Maine

[Hiltonizer]

I'm looking for some mallard ducks for a friend. Any ideas?

I think a farm in Palermo has Rouens, or they want actual mallards?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

They want mallards.

 

[BrieCheese23]

If I remember correctly, Mallards require a permit in Maine? Maybe just to import from another state, but I could've sworn I read something about a permit.

 

[lazy gardener]

Not to my knowledge.

 

[BrieCheese23]

Not sure, who the quack knows what my brain is doing xD

 

[lazy gardener]

Many of the hatcheries sell Mallards.

 

[lazy gardener]

Spring has come! 59* right now!!!! Time to go out and play in the dirt!!!!!

 

[woods79]

Coop question....what to use on floor??? Shavings? Sand? or hay? I have seen in other forums some use sand and they say it is easy for clean up, I know a lot of folks that use a combo of hay and shavings or just shavings. anyone have pros and cons on these materials?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Hay isn't that absorbent and it becomes slick when wet. Also when tangled together and 6+ inches deep it is a beast to try to get out of there. I have to use a forked hoe to dig and pull onto my shovel. This is in the goat house, because they waste so much hay, it is like using hay as bedding.

I use shavings in the chicken coop and much prefer them. Easy to clean out and absorbent. They do freeze solid in the winter, but when spring thaw comes I can get up shovelfuls at a time with minimal effort, versus the hay from hell.

 

[lazy gardener]

This year, I tried using leaves. I added just a couple of bales of shavings when I ran out of dry leaves mid winter. I've been trying to get a handle on the DL method, and am finding that my coop, while it hasn't been cleaned since August... smells barny, but has no ammonia smell. I'm waiting for a warmish day to clear out a lot of the compressed stuff under the perches, and move the loose stuff from the front to the back, so I can continue the process. Hoping that I've finally got some good composting action going on in the coop. Any thing that comes out of the coop goes into the run.

In the run, I'm using a combination of wood chips (not shavings) leaves, grass clippings, any garden debris that doesn't stay tin the garden. There's a gentle slope, so that what goes in on the east side eventually works it's way down the slope to the west side. I'm trying to get a minimum of 6" layer covering the entire run. GS is wanting to earn money, so he's been hauling chips and leaves for me. Win/win/win situation. He gets money and exercise, I get to rest my weary bones, and the chickens are happy.