So glad I found this thread. Here is Buster and Lucy early this winter with their pekin penmates. I had to remove the pekins when Buster started slinging them around like ragdolls
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Buster and Lucy are slowly coming around and actually talk to me a little now. I got them from a semi-feral flock of about 100 and they were not happy to be confined and separated from their flock. Buster and I have had several submission lessons where I trap him between my knees and restrain him until he calms down and stops trying to take a chunk out of me. I talk to him in a quiet voice and run my free hand all over him like I would a horse and it seems to be working. He respects my space and spends a little less time hissing and more time watching what I am doing.
Last week it finally got above freezing for a whole day and I had the chance to clean out to big plastic doghouse I gave them for a nesting shelter. Besides all the rotten duck eggs buried under the straw I found two frozen goose eggs and one that looked newly laid. I put the single goose egg in the incubator with 3 pekin eggs and 8 muscovies, timed so they should all hatch together if anything develops.
first time trying duck and goose eggs, so hope I am doing it right. Brinsea octagon with automatic turning cradle at 99.5 degrees maintaining humidity at 50% and letting it fall to about 35% until opening up each day for 15 minutes to cool off a bit, dampen the eggs, and replace a soaked sponge to get the humidity back up. Is that correct, or am I killing them? Last year was my first attempt at hatching and did great with chickens and turkeys.
Saturday will be day 7 for the goose egg and I will candle to see if anything is developing. I wanted to practice before I spent money sending for hatching eggs. I thought I wanted Pilgrims, but the posters on this thread are making me want Africans.
Buster and Lucy are slowly coming around and actually talk to me a little now. I got them from a semi-feral flock of about 100 and they were not happy to be confined and separated from their flock. Buster and I have had several submission lessons where I trap him between my knees and restrain him until he calms down and stops trying to take a chunk out of me. I talk to him in a quiet voice and run my free hand all over him like I would a horse and it seems to be working. He respects my space and spends a little less time hissing and more time watching what I am doing.
Last week it finally got above freezing for a whole day and I had the chance to clean out to big plastic doghouse I gave them for a nesting shelter. Besides all the rotten duck eggs buried under the straw I found two frozen goose eggs and one that looked newly laid. I put the single goose egg in the incubator with 3 pekin eggs and 8 muscovies, timed so they should all hatch together if anything develops.
first time trying duck and goose eggs, so hope I am doing it right. Brinsea octagon with automatic turning cradle at 99.5 degrees maintaining humidity at 50% and letting it fall to about 35% until opening up each day for 15 minutes to cool off a bit, dampen the eggs, and replace a soaked sponge to get the humidity back up. Is that correct, or am I killing them? Last year was my first attempt at hatching and did great with chickens and turkeys.
Saturday will be day 7 for the goose egg and I will candle to see if anything is developing. I wanted to practice before I spent money sending for hatching eggs. I thought I wanted Pilgrims, but the posters on this thread are making me want Africans.
