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

[ShrekDawg]

Even though that buck has a nice pelt

Lol maybe he will pass it down

 

[Molpet]

Also, curious, why do you kill them at 8 weeks? Won’t they still be tiny? Seems like there wouldn’t be very much meat on them that young?? Why not wait till they are a little older? Do they get really tough?

Rabbits grow fast,. That's the age they harvest them...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Rabbits grow fast,. That's the age they harvest them...

Yeah, I figured that was an average age or whatever, and rabbits and rodents (and birds) definitely grow fast, but just from pictures I’ve seen, 8 week olds don’t look very big at all so it seems to me like you could get more meat off them by waiting. Even just a few weeks longer. But maybe the pics I’ve seen are of dwarfs or something. Maybe meat rabbits grow faster. Idk. Just doesn’t seem like it’d be worth the trouble for so little meat is all. Idk.

 

[Molpet]

Yeah, I figured that was an average age or whatever, and rabbits and rodents (and birds) definitely grow fast, but just from pictures I’ve seen, 8 week olds don’t look very big at all so it seems to me like you could get more meat off them by waiting. Even just a few weeks longer. But maybe the pics I’ve seen are of dwarfs or something. Maybe meat rabbits grow faster. Idk. Just doesn’t seem like it’d be worth the trouble for so little meat is all. Idk.

Well they start breeding at 12 wks
The 8 wks are good for frying.. older are better to roast. Like chickens

 

[Sara L]

Guess it has to be to house the kits until they are 8 weeks old. Then it’s neck snapping time.

Mine got to 4 lbs 4-7 ounces live weight at 9 weeks when we harvested. I weaned them at 6 weeks and moved to separate cages. You might want to get a cage or two to grow the babies out after weaning and keep the boys and girls separate.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Well they start breeding at 12 wks
The 8 wks are good for frying.. older are better to roast. Like chickens

Wow! They start breeding that young!?

And that makes sense. Thanks.

 

[NanaKat]

Chicks are growing like weeds!
Garden needs some beds weeded as soon as I finish the pens...just two 23' X 3' wire for the top and the two shade cloths. Should finish that today and put the birds in the pens!

Found two duck nests in the front yard...silly ducks...they freerange every where now. Caught them noodling in water puddles in the lot in front of the barn and out in the pasture in a terrace pool.

Still facing 4 days of low 30s...fruit trees are full of tiny plums, peaches, and pears. Sure hope we don't hit 32. The apples are just now opening buds so should be spared.

 

[Kiki]

Also, curious, why do you kill them at 8 weeks? Won’t they still be tiny? Seems like there wouldn’t be very much meat on them that young?? Why not wait till they are a little older? Do they get really tough?

LOL
Someone doesn't like the idea of eating widdle rabbits.

I think it's cute.

 

[ShrekDawg]

LOL
Someone doesn't like the idea of eating widdle rabbits.

I think it's cute.

It has nothing to do with that. I’m not opposed to meat animals or even eating babies. It was a genuine question. To me, it seems like they would be too small. But maybe meat rabbits grow faster. Also by “wait till they are a little older” I didn’t even necessarily mean wait long or wait till they’re adults or something, even just a few weeks. In which case they would still be babies. But it’s been explained why and makes sense so I get it now

 

[NanaKat]

Way too windy today to put the shade cloth up top the pens, but the tops are finished. While hubby and his brother checked the hot wire fence around each pasture, removed fallen limbs interfering with the circuit and repaired fences, I worked on hoisting the cumbersome rolls of 2x4 wire to the top of the 6 foot tall pens and secured them in place. It is amazing what you can by yourself with a little ingenuity, a pound of j clips, wire and muscle...not bad for a 66 year old lady!

Tomorrow will be windy also so I won't be able to put up the shade cloth but I will go ahead and put birds in the pens. Moving those adult breeder birds to the pens will free up much needed space in the hen house for the layers and juveniles.
Hubby has a morning dr appt and when we get home I can make some repairs on the coops with the birds in each pen.
I'm using a roll of roofing material to recover the coop roofs and will begin painting over the next several days. The paint Is quick drying outdoor latex.
Today we bought more j clips and two feeders to replace some old ones.

Found out that my friend in Idaho shipped me almost 3 dozen Columbian Wyandotte eggs from his top breeding lines! He had already shipped me 22 eggs that are now incubating. I am thrilled and blessed to add his genetics to my flock! He has had his flock for 35 years.

I'm ready to hit the sack!