NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

JACKPOT!!! Man they are ugly!

Patients is a virtue!!

Yayyyy!!! Glad you caught that nasty thing!!!

 

[ke5hde]

JACKPOT!!! Man they are ugly! Patients is a virtue!!

Now kill it. Don't rehome it, it'll just try to come back. Glad you caught it.

 

[stonykill]

JACKPOT!!! Man they are ugly!

Patients is a virtue!!

Now kill it. Don't rehome it, it'll just try to come back. Glad you caught it.

x2

 

[rancher hicks]

Recently I found an article that talked about Lead in urban backyards making its way into our chickens and our eggs. At first I wrote it off but the more I think about it, my mother in laws property where I live and where my chickens are was once the third rail for CSX. Do you think I should have the soil tested for heavy metals? or am I over thinking things? Have any of you sent away soil samples for testing? if so where did you send them? I found a place in PA but was wondering if maybe somewhere closer did it.

I have not sent away for soil tests but now that you mention it perhaps I should. Considering all the crap dumped and stuff I find in the yard. There's so much cement and tarvia pieces you can't pound in a stake without hitting something.
I'm scared to learn what all is in this yard. There are soil test kits you can buy but not sure they test for toxic substances.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'm thinking of taking the bottom tray out of mine and just throwing some hay in there on the ground. It would be much easier for me to tip mine over like you mentioned you do with yours and rake out the dirty hay tip it back over and throw more in. My house has little 1-2 inch legs on it though so I would want to saw those off I think so it sits flush on the ground. Maybe not, who knows, we'll see LOL Guess it depends on how much hay I throw in there.

Isn't there the risk of something digging under and getting the ducks?

If I build a coop should I consider a hardware cloth floor?

 

[rancher hicks]

Now kill it. Don't rehome it, it'll just try to come back. Glad you caught it.

I agree. Don't bring the sucker near my place. I know there are some around already. I've just not seen one lately. Be careful they will bite!

 

[elieugene6]

How do you keep your Muscovies from flying off?   I've read that they do that.   Can we get pics of your ducks?  

I hatched a single one then brought home some ducklings so they grew up here. I did bring in some adult females and kept them penned for a few so they know where home is. I actually prefer them they roost at night and I keep my ducks with my chickens in my layer coop. At night the Muscovies roost while the other brats make a mess. I was worried they would fly away but it never happened. In the summer they don't fly as much. In the winter I swear they do it to avoid the snow. The fly all around the property and then roost on the play set or trees or house or coop or wherever. I have seen them fly from the back of our 30 acre property to the front so I know they could leave if they wanted to. I'll try and get some pics later when I get home.

 

[horsekeeper]

Rancher, I have muscovies and the drakes are too heavy to fly. The ducks fly a bit when they are younger or something startles them, but they don't fly away. You can clip one wing to help keep them from flying, just like chickens.

Mine are living with the chickens right now because I ran out of coop space, but the pair of geese and trio of pekins are living in a large wire enclosed run with a hay house built in one corner. Last year 8 muscovies wintered over fine in a 6x6 coop with a 6x10 run.



This year I ran out of room and time, so I put a tarp over the back corner of the chicken run and laid a few boards over it, then zip tied the ends to the wire. Stacked cheap mulch hay around the bottom on the outside and propped an old window I was going to trash on the side for some light. Inside I had already sectioned off the other corner with plastic chicken wire, so I built up a hay wall on the back side and then just stacked some more on the side by the coop for a windbreak. Bedded it a couple of feet deep with more hay and they are nice and snug. As a bonus, they are occupied picking good pieces out to eat!

In the spring will probably put a real roof over that section and a wooden floor, add some siding and clear roofing on the south side and have a more permanent setup.






Added more roof and covered the gaps with scrap plywood and feed bags since the last storm so it is cozier. If they are dry and have a windbreak they do fine. I use the rubber pans for feed and water so they empty out easily when frozen. On the right is one of those big plastic dog houses that they did not like, so I put their feed dish in there to stay dry. The water is outside of their shelter.



The geese have a couple of the bales almost coming apart, so will spread that out for their cold little tootsies around the water pans and replace with new bales at $1.50 a piece. Not pretty, but it was fast and effective when I ran out of time. The entire run is double wired and predator proof (goose proof, too, since the gander likes to test the wire).

 

[rancher hicks]

I hatched a single one then brought home some ducklings so they grew up here. I did bring in some adult females and kept them penned for a few so they know where home is. I actually prefer them they roost at night and I keep my ducks with my chickens in my layer coop. At night the Muscovies roost while the other brats make a mess. I was worried they would fly away but it never happened. In the summer they don't fly as much. In the winter I swear they do it to avoid the snow. The fly all around the property and then roost on the play set or trees or house or coop or wherever. I have seen them fly from the back of our 30 acre property to the front so I know they could leave if they wanted to. I'll try and get some pics later when I get home.

My concern is our property borders a creek. I'm not sure where they would roost. How do you collect eggs? Do they lay in the same place? What about if they go broody? Do they just hatch wherever they feel like it.? Have you eaten any ?

 

[Glasshen]

Would the soil tests that you send to Cornell tell you what you want to know? I think they have a spot to write in if you are concerned for a certain reason. Perhaps call the ag center? Or soil and water? Something was down on route 11 in LaFayette, may still be there. You may want to be careful about getting a company involved, as if bad stuff comes up you might have to remediate, or at a minimum declare that you know of the existence of whatever before you sell.

We bought a property which had to have environmental testing done because it had at one time been a garage, and we really held our breath until it came back clean, cause if there had been a spill of anything we could have had problems to sort out. Or the seller would, and we did want to buy.