INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Nyla]

All my Muscovy's are housed together. But I can start separating him now. He mates all my girls as soon as they leave the nest for food and water breaks. And no she won't be taking care of the ducklings once hatched. I will be taking them to the Jasper County Fairgrounds Animal Swap June 18th. Her eggs are due to hatch within a week of June 18th.

I'm like Faraday, I only know chickens and turkeys, not ducks. But if she is sitting on eggs, I would venture that she is not mating with the male anymore. With turkeys, I have read that once they lay their fertile clutch and go broody and sit, any leftover sperm gets destroyed. (Not sure how true that is.) So if she's been on eggs a while, and you have a way to isolate her, then I'd say that you could probably go ahead and mate her to the blue male right away, when she is done being broody. Is she going to be hatching these eggs and raising babies? Maybe you can get her over to your friend's before she starts mating again.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@jchny2000
Incubator? Really? Have access to any Buff O or Dominique eggs?

 

[Indyshent]

@jchny2000 Think you have any room in the incubator for pheasant eggs? My male has disappeared Various people have "adopted" or "rescued" him only to finally tell me about it after his escape, but it looks like pit bull may have gotten ahold of him or he's been adopted/rescued/blatantly stolen for the last time because no one's admitted to seeing him for weeks. But I have a few eggs that might be fertile still, and I've hand no luck incubating this year.

 

[Faraday40]

The wheatan maran still hasn't shown up. Kinda sad! I was so excited to see their eggs once they started laying. I was able to get two. The one had toes missing and seemed fine but only lived two weeks. Then this one was absolutely beautiful! And friendly. It would be awesome if it reappeared but I doubt it will. Still no trace of feathers. I don't even have any current pictures. Big bummer!

I do hope she finds her way back home. It is possible.

This morning I was surprised to be greeted at our back door by my kids' fav black orp (Darth Layer). DD counted & locked up the coop last night, but I guess she counted wrong or DL walked out just before the coop was closed. Anyway, the old hen spent the night outside & lived to tell about it. She seemed happy to return to her feeder.

My other story is a little more gross. Our dogs love to eat rabbits. A nest of baby bunnies is like an open cookie jar. (They just keep going back to eat them one at a time.) If we discover it in time, I usually cover it with basket until night when the mama can move them. Well I guess the rabbit didn't move her kits, & the dogs were out with me in the morning. I saw the dog pawing at something & when I called, he looked straight at me with a baby bunny 1/2 dangling from his mouth. BUSTED! He gave me his pathetic guilty expression as the bunny dropped to the ground. In a split second a chicken ran up & snatched the body. The chase was on! My whole flock turned into a bunch of tiny, blood-thirsty dinosaurs. I couldn't believe my eyes, & less than a min later, there was nothing left.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Indyshent
How is your neighborhood situation?

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Faraday40
I had one spend the night outside a couple weeks ago too. Hubby brought them in and thought they were all there. But this girl has a habit of hiding and coming in last.

In the morning I was in the barn and I hear this girl calling - from outside the barn!

It's a miracle she's alive because the area is wooded. I do have electric netting at the back of the area they're in, but the house side has a regular chain link fence that any raccoon or etc. can go right up like a ladder.

 

[akorte]

Hello I'm back with a new name! Because I forgot my old one. Hehe. Anyway bummer we found out my 9 year old's rooster that I paid $50 for as a show quality bird, has a disqualification. He has a sprig in his comb. Which is why you shouldn't buy things until you know what you are looking for, I guess. We could get rid of him and raise up another rooster, we still might, but my son really likes him. Hard decision.

 

[Indyshent]

@Indyshent
How is your neighborhood situation?

Awful. May have to move in with our in-laws. There were shots fired again twice yesterday, but shootings are woefully common here.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@akorte
What was your name before?

And..that is just If you got him when he was already started, the person you got him from would have known that there was a sprig. If it was just a chick he/she wouldn't have known.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Awful. May have to move in with our in-laws. There were shots fired again twice yesterday, but shootings are woefully common here.

Sigh. Yes, I think I'd probably choose to live with inlaws over being shot.