➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[ShrekDawg]

Thank you

No problem

 

[ShrekDawg]

Like @R2elk said I'm not NPIP yet...if that is defining for you.
Our weather here has been so crazy! I haven't separated the duck and chicken breeders into separate pens yet. I am running all my ducks together right now. The Saxony Morgan has Missy and two Pekin hens in his little split off group.
Morgan and Missy will be separated soon and I would be happy to send you eggs. May let him keep one of the Pekin hens too.
Right now, I'm working on moving and renovating the all the chicken breeding pens. Remember the bobcats that visited my pens last fall?
We have snow hitting tomorrow with 8 degree windchill.

My renovation progress has been stalled by freezing weather and rain/snow soggy ground. My garden is behind schedule and then there are early birthing cows and two stubborn heifers with their first babies. Mother Nature has thrown us a curve ball this year.

We've been stuffing one of the first time Angus moms in a squeeze chute with feed cubes in front of her so she will stand still for her little bull calf to nurse instead of kicking him off. We had to take her to the vet to assist in pulling her calf...she actually quit pushing! Vet said it is common with first time moms, but we have not experienced that before in over 50 years running cattle. She doesn't seem to want to mother her Bubby which is really frustrating. In addition, her first milk bag is small and milk production is not great...so after Bubby nurses, he gets a bottle too. This pair will stay in the barn lot until she decides to accept her bull calf.

Another first time mom is great, but her little heifer calf weighed about 35 pounds and was born in freezing temperatures earlier in the week and was chilled and really weak. We moved them to the barn stall and had to milk mom and tube her colostrum to the baby to warm her up. Now she is a Sassy little bunny hopper! Her attentive Mom has a great bag with lots of milk. After this snow, we will move them back to the pasture with the other first time spring moms.

The older experienced spring moms are birthing now too so we make status trips two times a day to their pastures too.
We will have 75 calves this spring and another 35 this fall.

Life on the farm is both rewarding and frustrating at times.

Wow definitely a lot going on for sure!! Are you going to avoid breeding that one next time?

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Like @R2elk said I'm not NPIP yet...if that is defining for you.
Our weather here has been so crazy! I haven't separated the duck and chicken breeders into separate pens yet. I am running all my ducks together right now. The Saxony Morgan has Missy and two Pekin hens in his little split off group.
Morgan and Missy will be separated soon and I would be happy to send you eggs. May let him keep one of the Pekin hens too.
Right now, I'm working on moving and renovating the all the chicken breeding pens. Remember the bobcats that visited my pens last fall?
We have snow hitting tomorrow with 8 degree windchill.

My renovation progress has been stalled by freezing weather and rain/snow soggy ground. My garden is behind schedule and then there are early birthing cows and two stubborn heifers with their first babies. Mother Nature has thrown us a curve ball this year.

We've been stuffing one of the first time Angus moms in a squeeze chute with feed cubes in front of her so she will stand still for her little bull calf to nurse instead of kicking him off. We had to take her to the vet to assist in pulling her calf...she actually quit pushing! Vet said it is common with first time moms, but we have not experienced that before in over 50 years running cattle. She doesn't seem to want to mother her Bubby which is really frustrating. In addition, her first milk bag is small and milk production is not great...so after Bubby nurses, he gets a bottle too. This pair will stay in the barn lot until she decides to accept her bull calf.

Another first time mom is great, but her little heifer calf weighed about 35 pounds and was born in freezing temperatures earlier in the week and was chilled and really weak. We moved them to the barn stall and had to milk mom and tube her colostrum to the baby to warm her up. Now she is a Sassy little bunny hopper! Her attentive Mom has a great bag with lots of milk. After this snow, we will move them back to the pasture with the other first time spring moms.

The older experienced spring moms are birthing now too so we make status trips two times a day to their pastures too.
We will have 75 calves this spring and another 35 this fall.

Life on the farm is both rewarding and frustrating at times.

You don't have to be NPIP for me. I would appreciate the eggs. Sounds like you have your hands full right now. I am in awe of how large scale your farm and your responsibilities are. Throw in unexpected weather curve balls and I can only imagine how it can affect things that are normally in a rhythm. It may be chaotic rhythm but rhythm nonetheless. Maybe cycle is a better word.
When I was first looking in to getting ducks I had my eyes on Saxonys. I just didn't know anyone that had any and I ended up impulse buying some ducks at TSC. So the fact that you have some is awesome and I'm over here like---> . My incubator will get here the 5th and I will need time to play around with it and get the hang of how it works etc. So whenever it is a better time for you I would love some eggs. No hurry. Thank you so very much!

 

[NanaKat]

Wow definitely a lot going on for sure!! Are you going to avoid breeding that one next time?

We don't breed out first time heifers as early as many ranchers do. We wait to put them with a bull until they are 18 to 20 months old...making them over two years old when they first calve. We want the moms to be mature in size because it is healthier for them and they usually raise healthier calves. We have a 99% successful calving rate with fewer assisted deliveries.
We will breed her again...her mother was a great mom and her sire's EPDs are great. She has a gentle nature, is easy to handle. We will then treat her like a first timer just like we would a first time mom that lost her calf and didn't get to experience normal mothering.
The milk bag will improve with her future pregnancies. Since she has had one calf, the birth canal is larger and will increase as she ages. Subsequent deliveries should be normal and she will be able to bond with her calf.
Just unfortunate timing with her delivery. There was no amniotic fluid on the ground where she was in labor so nothing to trigger her maternal instincts. She quit before her water broke even though the vet said everything else was ready.
After pulling the calf, she was put in a a trailer for the ride home separated from her calf by a gate. She didn't lick her calf once in the lot, showed no interest. Sort of stunned.
Now she protects her calf from the dog, shares hay, nuzzles Bubby...just hasn't triggered yet that he is hers.
The calf is aggressive and healthy and undeterred by her refusals. He head butts her to play.

We have had "distant" moms in the past and working with them does improve their relationship with their calf.
Even had a cow once that would hide her calf and then couldn't find it again. She would come to the front gate and bawl for us to come help her find it. Her name became Ditzy. By the time her calf was a few months old, he would go find her himself.

 

[ShrekDawg]

We don't breed out first time heifers as early as many ranchers do. We wait to put them with a bull until they are 18 to 20 months old...making them over two years old when they first calve. We want the moms to be mature in size because it is healthier for them and they usually raise healthier calves. We have a 99% successful calving rate with fewer assisted deliveries.
We will breed her again...her mother was a great mom and her sire's EPDs are great. She has a gentle nature, is easy to handle. We will then treat her like a first timer just like we would a first time mom that lost her calf and didn't get to experience normal mothering.
The milk bag will improve with her future pregnancies. Since she has had one calf, the birth canal is larger and will increase as she ages. Subsequent deliveries should be normal and she will be able to bond with her calf.
Just unfortunate timing with her delivery. There was no amniotic fluid on the ground where she was in labor so nothing to trigger her maternal instincts. She quit before her water broke even though the vet said everything else was ready.
After pulling the calf, she was put in a a trailer for the ride home separated from her calf by a gate. She didn't lick her calf once in the lot, showed no interest. Sort of stunned.
Now she protects her calf from the dog, shares hay, nuzzles Bubby...just hasn't triggered yet that he is hers.
The calf is aggressive and healthy and undeterred by her refusals. He head butts her to play.

We have had "distant" moms in the past and working with them does improve their relationship with their calf.
Even had a cow once that would hide her calf and then couldn't find it again. She would come to the front gate and bawl for us to come help her find it. Her name became Ditzy. By the time her calf was a few months old, he would go find her himself.

Thanks for all the info!! Never knew their relationship could be affected by scent and experiences like that. Makes sense why she is not as bonded then and hopefully their relationship can improve!! That's good about the milk bag too. I just figured maybe it was genetically small or something. Hopefully she will be better next time.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ended up just ordering an IncuView. Maybe stupid but I was paranoid about having a bad hatch with a cheaper one even though I know all of you guys have had good ones and wanted to start with a good incubator because of that. I was really paranoid ha Anyway, just ordered it about an hour ago.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Ended up just ordering an IncuView. Maybe stupid but I was paranoid about having a bad hatch with a cheaper one even though I know all of you guys have had good ones and wanted to start with a good incubator because of that. I was really paranoid ha Anyway, just ordered it about an hour ago.

Congrats! I almost went with that one. I was super tempted but ended up going with a dif one. I hope it works out great for you.

 

[Kiki]

Ended up just ordering an IncuView. Maybe stupid but I was paranoid about having a bad hatch with a cheaper one even though I know all of you guys have had good ones and wanted to start with a good incubator because of that. I was really paranoid ha Anyway, just ordered it about an hour ago.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Congrats! I almost went with that one. I was super tempted but ended up going with a dif one. I hope it works out great for you.

Thank you!! Which one did you end up going with? Thanks, I hope so too!

Thank you!! I am super excited!! Can’t wait to hatch quailies!!!





And maybe webbies

 

[littleprairieheartsfarm]

If you guys could keep my sweet baby boy in your thoughts, I would be forever grateful.

I’ve been up with him all night and day, and he’s been crying out in pain every time he lifts his head and he can’t bend down. We can’t get him to a vet currently, so he’s getting aspirin and glucosamine to try and relieve some tension.