Hatching Duck eggs....I messed up...UPDATE.....#1

[LLee34]

Valentino....Silver fazed Welsh Drake

GORGEOUS Drake!!!! I hope mine look that good. There is an excellent video on YouTube about how to hatch out goose eggs. They need lots of humidity. Lots and lots. I will use a different 'bator for goose eggs, they are too large for my Mini Advance Brinseas and require too much misting.

 

[chickens really]

He was from when I rescued Petunia.....I took what had survived the fox attack .....I thought he was a Hen because he was all brown at first....His voice was gone from throat injuries ....Nope a Drake..My friend has him...

I'm sorry about the fox attack! Either a fox or a raccoon is what took my first ducks.  
It's good that you gave him to a friend, you know he is well taken after!

That is terrible when that happens...Petunia and Valentino were so scared when they first came here....Petunia has a weird neck, but it healed up so it's not so noticeable and Valentino was mute........I hope my Dogs can keep the Foxes away from my Birds this summer...One took a Pullet 2 years ago...Still a fox yipping around though..

 

[QuackSpeak]

That is terrible when that happens...Petunia and Valentino were so scared when they first came here....Petunia has a weird neck, but it healed up so it's not so noticeable and Valentino was mute..

......I hope my Dogs can keep the Foxes away from my Birds this summer...One took a Pullet 2 years ago...Still a fox yipping around though..

Hopefully your ducks stay safe! Poor Petunia and Valentino... Is he still mute?
We're trying to make the new cage as secure as possible. At night, the ducks are going into a duck house that's inside the cage. Do you think hardware cloth will keep preds out?

 

[LLee34]

I heard a small pack of Coyotes last night, they caught something, sounded like a cat. We will have a lot of coyotes this year, it was a mild winter and spring is early. I have lots of raccoons and opossums too. We use copious amounts of hardware cloth in building our chicken/duck/goose houses and everyone gets locked in at night. The geese will be a welcome addition in the pasture as they will scare off hawks so I don't have to worry about the free range chickens. I still have to come up with a goose house plan, but I'm slowly formulating a plan to use one of my already built horse sheds that the horses never use.

 

[chickens really]

That is terrible when that happens...Petunia and Valentino were so scared when they first came here....Petunia has a weird neck, but it healed up so it's not so noticeable and Valentino was mute.. ......I hope my Dogs can keep the Foxes away from my Birds this summer...One took a Pullet 2 years ago...Still a fox yipping around though..

Hopefully your ducks stay safe! Poor Petunia and Valentino... Is he still mute?
We're trying to make the new cage as secure as possible. At night, the ducks are going into a duck house that's inside the cage. Do you think hardware cloth will keep preds out? 

We have no raccoons here...We bury the cloth also all the way around the outside of the run too...No one can dig in....Have good latches that raccoons cant open.........I'm sure thus time yours will be safe...

 

[QuackSpeak]

I heard a small pack of Coyotes last night, they caught something, sounded like a cat. We will have a lot of coyotes this year, it was a mild winter and spring is early. I have lots of raccoons and opossums too. We use copious amounts of hardware cloth in building our chicken/duck/goose houses and everyone gets locked in at night. The geese will be a welcome addition in the pasture as they will scare off hawks so I don't have to worry about the free range chickens. I still have to come up with a goose house plan, but I'm slowly formulating a plan to use one of my already built horse sheds that the horses never use.

Sorry about the coyotes and other predators where you are. Hope your birds stay safe!
Yes, I think hardware cloth is the way to go... Maybe layered on top of chicken wire?

That sounds like a good idea - using the horse shed, I mean - because then it doesn't just sit there. Plus, it's probably very hardy, yeah?

 

[QuackSpeak]

We have no raccoons here...We bury the cloth also all the way around the outside of the run too...No one can dig in....Have good latches that raccoons cant open...

......I'm sure thus time yours will be safe...

Thanks, I hope so! How far do you dig the cloth down?

 

[chickens really]

We have no raccoons here...We bury the cloth also all the way around the outside of the run too...No one can dig in....Have good latches that raccoons cant open... ......I'm sure thus time yours will be safe...

Thanks, I hope so! How far do you dig the cloth down?

You make it about 12 inches long and then just bury it so it is flat....Use big rocks around the edges if you want? I don't do that....

 

[QuackSpeak]

You make it about 12 inches long and then just bury it so it is flat....Use big rocks around the edges if you want? I don't do that....

Thanks!
So far, we have to:

Redo the fencing in hardware cloth
Make a new door (The old one was pretty much demolished in a storm)
Build a new section for the coop
Bury hardware cloth
Line bottom of the coop with hardware cloth

We have a lot of work to do! We made it so that the ducks are in their brooder (That's in my room!

) for four/five weeks. Then we move them to the garage. We put plastic down, line the plastic with babygates, pile shavings on top, and give food, water, and a heat lamp. We make it big enough so that they can stay there for a while. I figure we have maybe two and a half months to get this done...

 

[chickens really]

Crazy Alice and her Chicks that are 5 weeks old.......