Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I want ducks so bad! The hubs draws the line at adding a new species to our menagerie. One day, when I have my farm and acreage... No one can stop me!

Ducks are great if you can let them free range in the day. In an enclosure they can be a terrible mess but in the yard they are awesome. They are the best bug eaters around bar none.

Took a bad chemical hit yesterday so I'm laying around the house today trying to recuperate. I so want to be out working with my birds and goats but I'm exhausted from the reaction last night and I'm terrified I'll have another one if I go out again.

I love summer but I HATE all the chem application. I have to go out and do the milking at least. Hopefully if I hurry and rush in to do a detox bath it won't do Too much damage..

I'm trying to occupy my brain while I don't have the energy to do anything and I'm bored stiff. Reaction fuzzes my brain too so I'm not able to do bookwork or anything very profitable.

sigh. Maybe someday we'll be able to move....

So sorry. I'm afraid whereever you move there will be chemicals in use unless you have a huge acreage.
Originally Posted by sharol
Sharol, I've noticed that about several birds. If it is warm enough outside they know it and will often spend hours and hours off the nest. She probably felt very safe the eggs would stay warm enough. I had some broodies off their nest most of the afternoon today.
I decided to test my dehumidifier I bought for the basement before we hauled it downstairs. It is quite heavy. It seems to be running a lot more than than the one I've been using but it is much quieter. Makes me wish I could leave this one on the main floor and move the other one. I want the low temp type down there however because it operates at a lower temperature and it has a built in coil defrost feature.
I got the duck pond pumped out and cleaned today and just finished refilling it. The Mandarins are molting right now. Those ducks were sure showing their appreciation. They are all drenched and have been jumping in the water and flapping around splashing water every where. Obviously they were desperate for a nice clean water bath. I think I'm going to sell a few pair of them this year so I don't have to clean the pond so often.
I didn't get the birds moved I intended. I decided to put a new battery in my lawn mower instead. Well you can't do that unless you tear the thing down to just a basic frame. It took me hours. Mostly because obviously in the past someone had lost a bolt or two and replaced them with a different size. I had to keep changing wrenches, and some of the tools I was using had rusted because of all the moisture.
I finally got it going and started mowing and ran out of gas!!! Just my luck.

 

[ashncarson]

I had the chicks free-range out of the run with mom tonight. they seemed to really enjoy it! I got a few photos!




I thuought this one had some interesting colors, see the brown starting to come in on the back wings

same chick as above!

 

[sharol]

I'm having trouble getting the editor to load.



I woke to loud cheeping from the incubator this morning. 3 new babies and at least 4 pipped eggs were waiting in there. My cat had tried to break into the incubator and torn some chunks of foam off of it, but no holes, and the temp is holding steady. Emma is a hunter and probably saw them as potential breakfast. In any case she is banned from the area where the incubator is for a while. At this point 3 blue (Araucana) eggs and 1 white egg (Breda Fowl) have hatched and there are several on the way. I have to go work at the shelter this morning so I can't stay home and obsess over them.

It has been too long. How long can they safely stay in the incubator after hatch? I'm still trying to decide whether to brood them or to try to get them back to their mother, and I don't have the brooder set up. Will they be ok in there for a day or so. I put a little chick grower in there for them (they were trying to eat the egg shells). Do they need water? Crap. It has been way too long since I had chicks in an incubator.

 

[Trish44]

I'm having trouble getting the editor to load.



I woke to loud cheeping from the incubator this morning. 3 new babies and at least 4 pipped eggs were waiting in there. My cat had tried to break into the incubator and torn some chunks of foam off of it, but no holes, and the temp is holding steady. Emma is a hunter and probably saw them as potential breakfast. In any case she is banned from the area where the incubator is for a while. At this point 3 blue (Araucana) eggs and 1 white egg (Breda Fowl) have hatched and there are several on the way. I have to go work at the shelter this morning so I can't stay home and obsess over them.

It has been too long. How long can they safely stay in the incubator after hatch? I'm still trying to decide whether to brood them or to try to get them back to their mother, and I don't have the brooder set up. Will they be ok in there for a day or so. I put a little chick grower in there for them (they were trying to eat the egg shells). Do they need water? Crap. It has been way too long since I had chicks in an incubator.

The chicks can stay in the incubator for quite some time. I have left some in my hatcher overnight if they have just hatched right before I go to bed because that way they get fluffed out & can walk well by the time they get put in the brooder. They seem to do better if I do that rather than putting them right in the brooder after they hatch. They also I think kind of call to the ones still in the shell when they cheep. They don't usually drink right away anyway after hatching, they need a rest first, hatching is hard work. I'm glad your cat didn't get totally through the incubator. Two of mine are younger & will sit on top of my brooders & watch the chicks. I don't encourage it because the youngest will try to pounce & scares the poor little things. They can't get in because the brooders are made of wood & I have hardware cloth windows, which is a good thing with cats in the house.

Ash the chicks are looking good, I'm sure they're enjoying their time free ranging.

I've been working on a cobbled together chicken tractor just to put chicks, ducklings, or goslings out for some fresh air & grass during the day. I'm about to get it done but it still needs some wheels & handles yet to be able to move it easier. It's just made with some leftover materials I had around here other than the wheels I had to buy. I'm hoping to get it finished this weekend so I can try it out.

 

[chicken danz]

Sharol the chicks will be fine for about 24 hours. It is normal to pick at egg shells and egg bits on them. I try not to leave chicks more than about a day to a day and half though cause the heat does become a bit much for them after a while. When I have a hatch going on I often leave chicks for a day or so. Your hen may or many not take the chicks. I would watch her very carefully when you introduce them. I have had a hen peck a chick and injure it that hatched late and others just take them in like they were there the whole time. Depends on the hen. Of course you already dealt with that with your last batch.
I love the concept a chicken tractor Trish, but I have never figured out how you move birds to the tractor and then gather them back up to move them back to the coop later. I sure wish there were an easier way to do it without the great chicken chase going on. I could so use some of this other land if it didn't mean moving them back and forth. I suppose if you only had a half dozen it wouldn't be so bad.

 

[chicken danz]

Stopped in to cool down. What a nice change...even if it is humid. I just moved some more chicks outside and hoped to move some more but I'm running out of day and energy. I still have to feed all the birds so I have a lot more work to do out there.
I'm very very happy and pleased with myself right now. I finally went over and hooked up the wires into the breaker box at my friend's. I have a pigtail crippled into the box with a plug in, so we could test it until the outside power box is set. That is professional work that I would NEVER tackle. Any way I ran an extension cord to my pigtail and every thing works perfectly. All the lights and switches work and all the outlets work. I forgot to bring the cover for the breaker box but I'll remember that the next time I go over. My wedding present is complete and I am one happy camper. One less thing to worry about for now.
Better be headed back out there and get these birds cared for.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Nice!

 

[ashncarson]

I'm very very happy and pleased with myself right now.

Great job, nothing better than getting a job done on your own!

 

[chicken danz]

Not a good morning. It seems I always chose the wrong day to move birds. Thanks to a huge storm and more rains still going on I lost 7 juvenile so far over night I have three more I'm not sure will make it. One of them is sneezing so I am afraid she ingested mud. That usually results in pneumonia and dying later. This really sucks.
Then to top it off I have a full tray of duck eggs that didn't hatch. The second tray did. I suspect they got too big because I had that tray in an incubator with higher humidity and they grew to big to pip. You'd think I'd learn trying to make room for eggs results in fewer hatches.
Not that I needed more ducks but I did have an order for some pekins for today. I may not be able to fill it.

 

[sharol]

Quote:
I thought of you last night when I was looking at the radar. There hasn't been a good day this year, though. The weather has been awful especially around you. Hang in there. On a happier note that 10th egg is trying to hatch. cheeping, rocking, rolling, and zipping. Fingers crossed. That will give me 6 Araucana chicks and 4 Breda Fowl chicks. I don't think there is any hope for the other two eggs. When the little one gets done hatching, I'll check the two that are left again, but I'm thinking that we are pretty much done.