Recent content by Louise Waffles

I bought plastic to put around the coops. It helped a lot. I spent less than $10, so worth it. Also insulated the coop with feed bags. 5° wind chill in GEORGIA?! I am reeling. It's almost over though, right? I'm sure all your birds will make it just fine :)

My garage is a disaster, you guys. Nobody went outside today, it was too cold and too windy. Everyone is miserable. I'm really looking forward to Sunday, it's supposed to be in the 40s. It'll feel like a spring day to me. But Saturday is the day everyone can go back outside for good. I'm sure...

I have a stack of seed catalogs. I am making lists, and charts. I'm reading Ruth Stout books. My garden was a failure, I broke a bunch of bones in my leg and just couldn't take care of it. I spent so much time on pain killers that made me loopy and stupid that I couldn't even THINK about the...

He should have a couple of ladies to keep him company. Ducks are super social. I made a treat basket with one of those planters that come lined with coconut coir. I lined it with kale, and then layered peas and berries and greens. Something for them to pick at. You could also let him run around...

I have a buckeye hen named Julie Ruin who is just over a year and a half old. I barely saw her through the end of summer and most of fall as I was recovering from injuries and not able to care for my birds myself. Julie Ruin is not preening her feathers. They look all scraggly. And she has...

No way you could be the only one this crazy. Normally, everyone is fine, you know? This cold is just hard on everyone. Silkies are inside in a crate because they were getting their feathers wet when drinking, and had icicles hanging off their faces. Black Australorp inside because he got...

I had a really nice shop vac, but I lent it out and maybe you know how that story goes. I'm kicking it old school, which builds character and badassery and gives me all kinds of "ain't nothing I can't do" points. It involves a scraper, a bucket, a broom for scrubbing, vinegar ( because some...

You can put her in a sling to keep her upright, and weight off of her leg. In the past, I've used a tote with a towel attached using big binder clips, with hole cut for legs and bottom. You can use binder clips to attach food and water to the tote too. Good luck!

So, my 11 ducks, all Muscovies, Pekins, and a blue Swedish were in their small run, which is wrapped in heavy plastic. I have no straw, someone keeps buying it up (70+ bales at a time!), there's just none to be found anywhere, so I have a ton of shavings in all the coops. Anyway, all the ducks...

Yea, I've bought my last birds from a store. I think I'll just make my own chickens. I have some really great roosters.

I am so sorry. It's really hard to lose them. I went through a bad patch, I lost a lot of chickens to various things. Because sometimes it is just like that. I spent more time than was reasonable worrying for a long time. :( I brought my frostbitten rooster in to the garage, and I'm using...

I have a single Muscovy inside. The rest I locked in their house, water in a heavy crock surrounded by brick, some.food, and....you guys? I put a heat lamp. I have never used one before, except with chicks and ducklings. This time is because they are shivering and coated with ice. While people...

My chickens are fine, with the exception of a frostbitten comb on a rooster, and a couple of nearly naked molters. They are in the garage. I throw scraps out to them, get them moving, put up some more stuff for them to perch on.....Anyways, I had been using Vaseline but after the frostbite I...

I am going out of my mind with worry, my ducks are all shivering, and look miserable. We have a -20F windchill. These ducks are not staying in a heated shelter, they are getting wet in their water, it's freezing on their feathers. Then they are sitting in the wind, shivering, covered in ice...

I know there is a thread for people with house chickens, so there may be one about house ducks. They are going to get much bigger and need water to splash and play and bathe in. I sometimes bring my white muscovies I side to get extra clean, and sanitizing the bathtub and shower curtain after...