Ok, I will keep that in mind Linda! The ducks were funny to watch today, how they lay there with their bills up just flapping away chasing little flying insects hilarious!
My friends that haven't been by in a few months are amazed at the progress and work we've done in such a short time. I have a waiting list now already for my ducks, bresse capons, black meat chickens, eggs and rabbit meat and hides. I'm starting to plan out my rabbitry expansion for the spring, and integrating natural feeding of my herd as I grow medical cannabis for myself and finf that my bunnies and chickens love to eat the fan leaves, roots and stems and I have read that hemp plant protien is pretty complete stuff, making me wonder if I can at least supplement their diets with a crop I grow year round in a decent amount for my needs and have hemp seeds too which studies I have read on ncib stated that chickens on hemp seed cakes had higher % protein than chickens fed regular commercial feed. The feed store I go to also carries whole hemp seeds, 10lbs is $17.99.
I really need to get a feed formulated that's gluten free, handling the feed is giving my sores on my skin and the horrible nausea has started coming back. With how many critters I have, I have to do something b/c their feed is making me sick, but meat/eggs from the grocery store make me even more sick!! And let's face it, my chickens, buns, ducks make me so silly happy, I glow like my life is a dream come true even with straw in my hair and chicken poop on almost every pair of shoes I have besides my high heels. Imagine cleaning a coop and hauling a 5 gallon bucket of fermented feed in 5" stilettos!
A lot of people are so shocked to come to our house and it's so quiet from the front, no one can tell I have so much going on in the back & sides. My neighbors are older and used to live on farms, and my house was built in 1932, and this neighborhood has a lot of chicken coop relics, and I'm not the only one on my block with chickens, but I probably have more, and I also have one of the bigger lots in this very old pre war neighborhood. My neighbors even have donated supplies to build more coops and runs, I feel so blessed the neighborhood is so supportive of my little (ok maybe not little) project I started to undertake in late May. They might just be relieved that we started to do something with our place as it had started to get very run down and junky bad looking and it was newly landscaped when we bought it 8 years ago. After I finish harvesting my special plants and harvest 30 or so chickens and half my ducks, I might have the neighbors all come over for a Halloween shindig to check out the work better.
For thanksgiving this year I'm planning on making one of the ducks, a chicken and a ham that we're picking up half a pasture raised organic hog in the next week or two, and about 30-40 people are coming for thanksgiving this year. I'm cooking but everyone is going to be eating at my friend's lounge a few blocks away better conducive for a big crowd.
I'm so looking forward to seeing how much more I can get done next year! I made lots of mistakes, but I'm learning and getting the hang of things. I had no idea how fanatical people are about food in my circles, if I had the space I could make a very good living for a niche market locally just between the people I already know.
I need to check about renting an apple press, the apples in my neighbors yards is ridiculous! ! I'm trying to get as many as I can and make hard cider, dried apples, apple cider, apple butter, apple jelly, and apple hooch if I can get the still up and going. I have ginger beer starting, I just finished making the ginger bug for 3 weeks. Time flies so quickly, I guess because there's so much to do.
We still need to build the coop and enclosed run for my bresse, cemani and haffies and build out 2-3 more rabbit cages. For Christmas I told my bf today I want 2 incubators and I saw an ad in Chickens magazine about this brooder heater water nipple thing with a dome so chicks don't perch on it, so I need some of those, and see if he'll pre-pay/order the chicks, ducks, quail I want to add in the spring, as I am the sole responsible person for all critter, garden etc homesteading expenses. He bought me 5 chickens and he drives me everywhere to get critters and builds me stuff to put my critters in. When we got the muscovies yesterday the people had keets, my bf mentioned he'd like us to have some. Hmmm, chicken math got him too it seems lol, but that's what you get with a guy named Duck who nicknamed his gf kimmy HEN... chicken math gone amok.
I won't say no way to guinea keets, but first, we're adding svart honas, ayam cemani, hmong, marans and another line of white bresse. I'm looking for purple/lavander egg layers too, and I might try peking ducks, but most likely stick to muscovies. I'm torn between a&m white quail and cortunix quail. I'm also attracted to peacocks, but am not sure if ornamental fowl is going to fit into mu current needs/wants which are pretty egg from good hardy birds, preferably maroon, dark chocolate, pink, blue, green, purple and white. I want superb meat as well with moderately quick rate of return ie:into my freezer or laying lots of wonderful eggs, and it helps if they can create more baby chicks/ducks w/o my incubating eggs.
3-5 beehives are planned for behind the detached garage my bf turned into a metal workshop. The area opposite side of our barn is where my bunnies are. I am drooling thinking of rabbit braised in duck fat. Duck fat french fries. Foie gras. Crispy duck skin bacon. Uggghhh!! I should have bought all 17 muscovy ducks lol. I adore duck meat if you couldn't tell, duck fat etc... it's a shame I can't comment on duck eggs, but I'm eggcited to try them in my baking recipes.
we hope in 3-4 years to move to a real homestead and truly live off the grid and be self sufficient/sustainable, but I have a lot to learn and experience to gain before taking that giant leap.
