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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! -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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. -
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... -
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." -
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... -
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... -
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... -
Building the Duck Tractor - A Change in our Duck Husbandry Following a Mink Attack
...the conduit (instead of 5") would work perfectly. This meant that the bent conduit was the proper width, even though the bends were higher than in *most* of the illustrations in the book. I say *most* because you will note this one illustration on page on page 34 shows the 45-degree bends... -
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!- 3bird
- Post #10
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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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...- 3bird
- Post #8
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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Chicken Tractor Design Help
What did you end up doing. I'm bending conduit now and failing miserably.- 3bird
- Post #6
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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Our New Boy is Home - Silver Appleyard Drake
Quick Update: Sir William is doing great--an model drake. They eat and then he eats. Always looking out for everyone! -
Our New Boy is Home - Silver Appleyard Drake
Yesterday, after a few days of see-don't-touch, we introduced Sir William to the flock without any barrier between them. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself at first, but he (and the girls) all did a great job! After a little while, he decided that the girls were not paying enough... -
Our New Boy is Home - Silver Appleyard Drake
Today is the day!!!! Sir William headed out on this sunny, 45F day (with winds gusting to 40mph...oh well) to meet his ladies. This is a see-but-don't-touch-visit. He will come in tonight and go back out again tomorrow. We're supposed to get a few inches of snow tomorrow night, but if it's not... -
What feed do you give your ducks? How much per duck?
We feed Mazuri Waterfowl feeds and pay $47 for a 50lbs bag from Chewy. No supplements are needed, and we've been thrilled with the results. They have layer, maintenance and starter. We feed free choice, and interestingly, our guys eat less in the winter even though they are not foraging (we... -
Thoughts on ordering ducklings with current bird flu situation.
It's not up to the farm, is it? My understanding is once AI is identified on a farm, everything has to get culled.