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I think all of the above points are great! I wish I could put up a fence, but the yard area is several acres. I use a stick when corralling him and the ducks, but I LOVE the umbrella idea. Luckily I live on a slow driving street because he has started standing by the road hissing at passing...

I will do that! Will it make him back off visitors and kids too, or just me? It's the other people who he really goes after. I am still looking for a female for him...will that cause him to act better or worse???

I have one Embden gander. He's started chasing my kids and any visitors that stop by. He even chases their car's down the driveway. He will start hissing and come running towards me as well but he always stops short of reaching me, turns and walks away. I must be at the top of the pecking order...

Oh, please talk more about free-ranging goats! I would love to have two milk goats. I have the perfect place inside a barn for their pen that is bordered by a large open pasture. It would cost a fortune to fence it in (plus I've heard there is no suck thing as a goat-proof fence, haha). There is...

I should clarify. It's not that they are not eating at all, it's that they are eating very little compared to the amount I am used to seeing them eat. Normally they will come as soon as I throw the food out. Now it may be several hours after throwing food out, and even then they don't eat the...

It's been getting real cold, windy, and snowy here in Ohio recently and I have increased the amount of feed I am giving to my nine muscovies and one embden goose. The problem is...they have zero interest in eating. On the very cold rainy days they have no problem. I just call them and they...

You are absolutely right. Proper maintenance is important. I am really lucky because the small family company that I purchased my wood insert from also does the annual cleaning. However, the owner showed me how to do it myself. It's really not too hard, just need the right size chimney sweeper...

Hi kentuckychicks I was overwhelmed too when I first started researching wood burning stoves. But really, it's not too bad. There are wood burning stoves, wood inserts, wood furnaces, and then there are the pellet stoves/furnaces of which I have no experience with. If you already have a...

I've looked in to taking a logging class. Actually, in my area they have one specifically geared toward women as well as an auto mechanics class. However...I am really into bartering. So this past year I made a deal with a couple (man & wife) who sell a lot of firewood as a side job. For every...

This is what I think as well. My home was built in the mid 1800's. It's your typical colonial farmhouse. At the time is was built there was a traditional fireplace in the main first floor room, a wood cookstove in the kitchen, and little coal pot-bellied stoves in each of the three second story...

Wow. I never said, implied, or even assumed that you personally don't understand farm life. I was simple making a statement because that is how it is in MY life. And I made the comment about my grandmother not thinking of her ducks as children...not you. Please, don't take that so personally. I...

Hello fellow homesteaders! I thought I would share some pics. We had our first snow of the season here. Approximately 3 inches and the temps are not going above 30 (F) or so. I spent several months over the summer splitting and stacking wood in preparation for the winter. This is my first full...

This pond side of my property has a large fencing running around it. On a side note...my grandparents lived in this home for 49 years and had about a dozen ducks and several geese at any given time. These were mostly mallards who would stop by, realize that she threw corn out to them once...

I have been worried about this as well. My ducks and one goose refuse to go to their very nice, cozy, straw-filled enclosure. Instead they sleep huddled together in the pond or right at the pond's edge. It was in the low 20's (F) a day ago and they were walking around the property with frozen...

Just today I bought everything needed to make a cookie tin heater for my waterer. With any luck I won't be dealing with ice blocks tomorrow morning!

My ladies got to eat a pumpkin today. I just cut it in half, loosened up the guts, and let them have fun. Two of my six have to spend the night in a secondary coop and they were none too pleased with me. I think I may have one brown egg layer who is not laying, so I am going to try and figure...

Hi All! First off...I have learned so much about chickens and ducks from this site. I am really grateful for this resource. I started with my first chicken about four months ago. Now I have six! Two jerseys, two americaunas, one oprhington, and one mystery bird. I am feeding them layer...

That is so beautiful! The fruits of some serious labor. I hope to be that way after a few years. Wowza.