my very own micro farm

[attimus]

I LOVE Welsh Harlequin Ducks. They are rare and were or are in danger of becoming extinct but they are beautiful and great egg layers!

just looked those up. Threw me for a minute there. Mine are just common mallards from a feed store in the area.

Picking up my first rooster in the morning. Been pumped all night at work. Got a simple day pen cleaned up and bedded for him(previous post). Gravity feeder and water set up. Carrying cage and a small amount of feed and snacks set aside for the drive. My mom is gonna copilot so I'm not driving with him on my own. Really hoping he gets along with all the girls but even their opinions of each other change daily. Will just have to wait and see.

 

[attimus]

My new rooster Rosco

Just got back to the house with him after a decent drive. He seemed calm the whole way. Now settling in eating scratching crowing, I think he'll be happy here. Girls took an immediate interest but now only the kelso is paying attention to him. Glad I Have the next few days off to facilitate his introduction.

 

[attimus]

First morning in the last week it hasn't froze. Went to check Rosco's water, I thought for sure I would be changing it every morning but to my surprise its not solid. Still gonna put a little warm water in there its pretty chilly. Also don't have to break up the duckpond surface this morning. Yay.
Day 1 down 6 more to go. Rosco seems Ok. Handfuls of mealworms help. Gonna get some oatmeal together for everyone in a little bit. I bet he'll love that. He's very vocal. That's a new thing for me.
Just pulled 2 eggs from a 6in gap between my porch and a concrete slab. My girls certainly make mornings fun. It was obviously pinky or brain my WLHs. They are my only white layers.

Off

to it then.

 

[darina]

It's warmed up a bit here too. Makes the walk to the coop less of bother, not having my fingers so frozen that I can't operate the latch!

What influenced your decision to get a rooster? Rosco is a dreamboat, and he's got a great name too. So, maybe this spring they will be little fuzzballs hatching at your place?

I like the names you chose for your Leghorns too. I do an impression of those two characters, but my "Pinky" voice is much better than my "Brain."

 

[attimus]

The hatchlings was our main influence for a rooster. Perpetuate the flock and all that. He kind of happened at the right time. We made the choice while looking at all the free rehoming here on BYC. Nothing close enough in our area. So I checked craigslist and bam this big boy showed up in our own county. I took the opportunity infront of me. And glad I did he is very healthy and happy. As far as the duo goes that is exactly where the names came from. Love the theme song...... One is mysterious the others insane... .

 

[attimus]

2 days down and all seems well between the girls and Rosco. I mixed some rye and flax seed with my mealworms for treats for them today and they love it. Started working on dismantling my beds yesterday while I was outside hanging out with Rosco.

the gophers did a number on me this year and made it into 14 of my 16 boxes here, which means I'll be relining the bottoms of all of the boxes before spring. Had some wild turkey and deer get in there as well but fencing is a lot easier then this.

 

[darina]

Yeah, gophers are jerks! I haven't seen any around her, but maybe it's because we are close to river and maybe they don't like digging around in rocky soil. I hadn't thought about that before, not having gophers is a reason to be thankful.

I'm glad that Rosco integrated well. It's probably easier to introduce a new rooster than hens to a group of hens, because of their "social structure."

 

[attimus]

Rosco still has a few more days in the day pen. Although we did let him out for about an hour yesterday. Was enough time for him to have his way with Pinky and give me a good run around the property before letting me catch him in trade for mealworms. This morning all the girls seemed at attention when we came to greet Rosco.

I did have to integrate my kelso x the same way and there was definitely a different response from the girls compared to how they are acting now.
Managed to get some work done in the garden yesterday as well. Fencing down, some boxes close to empty, even managed to get my taaragon cleaned up and found some oregano growing in it. Think its going to stay since I'm putting some blueberries in the oregano box. Cut this last years growth on my mint back as well.
Its already looking very healthy.

 

[darina]

Mint is so much fun, until it takes over the world! Watch out that Pinky and Brain don't start conspiring with the mint.

I remember reading somewhere that some people produce specialty "herb" eggs by giving their chickens one kind of herb to supplement their diet and flavor their eggs. I don't know how I feel about that. Why not add the herbs in the cooking process so you can get the health benefits of eating them whole?

It is strange to see such green areas because my garden is covered in 6-8 inches of snow. I have been throwing the girls some old bagged salad and spinach so that have something green to eat every once in a while.

 

[attimus]

Ducks in water fall. Lol.

Changed out their water today after talking on another thread about duck ponds last night made me realize its been a minute. Also spent a little time making a target for my crossbow out of old couch cushions and some rope... You always need rope for something. Even charlie Bronson had rope..