Do you feed your roos layer feed?

[ackie]

Ducks are messy shits, can confirm. Its a black, tar like sticky goo when compared to chicken shit. Also, they take beaks full of food to the water dish and mix the too - your water bowls will quickly look like chai, and then the bowl of oatmeal you left soaking in the sink for 24+ hours. Other than that, no complaints.

Have you tried putting the food stupidly unreasonably far away from the water? lol

 

[BigBlueHen53]

*I'm not saying you should go back to feeding layer by any means, this post isn't about the feed.*

Dont beat yourself up too much about Elvis. Grieve his loss, absolutely, but there are a zillion things that could kill a chicken and theres no reason to blame yourself when no one can know for sure. Even IF you could prove without a doubt that it was the feed, you still did the best you could with the information and resources you have. Grieve Elvis, but forgive yourself because at best you didnt do anything wrong and at worst you did the best you could.

Thanks. And yeah, I get all that. Just ... I wasn't done with him yet! Best roo I ever had!

 

[ackie]

Thanks. And yeah, I get all that. Just ... I wasn't done with him yet! Best roo I ever had!

I understand. Hes got his own giant flock of hens (or maybe flock of giant hens, who knows) in the chicken afterlife and hes living it up just like the King.

And his death caused you to learn something you can use going forward and thats something I highly value

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Have you tried putting the food stupidly unreasonably far away from the water? lol

Actually, ducks need the water with their food. Its part of their normal digestive process. I feed them several feet from several water sources. They take a beak full of food (its like a damned shovel), walk over, put their bill in the water, shake it back and forth to make a slurry, swallow, then go back to the food and repeat.

Perfectly normal and necessary.

 

[ackie]

Actually, ducks need the water with their food. Its part of their normal digestive process. I feed them several feet from several water sources. They take a beak full of food (its like a damned shovel), walk over, put their bill in the water, shake it back and forth to make a slurry, swallow, then go back to the food and repeat.

Perfectly normal and necessary.

Ah! I thought this was more like one of our dogs that just... gets his last gulp of water into his mouth and then walks away spilling it all over the kitchen.

the real duck question- is the slime poop worse or roughly equivilent to peafowl poop? I realize you might not know haha.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

^^^ I admit ignorance on that subject. My wife wants peafowl, because the boys are pretty. I'm too practical for that.

 

[ackie]

^^^ I admit ignorance on that subject. My wife wants peafowl, because the boys are pretty. I'm too practical for that.

But they ARE pretty lol.

You can make money (I think, havent done a cost analysis on feed or anything), selling the birds. Full grown males (I've heard) can go for 200. Because they're pretty. Peahens are worth less but you want to keep those anyway to make the babies. Downside is they only lay one nest a year. I'm sure theres an art to taking the eggs away to prolong the laying without knocking them off laying entirely, but I haven't looked into it. Maybe next year as I am so short on hens.

 

[ackie]

I'm usually the practical one in my house but SO wont let me get a dairy cow. Something about the fact that I would absolutely hate milking it every 12 hours and what in the WORLD would we do with all that milk.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Cheese, ice cream, butter, whipped cream, just plain milk, yogurt, sour cream, egg nog, nutritional additive to dog food, mix a bit of the fermented milk in with your poultry food for a probiotic boost. Um, dunno what you'd do with all that milk

 

[ackie]

Cheese, ice cream, butter, whipped cream, just plain milk, yogurt, sour cream, egg nog, nutritional additive to dog food, mix a bit of the fermented milk in with your poultry food for a probiotic boost. Um, dunno what you'd do with all that milk

Right? But what would *I* do with it? Plan to make all those things and then... not.