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

[ShrekDawg]

I better get to sleep. Tomorrow is already shaping up to be quite the busy day. Was gonna make it a “make appointments” type of day because I have a lot of appointments to make (doctor, dentist, hair cut, etc. and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting) but then my mom said she wants to do something, like go for a walk or work on the garden and/or buy stuff for it or something, and my friend just asked a little bit ago if I could help them get a car tomorrow so I said I would. Just a ride there I think but still. So busy day lol

Doubt I’ll be up in time to do much with my mom at this rate because it’s after 2am here and I didn’t sleep much last night and got up way too early today (7:30) so I’m exhausted but we’ll see haha I don’t have to help my friend till like 4ish.

Anyway, don’t really want to but agreed because there’s not really anyone else to drive and I haven’t seen them in forever so it’ll be good. Even if it is only for the ride there haha

Been meaning to text them and ask if they want to go to the movies or something anyway so I’ll ask that tomorrow.

So anyway, busy day tomorrow.

I had a ton planned for it but now have had plans made for me it seems but sometimes that’s for the best haha we’ll see. Sometimes the best days are the ones where you chuck the plans out the window and make it up as you go along

Might go to Tractor Supply too or our local feed store and look at chicks and/or inquire about eggs (at the local store).... don’t know yet but either way it will be good because I spent waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy too much time on the phone today..... like hours straight/all night. so it’ll be good to get off it tomorrow. Anyway, I better go to sleep.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Can barely even stay awake typing that and my fingers are locking up cause I’ve been on the phone so long lol so goodnight.

 

[debid]

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Witch Hazel and Pomme Tom were born about May 24. They are now about 10 weeks old and attached at the hip.
She has a cute spot under her chin and a white streak down her back. She is a cuddle bug and he is more independent.
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Pomme Tom has a spot that looks like an apple on his side thus the Pomme in his name. Has to have some tabby in his genetics based on his face and tail color. Definitely some calico. He has spots all over including a dot at the top of his head.
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Aw, so cute!

They're both piebald. The male is considered bicolor because the tabby pattern is a color with agouti striping, not two colors. My Ziggy, therefore, is considered a single color. Your Pomme Tom would look like him except for the addition of a gene that makes him mostly white with patches of color.

Females recieve two color genes (one from each parent) rather than a single color gene from mom as the males do. So, only females can be calico. For a male to be calico, there has to be a freak genetic event that usually results in an unhealthy and sterile animal.

 

[Kiki]

Oh wow that sure does sound lucky! Seems it would be a lot more expensive if they weren’t?

And thanks, that makes sense. I don’t think we have those here. Never seen them. mostly real small square bales, 40-45 lbs, but some say 50 or 40-50. The small bales though. Think I may have seen some big ones some but haven’t looked much locally besides CL haha anyway, it’s all Timothy and orchard grass and/or clover mixes like I mentioned before and between like $5-7. Closer to $6 or $7 for first cut Timothy, $7 or $8 for second cut. And the occasional like $4 hay haha but usually it’s lower quality I think. But yeah, around $6-$7. This year it actually seems to be cheaper haha seeing lots of $5 and $6 bales for first cut. Maybe it’s a really good year for hay or something?

And for the flake thing, I guess I was more just wondering like how many you get out of a bale/how long a bale lasts rather than necessarily exactly how much a flake is if that makes sense?

Wow I didn’t realize they needed so much land!! I often see people keeping way more horses on way less land here. Maybe that’s not ideal? Do some people just have a pen for exercise and just feed hay? This is usually at big barns with lesson horses or whatever and stalled horses.

Maybe they’re not supposed to have that?

I thought I read a while ago it was an acre per horse? But then I read something else recently that said like 3 acres per horse? And seen lots of other numbers that were way higher or in between like some said 10 acres per horse!? So now I just don’t know. I did some reading a while ago but I don’t really remember it cause it was last year. I think it said it was highly dependent on how good the grass in your area is? Currently our front is a lot of weeds in certain parts but there’s also a lot of grass. And even though ours is weeds right now (it’s only weeds cause we dug all the grass up a couple years ago and never fixed it haha), around here it’s all really green/fertile/nutritious grass. Probably not quite as good as like New York or Kentucky but still good grass/soil. From what I’ve read, with good grass they need less room? Or no?

Do you think like two minis would be okay here?

I will get a picture or two of the yard tomorrow.

And of course this is all just hypothetical since I probably won’t get any horses but our property just seems like so much land for me that it’s hard to imagine it wouldn’t be enough for animals aha but I guess it depends on how good the grass is or what kind of animals or whatever. And I guess if I had sheep or goats and horses then it really wouldn’t be enough? Because more animals would be eating it?

Is that land thing if they’re gonna survive off it/try to eat reduce feed costs or is that even just for exercise needs?

Honestly didn’t think of the hard on he land bit either. Not sure my parents would want them tearing up the lawn and eating trees and everything! Haha and some of the pens I’ve seen have been like mud so I guess they really are destructive haha

Maybe sheep or goats would be better. although I think I’ve read that goats are just as if not more destructive haha

And thanks for the info on the round bales. That’s helpful. I wouldn’t have guessed that. It looks like the same hay to me?? At least the ones I’ve seen around here haha but maybe they put the best stuff in the little bales or something.

Ahhh okay. That makes sense. Poor girl. definitely sounds like it’s for the best though.

A three string bale lasts me a few DAYS.

 

[BantyChooks]

nd thanks, that makes sense. I don’t think we have those here. Never seen them. mostly real small square bales, 40-45 lbs, but some say 50 or 40-50. The small bales though. Think I may have seen some big ones some but haven’t looked much locally besides CL haha anyway, it’s all Timothy and orchard grass and/or clover mixes like I mentioned before and between like $5-7. Closer to $6 or $7 for first cut Timothy, $7 or $8 for second cut. And the occasional like $4 hay haha but usually it’s lower quality I think. But yeah, around $6-$7. This year it actually seems to be cheaper haha seeing lots of $5 and $6 bales for first cut. Maybe it’s a really good year for hay or something?

And for the flake thing, I guess I was more just wondering like how many you get out of a bale/how long a bale lasts rather than necessarily exactly how much a flake is if that makes sense?

Wow I didn’t realize they needed so much land!! I often see people keeping way more horses on way less land here. Maybe that’s not ideal? Do some people just have a pen for exercise and just feed hay? This is usually at big barns with lesson horses or whatever and stalled horses.

First cut is basically half junk, at least on the local fields. I wouldn't feed it to a horse. My goats lose coat condition rapidly when I buy it, even though fed in unlimited quantities. I'm going right back to second cut once my usual hay dealer gets his square bales in.

How much land you need depends if you want your horse to live in a barren mud pit or not. I would never keep a horse full time on a 1--2-acre field, personally. I find the typical stall-and-run arrangement of lesson barns unsatisfactory at best. I think anyone that has seen a horse streaking across a giant field for the pure joy of it will agree with me. I mean, I've seen someone in a residential area keep a horse in a pen made of livestock panels behind their house. It worked. Did the horse look happy? No.

Horses are expensive. You can't always afford them even if you have a full-time job. Here, you can probably get full board for $500 a month. It varies widely for the area. Some places charge upwards of $700. And they aren't getting rich, either.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Aw, so cute!

They're both piebald. The male is considered bicolor because the tabby pattern is a color with agouti striping, not two colors. My Ziggy, therefore, is considered a single color. Your Pomme Tom would look like him except for the addition of a gene that makes him mostly white with patches of color.

Females recieve two color genes (one from each parent) rather than a single color gene from mom as the males do. So, only females can be calico. For a male to be calico, there has to be a freak genetic event that usually results in an unhealthy and sterile animal.

Oh wow you really have done your research!! Haha this is fascinating. Thanks.

A three string bale lasts me a few DAYS.

OMG really!? do any other horses eat it? Do they waste any? Or are they eating all that? OMG. Horses are pigs.

First cut is basically half junk, at least on the local fields. I wouldn't feed it to a horse. My goats lose coat condition rapidly when I buy it, even though fed in unlimited quantities. I'm going right back to second cut once my usual hay dealer gets his square bales in.

How much land you need depends if you want your horse to live in a barren mud pit or not. I would never keep a horse full time on a 1--2-acre field, personally. I find the typical stall-and-run arrangement of lesson barns unsatisfactory at best. I think anyone that has seen a horse streaking across a giant field for the pure joy of it will agree with me. I mean, I've seen someone in a residential area keep a horse in a pen made of livestock panels behind their house. It worked. Did the horse look happy? No.

Horses are expensive. You can't always afford them even if you have a full-time job. Here, you can probably get full board for $500 a month. It varies widely for the area. Some places charge upwards of $700. And they aren't getting rich, either.

Thanks!! This is all really helpful.

I didn’t realize first cut was so bad. I guess that’s why it’s cheaper?

And thanks, that makes sense. I agree about the lesson barn thing. So many have tons crammed into mud pits. Seems kinda cruel to me. Although there are some around here that do have fields and green grass haha

And a little pen behind the house seems mean too.

I’ll get pictures of our yard. It’s probably nowhere near enough but it’s way bigger than what I’ve seen most kept in around here so I think they could be happy being out there grazing and running around, even if it wasn’t enough grass to sustain them nutritionally and I had to buy more hay. But idk.

And hmmm.... that makes sense... they do seem to be a giant money pit

Which is extremely disappointing because I’ve always wanted horses. Haha

Maybe one day I can though if I get enough land that they can just eat the grass haha

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh, that said though, I don’t think I would board. I think I’d keep them here. Especially cause even if it’s not technically enough land, it’s likely way more than they would get in a boarding or lesson barn. But I guess boarding has the advantage of having other horses so I would only have to have one horse instead of two and it might actually work out to be cheaper in some cases? Cause a lot of the full board places include all the grain and hay and everything. At least around here.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Also, I just found these. Any thoughts? Any truth to any of this or not? Just trying to read as much as I can haha I thought the one from Kentucky (link says ker) was particularly good but they all are interesting haha at least to me does seem like second cut is best but then I saw the below article so now idk

https://www.succeed-equine.com/succeed-blog/2016/10/07/myth-second-cutting-hay-best-horses/

There’s also a bunch of other articles linked at the bottom.

https://www.succeed-equine.com/succeed-blog/2015/12/09/hay-is-for-horses-how-should-i-select-hay/

https://ker.com/equinews/hay-selection-for-horses/

http://animalscience.tamu.edu/wp-co...n-selection-and-use-of-roughage-in-horses.pdf

https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/forages/publications/ID-190.htm

 

[BantyChooks]

Oh wow you really have done your research!! Haha this is fascinating. Thanks.



OMG really!? do any other horses eat it? Do they waste any? Or are they eating all that? OMG. Horses are pigs.



Thanks!! This is all really helpful.

I didn’t realize first cut was so bad. I guess that’s why it’s cheaper?

And thanks, that makes sense. I agree about the lesson barn thing. So many have tons crammed into mud pits. Seems kinda cruel to me. Although there are some around here that do have fields and green grass haha

And a little pen behind the house seems mean too.

I’ll get pictures of our yard. It’s probably nowhere near enough but it’s way bigger than what I’ve seen most kept in around here so I think they could be happy being out there grazing and running around, even if it wasn’t enough grass to sustain them nutritionally and I had to buy more hay. But idk.

And hmmm.... that makes sense... they do seem to be a giant money pit

Which is extremely disappointing because I’ve always wanted horses. Haha

Maybe one day I can though if I get enough land that they can just eat the grass haha

It varies field-to-field. This particular batch from this particular place is lower in nutritional value, unless I've finally lost it and am seeing things. I'm sure you can find first cut from somewhere that is nutritionally appropriate for a horse.

 

[ShrekDawg]

It varies field-to-field. This particular batch from this particular place is lower in nutritional value, unless I've finally lost it and am seeing things. I'm sure you can find first cut from somewhere that is nutritionally appropriate for a horse.

Thanks! That makes sense. I guess it must depend on the location or the conditions that year or whatever. But I want to feed whatever’s best if I ever do get a horse so if second is best, I’ll gladly do that haha