Australians - Where are you all????

[wooklet]

Sounds nice,sitting outside cuddling ducks after dark! Me,I shampooed the white Polish rooster(Mr.Sheen) today,I was expecting all hell to break loose but he was a docile as a lamb,and lay on his back while I blowdried his belly! I have separated him from the others and he is now sulking in a box of sawdust! The white silky is next,I have my enviromentally friendly lice shampoo and bottle of Bluo all ready for him! don't expect either of them to set the show on fire,but it will be good experience for all of us! The ducklings are fine, can't believe how quickly they are growing! They tower over the chickens already. Harry continues to lead the way,and is bigger than the others too, but I can see that he is the boss!
Bye for now!

 

[wooklet]

Actually,I need to ask a question here - to all Aussies out there,please! My vet has put up a notice in his surgery to say that from now on all prescribed medicines that are given without a prescription will earn a $30 dispensing fee, when I asked why, they said that it was now law. Has anyone else heard of this? It certainly makes buying antibiotics or any other medication like Baycox very hard. Or is he just being an as.........? I went in to get some anti-biotic ointment for my roosters scratched eye, and was met with this,so I walked out. With 4 dogs I feel that I spend enough there,and taking chickens to the vet is sometimes just not an option when one has over 60 of them!

 

[duckyfromoz]

I hope it isnt true..I have to take a duck to the vet tomorrow by the looks of things. I got home from the poultry club shed after setting up for the show on Saturday- and found one of my babies has a huge swelling under her beak. I think it is from the shavings. Maybe she got a bit stuck in under her tongue somehow. Anyway- I gave her some over the counter antibiotics for respiratory things- and hope that it may be enough to cover her and stop whatever getting infected. At the moment its just a fluid build up. I gave her a swim in the bath too- so she could have lots of water to flush anything out. Breeding ducks sure is more challenging than I thought. How can I realistically justify spending a few hundred dollars to fix a duck that may sell for $30 - $40. I dont think I will be getting much sleep tonight. I hate that I have to go to work tomorrow. I would so much rather stay home and make sure she is ok.

I think I will be going to the chemist first in future if that is true wooklet- to see if there is something for humans that may be able to work on animals. Obviously prescriptions may be needed for some of those things too- but its worth a try before forking out so much money.

I will bring my ducks inside tomorrow night- I hope they are good and can do the job themselves...I dont like the thought of having to get in the bath with clothes on to help them.

 

[wooklet]

Awww... I'm so sorry to hear of your little ducky - how is she? I hate it when any of my babies get sick, and as you say how can one justify taking a chicken or duck to the vets that you are only going to sell for a lot less than the vet charges, but sometimes it is just neccessary. I am going to phone up someone, I'm not sure who yet -Dept.of Agriculture(?) and check up on this new "law". I don't quite trust this guy,sometimes I feel he is a bit money hungry. I know of a really good vet, but he is an hours drive from here, that is why I started to use this other guy,he is just down the road, but if I find he's not fair dinkum with this new charge, guess I'll be driving down the road for an hour.
My Polish Rooster,and Silky boy are all preened and polished for tomorrows show. I washed the boy Silky in Bluo and he is sparkling, but the Polish still has yellow in his feathers. I phoned up a Polish breeder that I know and asked if I should wash him again, and he said that the yellow actually comes from eating grass, and short of doing something illegal(bleach??Yeuk!) there is not much I can do about it. He also has Indian Runners(white) and says it happens to them too. Just hope the light is not too good in there or the judge needs new glasses. Good luck to you too - let me know what happens.
Guess what - it's raining!

 

[duckyfromoz]

I hope the white runners entered in the show here tomorrow are yellow...there is only 4 entered.. But I dont think my boy will win. We had a great bonding session in the bathroom tonight...Not nearly the horrific episode i imagined it to be. In the end he was quite enjoying being patted. His feet look excellent...but I noticed he is missing heaps of feathers under his tail...the only thing I can think of...is that he has worn them away..HOW??? Well if you have even seen ducks mating....you would understand why I think my boy is a complete horn bag !!

I will be going to a vet soon,,and will ask about that here too..and let you know what I am told.


Best of luck to you tomorrow wooklet... Oh..and little ducky was just pretending to be a pelican for a while...she was fine this morning. She sure had me scared for a while though..I couldnt sllep last night and kept getting up to check on her.

 

[duckyfromoz]

A white runner did win it... They normally do- But I got some good feedback on my boy from a great waterfowl judge. And My daughter got some great encouragement with going on and breeding wwith Monty. There are so few Aylesbury breeders around- I was thinking maybe of getting a female for a season for him. I could even buy her her own incubator and she could have her own ducklings to sell. I really dont have the room...But it would be great for the breed if we could help to get some numbers out there.

 

[wooklet]

Yes, white poultry wins everything - there was a white Polish that won today - mine! that wasn't hard, he was the only Polish bantam rooster there! But the judge said nice things about him, so I was pleased! Poor little Silkie - a man came over from Victoria with 12 of the most beautiful silkies I have ever seen in my life, and there was my little boy stuck in the middle of them, shining blue(think I used too much Bluo!), needless to say he didn't win anything, but now I know exactly what I am aiming for.
Are the Aylesbury ducks the really big white ones with the deep voices? If so, I fell for them today - they were gorgeous. A Runner(white!)won best waterfowl in show.
I have the bug! Entered 5 in a show on the 14th August. Not only that I went to the show today with 2 chickens and came back with 6! Now how did I manage that I wonder?

that'll teach hubby to go to an auction and leave me alone at a poultry show!
I'm exhausted,got up at 6,and seemed to spend the day standing ....and chatting poultry,poultry,poultry! Off to bed.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Congratulations!! well done...so what did you buy???


We saw a Blue Silkie at the show yesterday too...well actually it was more purple. I actually liked the look of it!!.

Photo removed

This is Monty- his beak is way too orange in this photo from eating too many burger rings. It should be flesh coloured. It may have been Pekins that you saw- they are alot more popular. Aylesbury ducks are rarely seen at a show- but if they were there it was a special treat for you.

 

[wooklet]

I used to know a good joke about Aylesbury ducks - but I've forgotten it - sorry! Monty looks awfully like the ducks at the show yesterday. I will ask somone who knows next time I see them. I bought 2 buff silkie pullets and a buff silkie rooster - they are 4 months old and sooooooooo adorable!

They also look really good. I also bought a little Japanese bantam hen, as I already have 2 hens and a rooster, and this one was sitting on her own looking forlorn with a "for sale" sign on her pen. Sucker me - she went into the pen with the others as if she had been with them all her life! I don't normally put them straight in with the others without a weeks quarantine, but I know the young lad who had her and he is meticulous with his chickens.

 

[duckyfromoz]

Oh..so glad you got some buff silkies!!! Since those eggs I sent you were the ducks

Oh and by the way...You could end up with an Indian Runner worth showing too!! Obviously way too early to tell yet- I still havent got one that I know for sure is a keeper yet this year. Well- except for Stevie - Ray that is, but she is being kept as a pet only- not for show until I can find the most perfect home for her. Its a pity more shows dont have a prize for Indian Runners others than white. There is a prize for that here at the Victorian Waterfowl Association Show. I would sponsor the prize at my club show- but I am the only one who has entered a coloured Runner there this year. So until we start getting a few more- I better not or else it will look like I am just awarding myself a prize.

Monty was young in this photo- and his keel is alot bigger now. He is just so BIG!! I would love to breed from him- but having a second one that size in the yard would be too much at the moment. I hope they were Aylesbury. It is on the endangered list of domestic ducks in Australia and to have someone showing them is fantastic.