Consolidated Kansas

[rittert3]

Hawkeye, a peice of Bar Bait in a 32oz. Gadorade bottle (on it's side), for inside the chicken run next summer. This way the mice can get to it but the birds can't, it works.

 

[CanChaser]

I'm so excited! Our baby ducks r starting to pip! I really hope this goes well!!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Trish, ahh, okay, I already have that vitamin/electrolytes, so I'm good. I am kind of a cat hater, so I don't like them. They bring out the worst in me. Every time I see a cat, something in me wants to harass it or ruffle it, or I don't know. I've never hurt a cat! But it's that feeling....and I don't like it in myself. I am patient and kind with all animals, so I have no idea what that urge is about. I just know I don't like them. LOL!

Rittert- GREAT idea with the gatorade bottle!! I'm going to use that! That will keep my dogs from accidentally getting into it. Thanks!

CanChaser- good luck and congrats on your new babies! How many are moving around?? What kind of ducks? I love ducks, they are so darned cute and happy!!! I just never want to have any since they are messy and I have my hands full as it is! ha!

My mom has two gallons of interior Satin paint that I am going to use to "prime" my walls with inside the coop. FREE is always good! Then I'll run in to Walmart and get a gallon of the high gloss orange color I want. But it'll be nice to have the walls nice and thick with a few coats of paint before I have to go buy the expensive stuff. Lots to do today!

 

[Ivywoods]

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Oh, congratulations! Let us know how the hatch goes, and post pictures if you can. Baby ducks are so cute!

Be sure to let me know how the 18 eggs do in a couple weeks. I've got my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Ivywoods]

Hawkeye-I'm not particularly fond of cats, but I guess I don't hate them, and I sure appreciate the job they do outside. We have one big stray yellow tomcat that has taken up residence here. He is the nicest cat of all of them. I don't know if someone dumped him off or what, but this cat is muscled up like he's been on steroids or something! He likes attention, but he doesn't push himself on you, and I like that, too. I told my hubby I didn't think "Chuckie" was a mouser, and DH said, "Oh, yes he is!"

 

[Ivywoods]

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I had never heard of doing this. Sounds like a good idea, one I could have used back when I was putting out bait, but as long as I've got these cats I haven't had a mouse problem.

 

[CanChaser]

Woke up all through the night to peek at my duck eggs. It's been slow but this morning there is one baby hatched. There were like 3 or 4 u could see moving about in their eggs last night so I am hoping they will hatch soon. I will post some pics later! I am not sure what kind of ducks they are. I will have to take some pics of the adults so maybe someone can tell me. The little one that hatched is so cute but he's not all the way dry yet.

Ivywoods, I candled some of the eggs u gave me and they all had a baby starting so fingers and toes crossed in a couple weeks they will b hatching.

 

[chicken danz]

Canchaser, I hatch ducks all the time. I love my ducks. They are so adorable and there's nothing in the world that is softer. There's also a pretty good market for them. I have actually learned to keep my babies outside which saves a lot of mess.. I have a kennel lined with chicken wire and a 3 X 3 X 30" box and a heat lamp hanging from the roof. The opening faces the south. They do very well getting in and out and self regulating. In the summer I just put smaller ones in with larger babies without any heat at all. They kind of attach themselves to the larger ones and keep warm off of each other. They are so much easier than chickens to raise. Buy some game bird starter. No medication at all. Medicated food will kill them. They self teach themselves to eat and drink. You just have to be sure that their water source is large enough to get their beak covered. It takes about 12 hours in an incubator to get them completely dry and fluffed. Don't rush it. Post your pictures. I might be able to help you identify the kinds.
Yeah I've learned I check my jacket pockets every time I pick one up!

I love my cats. I have three that range in age between 13 and 15 years old. They are like children. Two of those are excellent mousers and I've never really had a mouse problem before now because of them. The third I rescued from a neighbors attic after he killed the mother. She and her other two sibblings were too young to eat alone and starving to death. So I hand fed them. She just doesn't have the same knowledge other cats do. She can't catch a mouse or even play with a toy without tripping over it. She doesn't land on her feet either, but that is because she is grossly overweight. She is pretty worthless but she is more like one of my kids than a cat.
I have a forth cat that was a rescue cat. She was on death row and I got a call because I had said I wanted a cat for the shop. I really wanted a kitten but they offered to pay to have her vetted and spayed. She had lived on her own for some time and was very emancipated but also extremely needy. She never goes out without catching a mouse, a bird, a mole or something. My older cats have gotten blurry eyes so I am sure their eyesight is very lacking but they still do a great job of catching mice. That's why I can't believe what a tremendous mouse problem we have this year. Must be all the chicken feed around.
I do a couple things with bar bait. I take a foot long section of 2" PVC pipe . Drill a hole all the way through in the middle. Buy Tomcat brand bait that has the hole in the middle. I run a gutter nail through the pipe and the bait and into the ground. The nail keeps the mice or rats from being able to take the bait and none of the other animals can get in to get it. Another thing I do is buy the cheapest disposable plastic food containers I can find. I put the bar bait inside and cut a small hole 1" or smaller in the side of it. The mice can get in to get the bait but can't drag it out. The chickens and other animals can't get in there. I have also used coffee cans laid on their sides with a small hole in the plastic lid. I honestly think the pipe works best of all the other designs especially around the chicken houses.

 

[CanChaser]

I only have one hatched right now. I can hear like 2 of them vigerously pecking at their shells. My hatched one is still in the incubator. He's almost dry. I only had 6 duck eggs in there from our ducks. I just wanted to try a few and see if I could hatch them and hatch more in the spring. We have the right food and I do have a nice water thing for them. I have a heat lamp set up in my mud room for now but when they get bigger they will go out. Our bigger baby chicks are in a horse tank in the garage with their heat lamp. Eventually they will all run free range on the farm.

 

[CanChaser]

here is a pic of my first duckling hatched. I will have better pics later when I can get him out.