Australians - Where are you all????

[Sydneychicks]

Wooklet - that story of the lambs is so sad! Poor little guy. I am pleased though that is seemed ok. I wonder why the ram did that?!
I would definately say something to the neighbour, I hope they listen, but, some farm owners believe in letting things sort themselves out... My friends who live on a farm think I am a soft touch (which I am

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duckyfromoz - your ducklings are so sweet, congratulations!

 

[wooklet]

Re the little lamb - it seemed o.k. today,and the mum was sitting with all of them including the ram,so I did not say anything in the end.I asked a farmer friend of mine about it,and he seemed to think it was not very smart to have the ram in with lambing sheep,so I'll just keep my eye on things and my mouth shut for just now!

Love the ducklings,Ducky,hope my new incubator produces the same results!

What type is yours?

 

[duckyfromoz]

So glad to hear the lamb was OK... Wooklet I bought an IM 35 with roll turner. They make them with turners that rotate the eggs- but I thought it was better to have the rolling type so the duck eggs can lay on their sides. It was $850 but well worth it I feel. This first hatch was more than I could have expected. One little guy was a bit dodgy to start out- very small and a weak leg due to being positioned wrong- but it seems to get around alright now.

My goslings have grown so fast. Its sad they arent tiny babies anymore. Little Max- the Chinese Goose sounds quite different to the others with quite a high pitched voice. They enjoyed half the day outside yesterday in some sun. Little Max went with me on Saturday for a drive up to my block of land. my duaghter tended to her garden with Max running around after her. It was so cute.

 

[wooklet]

Does your incubator have a fan,Ducky? I bought a Janoel,it cost me nearly $400,but I am terribly disappointed with the humidity,which if you don't watch it drops down to under 20 at least twice a day. I worry about what I am going to do during lockdown,as I will have to lift the lid to add water. Any suggestions? I asked about the fan,because I have a feeling that it is the fan that dries out the humidity.

I bought a beautiful new bearded silkie girl today,she is pure white,with a beautiful pom pom and she clucks to me whenever she sees me. She is gorgeous and will take a photo and post it tomorrow. Now I will have to get a bearded white rooster to go with her,won't I?

Would love to see a photo of your Chinese goose,Ducky,see if it is the same as what my parents had?

 

[duckyfromoz]

It does have a fan. And humidity isnt a problem at all. I find the perspex front with condensation on it quite often from too much if i fiddle with the air vent too much. The fan could be making the water evaporate faster- but are there some air vents you can close or cover up?? If so- try closing one and see how that goes.

Your little one sounds so sweet. And to think that I did joke about posting my little bearded Silkie fellow down to you.. He would have been perfect for you.

I just put up an advert for some Silke or Pekin eggs. My daughter really wants some- and I said if she is willing to help make a pen for them- she can keep some for one show season. I am hoping we can get some eggs....so that I am not tempted to keep filling the incubator with duck eggs.

OK...so little goose... This photo was taken last weekend. I sure hope its a girl.

 

[wooklet]

Here's the new Bearded silkie girl - posing like a champion! I can't get over how calm she is, she has only been here for a day and you would think that she had lived here all the time! I put her on the chair to take the photo and there she stayed looking around but not attempting to jump down, She;s just adorable!

You know,I was half serious about your bearded guy! If we could have found a way to get him here I would have taken him!
Your little goose is also adorable,love the down! I'll keep my fingers crossed that little goose is a girl - when will you know?

As to the eggs, I have a problem. As you know my white silky rooster met a tragic end, my new bearded rooster is yet to arrive(if he's like her I can't wait!), and my buff rooster is still a bit too young,he tries but fails more often than not! With the Pekins,I gave 4 of them , including the Rooster, to a friend, but I will ask him if he has any spare eggs, and will send them to you if he has. They are Buff Pekins and have lovely natures. In about a month I should have bearded Silky eggs, and if you still want some then will gladly send them to you. Feel bad but can't do much at the moment. I have lots of Polish eggs if you want some of them? The babies are SO cute when their crests are growing,as they start by growing straight up in the air and they look like shaving brushes!!

The incubator is driving me nuts! It has 2 air holes,but they are impossible to mess with in any way. I don't know what causes it to loose so much humidity, think I'll write to the manufacturer,maybe it is a faulty incubator - be my luck wouldn't it?

Have a lovely weekend,let me know what you want me to do with the eggs!

 

[duckyfromoz]

She is gorgeous!! Thats what I like about the crested types...they often stay put and are very quiet.

Did you ever say you would give me eggs?? I dont remember.. But then again...After sending you duck eggs instead of buff silkies...Would I end up with a surprise too??? Anyway- I think I have decided to just buy some young birds for her..I dont really like the idea of incubating 24 eggs and raising them choosing two of them and then having to sell them all off- especially the rosters. It may be easier in the long run just to buy her a young bird instead.

It seems odd that a new incubator should have those problems. You should contact the manufacturer - why put up with something that does not work as it should. Little lives are at stake- at the very least they may advise how to fix it- or at best replace it.

Im not to sure how long until I know about the goose.. Having never had one before I may be waiting a while to know for sure. My geese in the past were all easy- grey girls white boys. That was so simple.

How is Harry doing?? I keep forgetting to ask.

 

[wooklet]

I could send you a Polish surprise,(now)a Pekin surprise(when I see my friend)or a bearded Silkie surprise after my Rooster arrives!6 eggs might not be too bad. I know what you mean about raising them and then having to sell them. I hate letting them go. Maybe it would be better to buy a couple of chickens for your daughter. As for Harry, he moved on!! I told you that he had found the white girl next door,well,he seems to have decided to make it permanent! I think she is sitting on eggs at the moment,so he comes to visit his chook friends every other day,and allows us to give him a few snacks,then with a quack and a wiggle he's off to his lady love. I asked the neighbour if she minded and she was delighted to have him,kids and ducklings always go well together don't they. Anyway, he may come back when he's bred his offspring! I hope so.

Am going to wait and see how this lot of eggs hatch from the new incubator, if it's no good he can have it back,there is a 12 month warranty on it. Should have spent the extra $100 and got the one I originally wanted.

Keep us posted on "Goosy" - what is his name or doesn't he/she have one yet? Going by your grey for girls and white for boys you may have a girl there!

Just ordered the BYC calendar,it looks so good. With the strong Aussie dollar it only cost me $20 including postage - cheaper than one here!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Lucky Harry!! Its so nice to hear he is welcome over there... If he is happy to stay I guess its in his best interests.

I have almost finished hatch number 3 in 17 days... every brooder box is full!! In the kitchen is nine babies( there was 9 but 2 were sold this morning. ) IN my room is one box that hatched Sunday/ Monday 11 babies and the new 8 that have been hatching over the last 24 hours. One more little one in the incubator. Very lucky little one. When I candled three days ago to pop them into the hatcher- I left that one behind as the air sac wasnt very big- and I didnt think it would hatch. I open the bator to turn eggs tonight and heard the little one peeping. It has cracked through the shell but is back to front.

Going up to my block of land tomorrow to fix the front fence, hope I dont get bogged with all the rain we have had here. The rain was constant all day and my broody duck left the nest to go play. I went out and rescued her eggs but feared I had left them too long. I candled them when I brought them in stone cold. No movement... but tonight the embryos are very lively again. I thought I had lost the lot. I did place some other eggs into the nest- and plan to return the eggs if she does decide to go back to the nest after her day in the mud..but I will watch her carefully to make sure she doesnt leave it again.

 

[wooklet]

Wow! You incubator is busy! I also have lots of babies,they are running me off my feet,but I love them all!

Had a truly horrible day today,we lost power for 5 hours and I have 48 eggs due to go into lockdown tomorrow - I thanked God for the inverter,even though it meant that we had to keep the car engine running for 4 hours!! Hope-fully we have managed to save them, I blessed you a few times as you were the one who first told me about inverters. I am off to buy a small generator this week,don't want that hassle again thank you!

Hope you and yours survived the big wet, I was watching the races on Saturday,and having a laugh at all the pretty young things in their strapless dresses and high heels - wonder how many of them will come down with streaming flu this week! But it was certainly lovely weather for ducks!