Recent content by ChikaD

  1. ChikaD

    Ducks can DROWN?!

    Alas, we are down one adorable duckling. He went missing this morning, and there weren't any signs of a break-in or struggle. He was just gone. Then The Fella found the poor thing at the bottom of the duck tub. We buried him in the pet cemetery. He was the most enthusiastic about diving in...
  2. ChikaD

    Overly Complicated

    I've heard that duck manure is too hot, but I've also read about ducks being used in permaculture gardens for pest control and fertilization. One blog claimed they had been using ducks for years and pouring the duck water directly into the garden. I've been using the duck water with some of my...
  3. ChikaD

    Overly Complicated

    I've been overthinking again. I have been toying with adding a splash pond to the chickens' enclosure to keep a couple ducks for eggs and special occasions. However, I recently learned the hard way that ducks are filthy. I mean, FILTHY. Now, you can read those words and think "yes, yes...
  4. ChikaD

    Considering a duck....pond keepers please respond!!!

    I have a small tank in my yard, 100 gallons, with a few goldfish in it. The goldfish have been living placidly in this little tank for over a year, and it is filtered by aquaponic grow beds. The filtering is sufficient enough for my toddler to dump an entire large can of fish flakes in there...
  5. ChikaD

    Best High Desert Breeds?

    Thank you for the suggestions! I'm like those buff orphingtons, but I've also been looking at buff catalanas. Seems the latter is not popular in the US, but it might be well-suited to my purposes. (I just think the catalana roos are so classic-looking, I love 'em!) I'll post updates and...
  6. ChikaD

    Best High Desert Breeds?

    The coop is under construction and I'm reading up on breeds. We live in the high desert of southern New Mexico, where summer temps top 100 and winter temps can dip below freezing at night. At every temperature, the weather is dry,sunny, and often very windy. Now, the coop is designed to...
  7. ChikaD

    Materials Purchased!

    I first started reading about chicken keeping a couple years ago. I stumbled into the hippie/homesteader stuff on Pinterest and it called to me. Except, at the time, I was an urban apartment dweller with a 9-5 job. Fast forward to today, when I just unloaded a pile of building materials from...
  8. ChikaD

    Neighbor Objects to Chicken Smell

    I've been planning my chicken run and garden for months, and I've finally finished my design. I live in the desert, so I'm going to use a grey-water irrigation system for the garden. I'm fencing it in sections, and I plan to rotate the sections and have one to sit fallow each year. The...
  9. ChikaD

    Menomonie, WI Ordinance Questions

    http://www.menomonie-wi.gov/vertical/sites/%7B658A84DC-EEE8-4DAA-86F3-51123954A378%7D/uploads/Residential_Chicken_Coop_Permit_Application.pdf I like the stupid graphic in the corner, to pretend it is informal.
  10. ChikaD

    Menomonie, WI Ordinance Questions

    I didn't see anything for Menomonie or Dunn County in the Learning area of the site... Does anyone live there who could answer a couple questions for me? I see that they do allow chickens, but it seems like they don't want to... because the rules are kinda ridiculous. Limit five chickens...
  11. ChikaD

    Natural Limb Roosts

    Thank you very much, that was very helpful! (yeah, I *might* tend to overhthink things)
  12. ChikaD

    Natural Limb Roosts

    I've never been a bird owner, but I know that pet birdies are supposed to sit on natural branch perches instead of straight bars because the natural irregularities in the branch are better for their feet- a strait, uniform bar forces them to keep their feet in the same pose, while natural...
  13. ChikaD

    Starting My Reasearch

    I was told to start here with an introduction. So, hi, I'm someone interested in chickens, obviously. I have two (very little) kids, boy and girl, and we live with my mother. Our little family is planning to move up to somewhere central or northern WI soon. We fully intend to have a rural...
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