ours to eventually get some Australian Black Swans to add to our conservation and preservation farm here in Canada. Began that in 2009 and what a blast it has been...pinch us, it this really happening here! AWESOME!
These are the two cobs; Smoke Stack (Smokey) in the foreground and Stove Pipe (Piper).
In 2009, we brought in two cobs (one is a direct Holland import and the other, an Ontario/Alberta bred male). Over the years we have seen all sorts of inbred, poorly made up and SMALL Australian Black Swans shuffled thru the auction marts. Never ever wondered on why we were never tempted to purchase auction swans, eh. Poor things were crap!
These are the two pens; Black Pearl (Pearl) in the foreground and Fire Ember (Ember) in the background.
About fifteen to twenty years ago when a bag of poultry layer ration was seven bucks a bag, you would expect to pay at auction $800 for a single Australian Black Swan...most were very dismal representations of the regal beings they should have been. People were breeding repeatedly, sisters to brothers for generations and it was showing how heavily inbred and depressed the genetic diversity of the stocks were--small pathetic birds when they should have been way, way more healthy! My husband and I figured we were not going to have any of that. Poor, poor creatures...indeed!
Prices on feed have risen to $24 a bag from where they were 15 to 20 years back, so it goes without saying, poultry prices should reflect that increase since past facilities and labour costs, feed is one of the bigger input drains on your hobby's ongoing existence. Expect to pay double the purchase price now in 2015...so budget about $1,500 a bird or more and for a decent breeding pair (usually about two years of age, three year olds are better since they have had time to get their act together, eh), it can be even more money.
October's eggs from Black Pearl, her second clutch
One of the initial queries I see is "How much are swans?" and often that old saying that if you gotta ask, well you can guess the answer for proper birds is not going to be received too well. When decent stock is on offer, people that don't understand what implications are taken on in preparation for the bird's arriving, LONG before the birds even arrive...are taken aback at the price. We have had ZERO predation on our conservation stocks here since 2007...none, no deaths due to predators taking our birds. We take great pride in that.
Smokey protecting Ember
A Black Swan may intimidated a timid human, but coyotes, wolverines, foxes, stray dogs, cougars, lynx, eagles, owls, hawks, etc. etc. are NOT intimidated by flapping wings and bity bills...they EAT birds in this geographical location--many use to keep birds but get wiped out because, well we do live in the gnarly wilds, eh. What a sad end it would be to see our two pairs of Oz Swans snacked upon, or even just injured by predators or roving strays. NO thanks...so we house and fence well...triple perimeter fenced and that's just to keep all the riff raff at bay...never mind the individual housing and fencing in place. I am not going to be half dressed for work and running around putting things back where they belong.
Smokey in foreground, Piper in back
As with anything like this, simply put, you get what you pay for. If you have qualms about the purchase price of the birds right off, walk away is all we have to say. We personally are not going to purchase poorly bred birds...and make up excuses as to how much money we saved when Black Swans in captivity can live FORTY or more years! If you cannot afford the cost of the mere birds, you cannot afford to adequately fence for them, house them, feed them, and spoilt them rotten. I would not bother with any of this if we did not have the time, resources, knowledge or finances to do this as it should be done. Remember, these are our strict opinions, nobody else needs to be on board here...but man alive, are we having FUN, eh!
Lookit the happiness...the wing flaps of joy and bugles of this is MY stomping grounds and I be happy!
If you cannot afford the purchase price of decent stock, then if you have not already paid for the building of or hired the persons to build you your facilities for them...brace yourselves for even more costs if you plan on doing this our way. Where we live, temperatures run from -53C (-63F) to in the 40's C (104F)...extremes and whilst the summers are gorgeous, you do have to provide heat and housing winter conducive for the Australian Swans...these are not swans that migrate to the Tundra each year like the Trumpeters that fly over our place twice a year, to and from their wintering grounds up North of here.
One pair of Black Swans observing our Jacob Sheep flock grazing
What makes me grin is that housing and fencing for the swans has run in the thousands for us and my spouse is a cabinet maker...so our labour and expertise was already covered. THOUSANDS of dollars...building supplies (not labour) was $5,000 for the Eden House and Pen...thousands were spent on wire combo panels for the fencing... Not for the faint of heart or determined to do this up right for keeping them well, safe and happy.
Winter of 2009...house prepared and waiting for spring...CONSTRUCTION season here.
Building supplies (engineered trusses, metal ridge cap and metal roofing); paid for and brought in...awaiting spring to happen!
Oh well, suck it up Buttercup...not everyone can afford to own even the land, never mind the facilities to keep Black Swans happy on.
May...time to get on this project eh...
My Hero builds the barn first (like measuring twice and cutting once)...dismantles it, paints it completely and then does final assembly...
So he builds the barn, takes it all apart, paints it, then builds it one last time. He then affixes the hardware cloth wire to the ready for it pen walls.
Tenplast on the front...lets in light very nicely!
Yee haw...strapped for metal roofing, she's close to being completed!
Right on...one side roofed...pretty close to being ... done like dinner...
Swan house...EDEN...
Beauty...the Swan House (Eden), slips right on in with the two goose houses...see the tenplast sheet used as a wind break on the side of the pen...works fabulous!
My contribution past holding the dumb end (I don't build...in fact, I pretty much ruin good building materials, eh!)...but I do carve a bit...so artsy fartsy contribution of mine...the sign!
So all the building in the world, all the cabinet skills you can muster...all that really matters in the end is...
Many an hour of mine in the summer is spent in the shade enjoying the swans...many, many pleasurable hours watching them share their lives on jest be swans!
Pen Pearl even does tricks...balancing romaine on her bill....
She will do head bops for counting, 1+1, 2+2...
No water bottles are safe from inspection by Pearla Girla...
She will even shine yer boots if you leave them there too long...
Tastes like...Liquorice?
The cobs...well they like to do the hokey pokey dance...you put the one foot in...
Pretty kewl dance eh...feets in, necks swinging, wings a flapping...jest a shaking it all about...
The two pens...mimicking COAL LUMPS...having a nice peaceful nap
We here laugh looking around at the sixteen foot combo panels we have used as part of the fencing systems we have. At $80 a single panel (excluding the posts, wire, staples, etc.), we have literally THOUSANDS of dollars (excluding our labour...our labour of love is FREEly donated, eh) invested in fencing to keep the birds and critters all safe and sound, never mind the houses, pens and corrals in place!
Here is the pair of Ruddy Shels enjoying some time out on the grass...
January 10, 2014
Interesting thing about the Aus Black Swans, they have the longest neck for body size of all the swan breeds...loooong necked swans, eh!
May 7, 2014 - the first swan egg I have ever held...can you visualize my hand is trembling!
Various EGGS: Center is Pearl's Black Swan egg (255 grams), top is a Silver Appleyard duck egg, right is American Buff Pied goose egg,
bottom is an antiquity heritage Ronquières turkey egg, and on the left is Jumbo sized Chantecler chicken egg.
My Hero built the Black Swans a home and we got down to keeping them well and happy. Then in June 2013, we imported two unrelated pens from the Southern States and I spent that summer with the two girls in quaratine...what a summer of pleasure that was...sitting pool side, watching me gals grow accustomed to their new digs...lovely, lovely...dreamy and delish!
Pearl on the left and Ember on the right
This breed of swans are native to Australia and New Zealand (hunted to extinction but have been reintroduced). You do not usually require any permits to keep Australian Black Swans here in North America...not a native species, eh. Whilst the cobs (males) may be aggressive (especially in breeding season--May and October for us here in the Great White North), pens are often more laid back and friendly (got their old man to tye a licking on yah!) and friendly towards humans. The Black Swans are one of the more relaxed swan species temperament wise...not saying they will be cuddly and lovey, but groups of Oz Black Swans get along better than other swan species. Some nest in groups of 100 to 1,000...more a community swan I suppose. Both males and females share in the incubation (35 or so days) and raising duties of the cygnets (baby swans). They are not huge for swans, about ten to twenty pounds but a big bird if you look at the size of them, especially with flapping of their wings.
Yes, they are vocal and their musical repertoire of sounds like piping can be carried great distances...we have Call Ducks and many crowing roosters, gobbling turks and drumming pheasants...have the proper zoning for poultry...you won't be hiding the fact you have swans when they begin to announce their presence, eh.
Cob Piper
Our pens are young and we have yet to raise any cygnets, but not in any rush...in captivity, Black Swans may live to 40+ years of age...we plan on enjoying them by sucking in all they have to offer over time; in slo mo thanks!
Two months of quarantine for the two pens
I did fecal floats to ensure all the Oz Black Swans did not harbour any noxious internal parasites
August 15, 2013; setup for fecal floats on the two pairs of Black Swans...internal parasite check up
And we had all of our swans DNA gendered...easy and economical!
Piper looking at his blood drops on the sample card...DNA gendering
HealthGene (nfi) will do blood (toenail blood is what I did for the two cobs) or feathers (did that for the two pens)...contact them via the web to get a sampling kit sent...very reasonable at about $12 a bird AND quick turn over time...we had our results back within a business week...in fact, I think we had an e-mail in two days after they received the sample...very nice frameable results too. I was VERY impressed with the service we were provided with...VERY!
So in regards to the question, do you need a lake or a large pond for keeping Australian Black Swans...absolutely NOT and we personally prefer NOT to have some larger body of water for our waterfowl. The water gets contaminated with feed and fecal matter...quite disgusting AND dangerous for the birds themselves. Here, when the water gets polluted, mere easy tipping of the kiddy pool over and voila, refill and back into action...clean, safe, pristine...PERFECTION for our birds. You could not GIVE us land with a pond or lake...blah and BLICK! Can only fathom having to empty a lake or large pond to have only to refill it...and wonder if the bottom of the natural water body did not contain all the components for botulism! NO thanks!
Pearl & Ember in quarantine, summer of 2013
With the kiddy pools, I can empty and scrub them out, refill and have the ponds for each of the pairs (geese, ducks, swans, Ruddys) back in use in a matter of a few hours. Easy peasy and if it is EASY you tend to do that task because it is not so bothersome. My opinion on the provisions of water for WATERfowl. Do as you so wish, this is what we do and we adore it...
Does not take very long for the swans to start messing up their water...so easy to dump and refill a kiddy pool and keep them in pristine and clean water....
We buy cases of human grade romaine...let the lettuce float about in the kiddy pool--what the swans don't eat, gets dumped out when I drain the pool...
Easy peasy and HEALTHFUL--no rotting vegetation to make the swans ill!
So as we get to talking about foods...may as well address what we feed the swans...
Like all waterfowl, cygnets should NOT be fed medicated feeds. Waterfowl does not live in the jungles where wild type chickens resided, and they most certainly will not find the same foods in the jungle compared to the swamps, ponds, rivers and lakesides where they prefer to live. Feed them the proper species foods...if someone at the feed store tries to tell you it is OK to feed chicken layer ration to a duck, run away fast...they do this because they do not want to provide the proper feed and you as the customer, should be feeding a decent feed made up for your kind of birds...that simple, that concise.
BASE RATION
I have a waterfowl grower pellet made up fresh in one ton lots (2,200 pounds). My preference is to have this ration as a base for our waterfowl here (ducks, geese, Ruddy Shels, & swans), I add three grains to the mix and then provide GREENS for the Oz Black Swans as in spinach and romaine...I even grow a veg garden for me birds (and us too) so that we have plenty of real decent proper greens for the birds to consume. Greens are not all that nutritional but the happiness factors a bit of greens each winter makes for amazingly content and amused birdies.
Waterfowl Grower Pellet - information off the label.
This feed contains added selenium at 0.3 mg/kg
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Crude Protein – Min. 16.0%
Crude Fat – Min. 2.0%
Crude Fibre – Max. 6.0 %
Calcium – Act. 0.85 %
Phosphorus – Act. 0.60 %
Sodium – Act. 0.16 %
Vitamin A – Min. 8,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 – Min. 2,500 IU/kg
Vitamin E – Min. 25 IU/kg
INGREDIENTS: Manufactured using cereal grains, vegetable proteins and vegetable oils.
FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
1. This feed is designed for feeding ducks and geese from four weeks of age until market.
2. If geese have access to good quality pasture, this feed may limited to 1 kg per goose per week until geese are 12 weeks of age. After 12 weeks, this feed should be available free choice.
3. Provide insoluble grit, grower size, by sprinkling on the feed once a week at 1 kg per 100 birds.
GRAINS
The three main grains we use for Australian Black Swans are:
OATS
Excellent grain for poultry though some say they have issues with getting their birds to eat it. We feed whole oats and mix it in with the wheat and corn (in winter). All our poultry eats it but we start them on it as soon as we begin mixing grains into their starter rations, so they are use to it. We also have oat straw for bedding and find that some of the heads are left on. The birds love digging around hunting for the oats and it keeps them amused, especially in winter when it can be a bit boring for them. Oats has four times the fiber than wheat or corn and waterfowl especially tend to grow slower on oats (therefore are less fat) but have less physical problems (live longer, less leg or wing problems, produce more young, and have beautiful feathers). You may use oats to balance a gamebird ration if that is all you have access to; 1 part oats to 4 parts gamebird flight conditioner.
WHEAT
We use hard red whole wheat.
CORN
We use to use steam rolled corn but had issues with it not being put up properly and it would mold. So we switched to cracked yellow corn that is not too dusty. I feed this ONLY in winter to the Swans to help keep them birds generating adequate body heat. Corn has more energy, but less protein than wheat.
I mix one part of whole wheat with one part whole oats, so a 50/50 mix. I then take 1 part of these mixed grains and hand mix it at a rate of about 1 part mixed grains to 2 to 3 parts base ration pellets— depending on the season. Corn is added to the grain mix during winter at a rate of 1 part to 4 parts mixed rations. I will add more oats when the birds are moulting. I watch what is left in the feeders to tell me what they are not eating and make adjustments accordingly.
GRIT & OYSTER SHELL
We always have insoluble grit (granite or marble aggregate) and soluble oyster shell (source of calcium) kept dry and available in each pen. Some people say having oyster shell available year round leads to internal organ failure but we rarely have any deaths in our flock past old age.
ADDITIVES
Here is what I "add" to my duck, ruddy, swan, & goose grower pellet; cracked yellow corn (winter), whole hard red wheat, whole heavy oats, along with free choice grit and oyster shell for our adult swans.
- GREENS I feel that the more undomesticated/wilder the poultry species, the more important it is to ensure they receive fresh greens each and every day. Gamebirds, Ruddies, Mandarin and Wood Ducks, all the Swans kept in captivity, etc.; these birds would find greens naturally if not under our care and containment. Even with domestic geese, we provide “happiness” factors like celery, cauliflower, minced carrots; any of these items provide “crunchy” treats to satisfy some waterfowl’s basic natural instinctual needs. One has to figure they would be out and about, pond or lake side, rooting for tidbits of plant material. We feed our Black Australian Swans sliced spinach or romaine lettuce leaves if we have run out of spinach that day! Spinach does not keep as fresh as the Romaine will.
- SUNFLOWER Black oilseed sunflower seeds may also be fed to dark coloured birds to assist with black pigments.
Getting your poultry rations right for each species is reflected by how your poultry performs for you. If they live long, happy, productive lives and replicate strong generations of baby hatchlings that are able to do the same in kind, then you are doing something quite right. Pretty inside and out!
The thing about feathers is that something as simple as running them out of water may show up as a check in growth or colour pattern of the feathers.
Swans out grazing on grassy lawns...if you keep the green grass short, they get to nip off tender new growth and web about much easier...
However it is still kinda cute to see them periscoping thru tall growth...when the two pens were in quarantine, they came down the field to find the dogs and I while we were doing a bit of shelterbelt fencing...
"Hey, what you doing? May we help too??"
Pearl flapping for sheer joy
If your birds are outfitted in glorious coats of gleaming, nearest perfect plumage, all the hard work, time, effort, and resources you have extended will tell on you…good or bad!
Interesting thing about Black Swans...I always thought they were entirely black feathered...nope, the primary wing feathers are white...stronger feathers are white (no pigment in white feathers, eh) so would make perfect sense why they would have white wing feathers. Whilst the Australian Black Swans don't really migrate like other swan species do...they still fly and are nomadic in their countries of origin. Ours were pinioned in one wing as hatchlings...no worries they will wing over the four foot high fence panels.
Since the swans lay eggs in May and October here and we get snow every month of the year, I have picked up some stone eggs as dummy eggs for the pens. Not quite the right size, goose egg size and WAY too small, but will hafta do for now until I find some bigger ones (three inches wide by four inches long). When one of the pens lays an egg, I put the dummy eggs in her nest so she does not feel like her eggs are being stolen (OK, they are but she has a substitute!) until she has enough for a clutch...then at least I will know that she will begin to incubate the eggs and not leave them out to be frozen...
So that be that on my swanny wannies...
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
Here is a bit full of our own personal experiences and opinions in regards to Australian Black Swans (Cygnus atratus)...
Summer of 2013; Pearl flapping, Fixins reclined, Ember standing in the foreground
My spouse and I have been raising poultry, gamefowl, livestock, and canines for a combined 90+ years. Yeh, we have taken care of our family duties and now we are running amok on the property, having the times of our lives...these are my opinions on Australian Black Swans...a wonderful reality for us here.
It was always a dream of ours to eventually get some Australian Black Swans to add to our conservation and preservation farm here in Canada. Began that in 2009 and what a blast it has been...pinch us, it this really happening here! AWESOME!
These are the two cobs; Smoke Stack (Smokey) in the foreground and Stove Pipe (Piper).
In 2009, we brought in two cobs (one is a direct Holland import and the other, an Ontario/Alberta bred male). Over the years we have seen all sorts of inbred, poorly made up and SMALL Australian Black Swans shuffled thru the auction marts. Never ever wondered on why we were never tempted to purchase auction swans, eh. Poor things were crap!
These are the two pens; Black Pearl (Pearl) in the foreground and Fire Ember (Ember) in the background.
About fifteen to twenty years ago when a bag of poultry layer ration was seven bucks a bag, you would expect to pay at auction $800 for a single Australian Black Swan...most were very dismal representations of the regal beings they should have been. People were breeding repeatedly, sisters to brothers for generations and it was showing how heavily inbred and depressed the genetic diversity of the stocks were--small pathetic birds when they should have been way, way more healthy! My husband and I figured we were not going to have any of that. Poor, poor creatures...indeed!
Prices on feed have risen to $24 a bag from where they were 15 to 20 years back, so it goes without saying, poultry prices should reflect that increase since past facilities and labour costs, feed is one of the bigger input drains on your hobby's ongoing existence. Expect to pay double the purchase price now in 2015...so budget about $1,500 a bird or more and for a decent breeding pair (usually about two years of age, three year olds are better since they have had time to get their act together, eh), it can be even more money.
October's eggs from Black Pearl, her second clutch
One of the initial queries I see is "How much are swans?" and often that old saying that if you gotta ask, well you can guess the answer for proper birds is not going to be received too well. When decent stock is on offer, people that don't understand what implications are taken on in preparation for the bird's arriving, LONG before the birds even arrive...are taken aback at the price. We have had ZERO predation on our conservation stocks here since 2007...none, no deaths due to predators taking our birds. We take great pride in that.
Smokey protecting Ember
A Black Swan may intimidated a timid human, but coyotes, wolverines, foxes, stray dogs, cougars, lynx, eagles, owls, hawks, etc. etc. are NOT intimidated by flapping wings and bity bills...they EAT birds in this geographical location--many use to keep birds but get wiped out because, well we do live in the gnarly wilds, eh. What a sad end it would be to see our two pairs of Oz Swans snacked upon, or even just injured by predators or roving strays. NO thanks...so we house and fence well...triple perimeter fenced and that's just to keep all the riff raff at bay...never mind the individual housing and fencing in place. I am not going to be half dressed for work and running around putting things back where they belong.
Smokey in foreground, Piper in back
As with anything like this, simply put, you get what you pay for. If you have qualms about the purchase price of the birds right off, walk away is all we have to say. We personally are not going to purchase poorly bred birds...and make up excuses as to how much money we saved when Black Swans in captivity can live FORTY or more years! If you cannot afford the cost of the mere birds, you cannot afford to adequately fence for them, house them, feed them, and spoilt them rotten. I would not bother with any of this if we did not have the time, resources, knowledge or finances to do this as it should be done. Remember, these are our strict opinions, nobody else needs to be on board here...but man alive, are we having FUN, eh!
Lookit the happiness...the wing flaps of joy and bugles of this is MY stomping grounds and I be happy!
If you cannot afford the purchase price of decent stock, then if you have not already paid for the building of or hired the persons to build you your facilities for them...brace yourselves for even more costs if you plan on doing this our way. Where we live, temperatures run from -53C (-63F) to in the 40's C (104F)...extremes and whilst the summers are gorgeous, you do have to provide heat and housing winter conducive for the Australian Swans...these are not swans that migrate to the Tundra each year like the Trumpeters that fly over our place twice a year, to and from their wintering grounds up North of here.
One pair of Black Swans observing our Jacob Sheep flock grazing
What makes me grin is that housing and fencing for the swans has run in the thousands for us and my spouse is a cabinet maker...so our labour and expertise was already covered. THOUSANDS of dollars...building supplies (not labour) was $5,000 for the Eden House and Pen...thousands were spent on wire combo panels for the fencing... Not for the faint of heart or determined to do this up right for keeping them well, safe and happy.
Winter of 2009...house prepared and waiting for spring...CONSTRUCTION season here.
Building supplies (engineered trusses, metal ridge cap and metal roofing); paid for and brought in...awaiting spring to happen!
Oh well, suck it up Buttercup...not everyone can afford to own even the land, never mind the facilities to keep Black Swans happy on.
May...time to get on this project eh...
My Hero builds the barn first (like measuring twice and cutting once)...dismantles it, paints it completely and then does final assembly...
Tenplast on the front...lets in light very nicely!
Yee haw...strapped for metal roofing, she's close to being completed!
Right on...one side roofed...pretty close to being ... done like dinner...
Swan house...EDEN...
Beauty...the Swan House (Eden), slips right on in with the two goose houses...see the tenplast sheet used as a wind break on the side of the pen...works fabulous!
Pear-A-Dice meets Eden...
My contribution past holding the dumb end (I don't build...in fact, I pretty much ruin good building materials, eh!)...but I do carve a bit...so artsy fartsy contribution of mine...the sign!
So all the building in the world, all the cabinet skills you can muster...all that really matters in the end is...
Was it swan approved...I'd say SO!
Many an hour of mine in the summer is spent in the shade enjoying the swans...many, many pleasurable hours watching them share their lives on jest be swans!
She will do head bops for counting, 1+1, 2+2...
No water bottles are safe from inspection by Pearla Girla...
She will even shine yer boots if you leave them there too long...
Tastes like...Liquorice?
The cobs...well they like to do the hokey pokey dance...you put the one foot in...
Pretty kewl dance eh...feets in, necks swinging, wings a flapping...jest a shaking it all about...
The two pens...mimicking COAL LUMPS...having a nice peaceful nap
We here laugh looking around at the sixteen foot combo panels we have used as part of the fencing systems we have. At $80 a single panel (excluding the posts, wire, staples, etc.), we have literally THOUSANDS of dollars (excluding our labour...our labour of love is FREEly donated, eh) invested in fencing to keep the birds and critters all safe and sound, never mind the houses, pens and corrals in place!
Here is the pair of Ruddy Shels enjoying some time out on the grass...
January 10, 2014
Interesting thing about the Aus Black Swans, they have the longest neck for body size of all the swan breeds...loooong necked swans, eh!
May 7, 2014 - the first swan egg I have ever held...can you visualize my hand is trembling!
Various EGGS: Center is Pearl's Black Swan egg (255 grams), top is a Silver Appleyard duck egg, right is American Buff Pied goose egg,
bottom is an antiquity heritage Ronquières turkey egg, and on the left is Jumbo sized Chantecler chicken egg.
My Hero built the Black Swans a home and we got down to keeping them well and happy. Then in June 2013, we imported two unrelated pens from the Southern States and I spent that summer with the two girls in quaratine...what a summer of pleasure that was...sitting pool side, watching me gals grow accustomed to their new digs...lovely, lovely...dreamy and delish!
Pearl on the left and Ember on the right
This breed of swans are native to Australia and New Zealand (hunted to extinction but have been reintroduced). You do not usually require any permits to keep Australian Black Swans here in North America...not a native species, eh. Whilst the cobs (males) may be aggressive (especially in breeding season--May and October for us here in the Great White North), pens are often more laid back and friendly (got their old man to tye a licking on yah!) and friendly towards humans. The Black Swans are one of the more relaxed swan species temperament wise...not saying they will be cuddly and lovey, but groups of Oz Black Swans get along better than other swan species. Some nest in groups of 100 to 1,000...more a community swan I suppose. Both males and females share in the incubation (35 or so days) and raising duties of the cygnets (baby swans). They are not huge for swans, about ten to twenty pounds but a big bird if you look at the size of them, especially with flapping of their wings.
Yes, they are vocal and their musical repertoire of sounds like piping can be carried great distances...we have Call Ducks and many crowing roosters, gobbling turks and drumming pheasants...have the proper zoning for poultry...you won't be hiding the fact you have swans when they begin to announce their presence, eh.
Cob Piper
Our pens are young and we have yet to raise any cygnets, but not in any rush...in captivity, Black Swans may live to 40+ years of age...we plan on enjoying them by sucking in all they have to offer over time; in slo mo thanks!
Two months of quarantine for the two pens
August 15, 2013; setup for fecal floats on the two pairs of Black Swans...internal parasite check up
Piper looking at his blood drops on the sample card...DNA gendering
HealthGene (nfi) will do blood (toenail blood is what I did for the two cobs) or feathers (did that for the two pens)...contact them via the web to get a sampling kit sent...very reasonable at about $12 a bird AND quick turn over time...we had our results back within a business week...in fact, I think we had an e-mail in two days after they received the sample...very nice frameable results too. I was VERY impressed with the service we were provided with...VERY!
Pearl & Ember in quarantine, summer of 2013
With the kiddy pools, I can empty and scrub them out, refill and have the ponds for each of the pairs (geese, ducks, swans, Ruddys) back in use in a matter of a few hours. Easy peasy and if it is EASY you tend to do that task because it is not so bothersome. My opinion on the provisions of water for WATERfowl. Do as you so wish, this is what we do and we adore it...
Does not take very long for the swans to start messing up their water...so easy to dump and refill a kiddy pool and keep them in pristine and clean water....
We buy cases of human grade romaine...let the lettuce float about in the kiddy pool--what the swans don't eat, gets dumped out when I drain the pool...
Easy peasy and HEALTHFUL--no rotting vegetation to make the swans ill!
So as we get to talking about foods...may as well address what we feed the swans...
Like all waterfowl, cygnets should NOT be fed medicated feeds. Waterfowl does not live in the jungles where wild type chickens resided, and they most certainly will not find the same foods in the jungle compared to the swamps, ponds, rivers and lakesides where they prefer to live. Feed them the proper species foods...if someone at the feed store tries to tell you it is OK to feed chicken layer ration to a duck, run away fast...they do this because they do not want to provide the proper feed and you as the customer, should be feeding a decent feed made up for your kind of birds...that simple, that concise.
BASE RATION
I have a waterfowl grower pellet made up fresh in one ton lots (2,200 pounds). My preference is to have this ration as a base for our waterfowl here (ducks, geese, Ruddy Shels, & swans), I add three grains to the mix and then provide GREENS for the Oz Black Swans as in spinach and romaine...I even grow a veg garden for me birds (and us too) so that we have plenty of real decent proper greens for the birds to consume. Greens are not all that nutritional but the happiness factors a bit of greens each winter makes for amazingly content and amused birdies.
Waterfowl Grower Pellet - information off the label.
This feed contains added selenium at 0.3 mg/kg
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
Crude Protein – Min. 16.0%
Crude Fat – Min. 2.0%
Crude Fibre – Max. 6.0 %
Calcium – Act. 0.85 %
Phosphorus – Act. 0.60 %
Sodium – Act. 0.16 %
Vitamin A – Min. 8,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 – Min. 2,500 IU/kg
Vitamin E – Min. 25 IU/kg
INGREDIENTS: Manufactured using cereal grains, vegetable proteins and vegetable oils.
FEEDING DIRECTIONS:
1. This feed is designed for feeding ducks and geese from four weeks of age until market.
2. If geese have access to good quality pasture, this feed may limited to 1 kg per goose per week until geese are 12 weeks of age. After 12 weeks, this feed should be available free choice.
3. Provide insoluble grit, grower size, by sprinkling on the feed once a week at 1 kg per 100 birds.
GRAINS
The three main grains we use for Australian Black Swans are:
OATS
Excellent grain for poultry though some say they have issues with getting their birds to eat it. We feed whole oats and mix it in with the wheat and corn (in winter). All our poultry eats it but we start them on it as soon as we begin mixing grains into their starter rations, so they are use to it. We also have oat straw for bedding and find that some of the heads are left on. The birds love digging around hunting for the oats and it keeps them amused, especially in winter when it can be a bit boring for them. Oats has four times the fiber than wheat or corn and waterfowl especially tend to grow slower on oats (therefore are less fat) but have less physical problems (live longer, less leg or wing problems, produce more young, and have beautiful feathers). You may use oats to balance a gamebird ration if that is all you have access to; 1 part oats to 4 parts gamebird flight conditioner.
WHEAT
We use hard red whole wheat.
CORN
We use to use steam rolled corn but had issues with it not being put up properly and it would mold. So we switched to cracked yellow corn that is not too dusty. I feed this ONLY in winter to the Swans to help keep them birds generating adequate body heat. Corn has more energy, but less protein than wheat.
I mix one part of whole wheat with one part whole oats, so a 50/50 mix. I then take 1 part of these mixed grains and hand mix it at a rate of about 1 part mixed grains to 2 to 3 parts base ration pellets— depending on the season. Corn is added to the grain mix during winter at a rate of 1 part to 4 parts mixed rations. I will add more oats when the birds are moulting. I watch what is left in the feeders to tell me what they are not eating and make adjustments accordingly.
GRIT & OYSTER SHELL
We always have insoluble grit (granite or marble aggregate) and soluble oyster shell (source of calcium) kept dry and available in each pen. Some people say having oyster shell available year round leads to internal organ failure but we rarely have any deaths in our flock past old age.
ADDITIVES
Here is what I "add" to my duck, ruddy, swan, & goose grower pellet; cracked yellow corn (winter), whole hard red wheat, whole heavy oats, along with free choice grit and oyster shell for our adult swans.
- GREENS I feel that the more undomesticated/wilder the poultry species, the more important it is to ensure they receive fresh greens each and every day. Gamebirds, Ruddies, Mandarin and Wood Ducks, all the Swans kept in captivity, etc.; these birds would find greens naturally if not under our care and containment. Even with domestic geese, we provide “happiness” factors like celery, cauliflower, minced carrots; any of these items provide “crunchy” treats to satisfy some waterfowl’s basic natural instinctual needs. One has to figure they would be out and about, pond or lake side, rooting for tidbits of plant material. We feed our Black Australian Swans sliced spinach or romaine lettuce leaves if we have run out of spinach that day! Spinach does not keep as fresh as the Romaine will.
- SUNFLOWER Black oilseed sunflower seeds may also be fed to dark coloured birds to assist with black pigments.
Getting your poultry rations right for each species is reflected by how your poultry performs for you. If they live long, happy, productive lives and replicate strong generations of baby hatchlings that are able to do the same in kind, then you are doing something quite right. Pretty inside and out!
The thing about feathers is that something as simple as running them out of water may show up as a check in growth or colour pattern of the feathers.
Swans out grazing on grassy lawns...if you keep the green grass short, they get to nip off tender new growth and web about much easier...
However it is still kinda cute to see them periscoping thru tall growth...when the two pens were in quarantine, they came down the field to find the dogs and I while we were doing a bit of shelterbelt fencing...
"Hey, what you doing? May we help too??"
Pearl flapping for sheer joy
If your birds are outfitted in glorious coats of gleaming, nearest perfect plumage, all the hard work, time, effort, and resources you have extended will tell on you…good or bad!
Interesting thing about Black Swans...I always thought they were entirely black feathered...nope, the primary wing feathers are white...stronger feathers are white (no pigment in white feathers, eh) so would make perfect sense why they would have white wing feathers. Whilst the Australian Black Swans don't really migrate like other swan species do...they still fly and are nomadic in their countries of origin. Ours were pinioned in one wing as hatchlings...no worries they will wing over the four foot high fence panels.
Since the swans lay eggs in May and October here and we get snow every month of the year, I have picked up some stone eggs as dummy eggs for the pens. Not quite the right size, goose egg size and WAY too small, but will hafta do for now until I find some bigger ones (three inches wide by four inches long). When one of the pens lays an egg, I put the dummy eggs in her nest so she does not feel like her eggs are being stolen (OK, they are but she has a substitute!) until she has enough for a clutch...then at least I will know that she will begin to incubate the eggs and not leave them out to be frozen...
So that be that on my swanny wannies...
Doggone & Chicken UP!
Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
