Recent content by 3bird

  1. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Thanks! These new guys need some face work in terms of breed standard, but they are beautiful and we adore them!
  2. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    The math hurts my head...lol. So if there are 4 cups in qt, then 30 cups is 7.5 qts for 21 (~105 lbs) ducks per day, right? We've been shooting for 2 qts for 8 ducks (~72 lbs). I assumed so 😀 We've never added this many birds at once who have all been together with the same husbandry...
  3. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Thanks! We are just wondering if they are eating based on the volume to which they are accustomed, which could be a problem given that the Mazuri is likely a more nutrient dense diet than they were getting previously (which was a very good diet--just twice the volume). We are in Maine, so the...
  4. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Thanks. We're totally committed to the cost of raising birds right, but these guys were exceeding twice the recommended amount even with being generous on guesstimating weights (most are under nine pounds). I was kind of joking about the mortgage thing above, but we do have real concerns about...
  5. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Good questions: They are free ranging about 4 hours per day right now, but we are in Maine, where the available forage is starting to wane. At their previous home, they were served one large 4qt scoop 1x per day. Our other ducks are just about eating the exact amount directed by Mazuri. I...
  6. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    We have not tried free choice. We did initially go with 4qts (so same volume) but 2x per day, and that was pretty much gone in no time.
  7. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Thanks! I should Thanks! I should have said it's been a week already, and there is no sign of slowing down. lol. With large breeds, we're always concerned about weight, as that can lead to leg issues, so we'd like to not be overfeeding. I suspect there is also no way to feed these new guys...
  8. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    Yes to free choice. "Feed free choice to non-breeding, mature, fully-feathered birds."
  9. 3bird

    Weening Adult Ducks onto Less Food (by Volume) and Free Choice Feeding

    We recently acquired a group of eight silver Appleyard ducks to add to our existing flock of Appleyards. The new ducks are between the ages of two and four, and there are six hens and two drakes. Before coming to us, they were being fed one very full 4qt scoop per day of Poulin Gamebird Grower...
    • 3bird
    • Thread
    • duck feed free choice mazuri silver appleyard
    • Replies: 22
    • Forum: Ducks
  10. 3bird

    Our New Boy is Home - Silver Appleyard Drake

    Here's a little update on Sir William after his first summer at Three Bird Farm. He has truly grown into a model drake, and we feel so lucky! For those of you who don't know, we had a devestating mink attack toward the end of July, and while drake was one of only two ducks uninjured, he had...
  11. 3bird

    Building the Duck Tractor - A Change in our Duck Husbandry Following a Mink Attack

    Once the basic frame was completed, we rolled it out onto the lawn to work on the roof (we needed the flat deck to begin constructing the aluminum-framed run). Within our flock, at the moment, we have two main groups of ducks. There are six (five ducks and one drake) that have lived together...
  12. 3bird

    Building the Duck Tractor - A Change in our Duck Husbandry Following a Mink Attack

    Intro: This past summer, we had a devastating mink attack, which occurred during broad daylight while we were nearby. Once we intervened, the mink persisted trying to get the ducks even with us there. We were very fortunate to only lose one duck (Sweet Eloise, our recently adopted 8-year old...
    • 3bird
    • Thread
    • chicken tractor duck tractor predator proofing suscovich
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: Ducks
  13. 3bird

    Chicken Tractor Design Help

    I think we're all set for now with the way we bent these. I actually like joining the 90-degree with the elbow, as it makes for a great connection point for the ridgepole. Once we finish, we'll post a thread. Thanks for all your help!
  14. 3bird

    Chicken Tractor Design Help

    I think either I messed up something in the building of the base or the plans are wrong (they are absolutely wrong in one place). My solution was to join two pieces of 5' conduit with a 90-degree angle (flat top) and then bend the 45-degree angles at 10.5" from the bottom instead of 5" as it...
  15. 3bird

    Chicken Tractor Design Help

    What did you end up doing. I'm bending conduit now and failing miserably.
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