Hi EVERYONE!
I am pretty new to the duck keeping scene. It all started with my Mother getting 15 ducklings from McMurray's Hatchery last April...and as they grew she started to realize she may have over-did it. But not me! After graduating with a degree in Animal Care, I moved back to Vermont and got three of my own baby Cayugas, one male and two females. I spent the first three weeks after they arrived sleeping on a couch next to their brooder trying get them use to me. It somewhat worked with my baby boy "Mr.Pickles".
I have watched them grow and around 9 weeks slowly introduced them to my Mother's flock. Unfortunately, my Mother and I each lost one of our ducks by way of strange accidents this winter. All things considered they are all fairing pretty well with the harsh conditions this winter has brought. They currently are enclosed in a small barn that used to house a horse, and they have access to a large fenced in area by way of a "ducky door".
I joined BYC because I will soon be moving and will have the space and opportunity to take them with me and work on growing my flock. With this move and the upcoming Spring, I have been exploring how I want to continue and I have decided to purchased a Brinsea Mini Advance Hatching Egg Incubator and do some very small scale breeding. I am VERY excited!!! My goal is to get some far mannered egg birds and possibly nice show birds for the flock. As expected, I have many questions about everything from weather and housing, to preventing predators and health. So yay for BYC, I can't wait to get started!
P.S. I also work as a Vet Tech. so I have good access to veterinary medicine, just not all the experience some of you have with birds.
I am pretty new to the duck keeping scene. It all started with my Mother getting 15 ducklings from McMurray's Hatchery last April...and as they grew she started to realize she may have over-did it. But not me! After graduating with a degree in Animal Care, I moved back to Vermont and got three of my own baby Cayugas, one male and two females. I spent the first three weeks after they arrived sleeping on a couch next to their brooder trying get them use to me. It somewhat worked with my baby boy "Mr.Pickles".
I have watched them grow and around 9 weeks slowly introduced them to my Mother's flock. Unfortunately, my Mother and I each lost one of our ducks by way of strange accidents this winter. All things considered they are all fairing pretty well with the harsh conditions this winter has brought. They currently are enclosed in a small barn that used to house a horse, and they have access to a large fenced in area by way of a "ducky door".
I joined BYC because I will soon be moving and will have the space and opportunity to take them with me and work on growing my flock. With this move and the upcoming Spring, I have been exploring how I want to continue and I have decided to purchased a Brinsea Mini Advance Hatching Egg Incubator and do some very small scale breeding. I am VERY excited!!! My goal is to get some far mannered egg birds and possibly nice show birds for the flock. As expected, I have many questions about everything from weather and housing, to preventing predators and health. So yay for BYC, I can't wait to get started!
P.S. I also work as a Vet Tech. so I have good access to veterinary medicine, just not all the experience some of you have with birds.
and Welcome To BYC! Check out the BYC Duck forum, and good luck with your hatches this spring! 
