Magepalm
In the Brooder
I got my ducklings from Ideal poultry, wellll one didn't make it but they refunded me. Still, for me it is terrible to see any animal pass away for no good reason, although I know it just happens sometimes and there's nothing ya can do. I've been kind of worrying about some of the others though. I don't know if maybe they are in reality different ages, and I'm not by any means trying to hate on the hatchery (although after some research I don't know that I want to deal with large hatcheries at all anymore).. I'm not sure what is going on, but one is really big compared to the other 3. I did order one male and 4 females.. I wasn't sure who was who in that respect, so it's possible the male was the one who didn't make it. They all act fine are pretty active and eat and drink well, but there is one I have been a little worried about. When we do bath time it took her awhile to even do anything normal for cleaning herself other than the preening after. No diving, no head dunking or anything, even with the others or by herself and she also hadn't seemed to be really getting her bill in the water and shaking it about to clean or lubricate their nostrils but she's finally started doing that and SOMETIMES she'll dunk her head. I put them in their swimming spot twice a day and it is indoors, and i toss in a little finely chopped kale because I want to eventually have a pond stocked with fish for them and that I can catch some of for auqaponic stuff and for eating would be nice - that's the other thing I'm wondering. Will they/can they eat tilapia babies? I was thinking since I have a fish tank, I could keep the babies in it, have some that go to the future pond, and some go into the auqaponic system, and some babies I keep for feeders if that species is okay or should I keep a separate species in another tank to breed for feeding the ducks? Also the duckling I'm worried about, she is the mischevious one of the bunch, their daytime area (because of this incident) is a small plastic kiddie pool with hay, and now at night they go back into their plastic box they were in at first - well the duck i've been worrying over gets out of it quite frequently during the day, we proceeded to duck proof everything after the first incident and everyone knows to watch their step very closely now til after dark when I put them in the box.. but I'm wondering if she's fine and is just spending all that energy being an escape artist? I know part of the problem, is I didn't anticipate how quickly they'd grow and they need toys, which I'm thinking I'll stress test a pack of those kitty balls with the bells in them and give em the good ones that pass. Another question I have because of my garden, I know onion family vegetables are bad for them.. will they avoid those on their own or should I worry? Because while I plan to take some measures to keep the deer, field mice, rabbits and of course ducks out, we do have wild onions growing like crazy over here? Annnd I was hoping to get away with not doing that immediately and have garlic, leeks, chives and onions all growing out there. Also I have some concerns because there are a BUNCH of gas pads all around our property and at least 2 giant ponds of the icky chemicals about so obviously we dont do the rainwater collection stuff here how sensitive are they to that kind of thing? And what is the minimum size for a duck house for 4 ducks at least? and how much does that increase for 4 or 5 more (considering rouens soon)? And the gosling I'm thinking about getting soon, once I feel comfortable I know my ducks as well as I should before learning about a totally new bird and have these babies completely set up, I want one for a guard goose - is that a trait that is purely to do with temperament or should I look for a specific breed? And is there anything I should watch out for putting them in with ducklings? Can I even mix human imprinted ducklings with poultry imprinted ducklings? I am intending on getting them all human imprinted but want to know the implications just in case. What all is different with geese that I should know before hand and should I get two or will one be happy with duckling friends (and eventually chickens and other birds)? Will multiple breeds be compatible in together? What I have now is pekings, planning for rouens soon, and with the rouens I really like the idea of a khaki campbell female to breed with a peking, a couple black east indians, and a couple blue swedish and eventually when I'm confident enough, some mallards. Will those get a long okay? Also for treats, I've been doing super fine chopped kale, plain oatmeal, super fine chopped banana, blueberries, and a very little bit of romaine lettuce, and meal worms and earthworms and such from my gardens outside, and scrambled chicken eggs in with some milk and some of the other things combined in that. I'm curious what else is jam packed with nutrients I can feed them, and I'm also wondering about the scrambled eggs and milk because I read at some point before something about "cutting the protein" after 2 weeks and my babies will be there in a few days. So I'm wondering what that means exactly? and if that just applies to chickens or what? Am I supposed to stop giving them high protein foods and feed at 2 weeks and increase the amount of leafy treats? Part of that concern is I switched them to gmo free unmedicated chick starter partially due to only the one seeming to grow at the rate he should and the others remaining small, it's 19%, and I mix in some grit with it, and give them cracked corn also which is what I had them on at first. I've got some chia seeds I'm sprouting too and I'm holding off until I know if those are safe to feed them and if they are good for them? I'm growing glass gem corn and can hardly wait to feed that to them and again am really not sure whether that should be cooked first or giving to them fresh? Also is fresh rice safe and healthy?
And the final question off the top of my head, that seems to be probably the most important, is my yard is already fenced in with chain link, about 3 and a half feet high, and while hardware cloth is gonna break the bank for me I have no problem doing it if necessary, but can I get away with having just about every darn predator lining it with chicken wire and the top with chicken wire and field fencing and just do the hardware cloth for the 2 feet along the bottom a couple inches below the ground? Or should I line it with hardware cloth and do I need to do it on the top too?
I'm sorry i know this is a book full of questions, but I love my lil poop machines and want zero loss risks if at all possible. Which reminds me while I'm thinking of it - what are ya'lls pros and if existing cons of niacin supplementation?
And the final question off the top of my head, that seems to be probably the most important, is my yard is already fenced in with chain link, about 3 and a half feet high, and while hardware cloth is gonna break the bank for me I have no problem doing it if necessary, but can I get away with having just about every darn predator lining it with chicken wire and the top with chicken wire and field fencing and just do the hardware cloth for the 2 feet along the bottom a couple inches below the ground? Or should I line it with hardware cloth and do I need to do it on the top too?
I'm sorry i know this is a book full of questions, but I love my lil poop machines and want zero loss risks if at all possible. Which reminds me while I'm thinking of it - what are ya'lls pros and if existing cons of niacin supplementation?
they are 11 days according to the hatcherys hatch date. I defintely want to know more about this brewers yeast and especially any helpful information on how I can make my own particularly without buying things or with the use of electricity if possible because our goal is to go completely off grid. Thank you for the heads up I had not heard anything about the stuff!!!!
