Recent content by Supercow
-
The Quack Shack
General animal check today - first warmish day, too hot for 4 layers of clothing and a fleece cap. Dog - great :) Ducks - generally fine but no eggs yet. Sun, fresh water in their pools and soaked peas... that's the life. Will soon separate the KC and WH tribes and start adding layer feed... -
The Quack Shack
Last day of January and after several days of persuasion by his harem, the big Khaki drake has started feeling the love :) Finally above freezing temps, more or less... Maybe the fully frozen 3 weeks were the full quota of winter. -
The Quack Shack
That's the idea - have a very large container (barrel, IBC?) with a submersible heater in it so you can restock from there instead of returning to the house. It worked for us even in -17 C / -6 C days. Sorry to hear about covid :( It's very random in its intensity and after-effects, some people... -
The Quack Shack
Best of luck to everybody. Here we're just coming out of a 3-week period when snow stayed on the ground and temperatures only rose above freezing for an hour or so every so often. Unusual since normally we would have a frozen week at the end of January / beginning of February and be done. The... -
The Quack Shack
They can't be tempted with grain, but with fodder peas, oh yes. -
The Quack Shack
The water heater kept the trough ice-free at -17 C in the morning; and does not noticeably heat it up when the temps are closer to zero. Good stuff. -
The Quack Shack
- Water trough equipped with a heater - dry place padded with straw - spelt+sunflowers served But where are the ducks?? They are in their house and won't come out... All of them decided to be in a single house (2 houses deserted) so it's easier to keep warm. -15 C (+5 F) forecast for tomorrow... -
The Quack Shack
How cold is it? Ours want to stay in when it's -10 or so (not very often). -
The Quack Shack
Knock knock Anybody around? :) First post of 2026 May it be a user friendly year -
The Quack Shack
Merry Christmas to everybody. It is evening here already, ducks are parked, dogs and humans lazing around drifting to sleep. The coming month and a half have always been the hardest - waiting, waiting in the mud and fog for nature to wake up again. -
The Quack Shack
Sun, Dec 21, 2025, 4:03 PM Northern Hemisphere · Central European Time one hour to go... we can do this... -
The Quack Shack
That's really a tremendous temp swing :( Over here the rule is to give oxalic in December because there is no brood in the hives - since oxalic can't enter the covered cells. In the summer and autumn we use formic acid which can. -
The Quack Shack
You probably need to dig it in anyway, or the fox/coyote will... that was our experience :( -
The Quack Shack
Provided oxalic acid for bees today. That's the winter treatment, usually in mid-December (when there is no brood) and it's very, very effective against varroa. Right now all 5 of the hives are doing well, both the 2 older ones and the 3 from this year (1 natural swarm, 2 human-made). The real...