Went to the library and scooped up an assortment of books on livestock and whatnot and was disconcerted by this one... Backyard Livestock Raising Good, Natural Food for your Family Revised, Expanded Edition Steven Thomas Revised by George P. Looby, DVM Haven't read the whole thing. I've been skipping around really. But upon entering the section on ducks (within Poultry, begins page 29) I was a bit surprised by the opening page... Ducks are hardier than chickens. They require less attention and they grow more quickly. While they do not forage for food as much as geese, they will still augment their diet by ranging, and they will produce tastey meat very economically in only 8-10 weeks. Ducks need very little space and almost no housing. Your ducks will not require a pond or a brook, but if you have one, they will be happy birds. The meat is delicious, not at all gamy, and with less fat than wild duck. You also have the opportunity to gather duck eggs and even some duck down for pillows or whatever else you may choose to do with it. Ducks have something else over chickens. They have personalities! Few people get pleasure from watching chickens, as they have the maddening tendency to behave the same way all the time. Ducks frolicking on a pond or waddling mechanically in a line to some distant object are a sight to behold. Be careful: you can make ducks into bets (try that with chickens), but if their ultimate destination is your dinner table, this can put a crimp in your plans. Now... I don't quite know where to start. Perhaps with paragraph three? Not even having chickens, I can say that just based on the stories from others here on sight that the bits about chickens not having personality, not being decent pets, not being ENJOYED by their owners is malarky. I won't dissect the whole thing, I'll leave that to those more experienced. But this blatant LIE being put forth in this book, and by a VET no less, really chapped me so I thought I'd pass it along. I'm giving serious thought to writing this publisher and giving them a piece of my mind!! But given the time since this copy was printed I don't know if I should bother?? Info on the copyright page... Copyright by Steven Thomas. Copyright 1990 by George P. Looby. All rights reserved. Revised edition: fifth printing 1996 Published by The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091 Distributed by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 Of course the fact that Amazon is still selling this edition does make me think maybe I should... at the very least I could post a comment on Amazon about the idiocy of it. http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Livestock-Raising-Natural-Expanded/dp/0881501824 isn't the exact copy I have. Obvious since it says that it is 248 pages while mine is, including index, only 229... which means that even more of these are floating around than I thought. ARGH! Why is it any surprise that people are so ignorant about chickens, ducks, etc when this kind of hooey is touted as: "This popular and widely praised book describes everything you need to know about selecting and raising small livestock. Long the primary reference for anyone who keeps animals as a sustainable food source, this latest edition includes up-to-date information on breeds and breeding, feed, disease prevention, housing, and management. The book also includes a chapter on growing feed; appendices covering disease identification and treatment, manure, tanning, incubators, and injections; and a catalog of supplemental resources. Country Journal calls it "a handbook in the true sense of the word. You can pick it up and turn to any section to find quickly the information needed." 55 black & white line illustrations, index. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. is it too much to ask people to actually know what the devil they are talking about BEFORE they publish it as FACT to the masses?
I understand your frustration.... I purchased a book " Keep Chickens" by Barbara Kilarski it states to use Cedar Chips/Shavings for bedding for chicks. http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/guineapigs/a/woodshavings.htm I signed up for the newsletter from [nortonckpress] Robert Plamondon's Poultry & Rural Living Newsletter in this January 15, 2010 edition he states "Now, cedar shavings have mild insecticidal properties, and diatomaceous earth has mild miticidal properties, and they can probably keep a weak infestation of mites from getting much worse. But they won't stop a raging, out-of-control infestation. It took me some time to realize this, and I lost some hens because of it. (I switched to Malathion and the infestation vanished at once.)" I did a Search for Malathion http://www.chem-tox.com/malathion/research/ "The medical research below was located from the University of Florida and University of South Florida Medical Libraries. As can be seen clearly from the research summarized below, contrary to what the public is being told by the Agriculture Industry and some governmental agencies, scientists are stating that malathion (even at low levels) is in fact, a harmful chemical." with all the info available these 2 supposed experts have totally missed the mark, and my opinion of them has definitely changed. ETA: Reference Links
Even tho I enjoy watching my chickens I'd have to agree my ducks have more personality and are more fun to watch. I don't see anything untrue other than the space requirements in the first two paragraphs about ducks either.
Guess they haven't met some of my chickens. Couldn't have more personality than my Gypsy, Georgie, Charlotte, Ellie, Fern, Shadow, etc, etc.
Quote:I agree. When I had over 30 chickens they were fun to watch, but only 3 or 4 had distinct personalities. Every one of my ducks has their own personality, like Boris, the cranky loudmouth Mallard, or our Cayuga, the 'watchdog' of the flock.
