NY chicken lover!!!!

[Pyxis]

I love the five but they are MESSY!!!!!  These ducklings are ten times messier than the chicks were! 
When I took away the three Pekins I tried to leave myself an... assortment.  I went by "butt shape" and have no idea if this will have any bearing on gender.  I had hamsters when I was like 8 years old, and you could tell gender (with pretty good accuracy) on the youngsters who hadn't grown the telltale signs yet by butt shape.  I don't know what I believe the butt shape means on ducklings... but I made sure to keep not-all-the-same.  Hopefully that works out well. 
For the two added "brown" ducklings I believe I have a Swedish and a Rouen.
Anyway, my mission today is to figure out a nice safe clean way to keep these duckling babies while they are in the brooder.  I had been keeping them on sand (I did for the chicks).  Last night, while I was at work they splished and splashed their water to the point that all the sand was mud.  Wet mud.  All of them were muddy, one was so coated in mud that I had to wash her off.  I then used a hair dryer on all of them because they were cold and wet.  They are currently on a puppy pee pad.  They were eating wood shavings before. I don't know what to do!  I researched chickens for a long time before I got mine.  My husband got the ducklings as almost an "impulse buy" and I love them... but this is making me crazy!  I want to go to bed when I get home from work, not spend hours nursing muddy ducklings.

Make a waterer like the one of the ones MissLydia posted for me in this thread on page two. It helps oodles because it keeps them from splashing so much. Putting a dish, bowl, old pie pan etc under the waterer to catch the splashes also helps a ton too. And, ducklings are MUCH hardier than chicks, so if it makes you feel any better, you should be able to move them out sooner.

As for gender, I've learned to vent sex, which is SO helpful, but your guys are too old for that now, so you'll have to wait till they start to quack to tell. Waiting always sucks!

 

[Cass]

Make a waterer like the one of the ones MissLydia posted for me in this thread on page two. It helps oodles because it keeps them from splashing so much. Putting a dish, bowl, old pie pan etc under the waterer to catch the splashes also helps a ton too. And, ducklings are MUCH hardier than chicks, so if it makes you feel any better, you should be able to move them out sooner.

As for gender, I've learned to vent sex, which is SO helpful, but your guys are too old for that now, so you'll have to wait till they start to quack to tell. Waiting always sucks!

Now THAT is a skill I would like to learn. If I could vent sex the hatchlings I am going to acquire soon, I could keep the roos for the freezer and sell the girls.

 

[Pyxis]

Now THAT is a skill I would like to learn.  If I could vent sex the hatchlings I am going to acquire soon, I could keep the roos for the freezer and sell the girls.

Vent sexing ducklings is super easy. Chicks are harder - I've been practicing, but I'm still only about 70% accurate right now. Hopefully practice makes perfect!

 

[Lynzi777]

Finally a chick has hatched!! Today is day 24! I have had 3 pip then die. There are no pips right now but some are peeping and rocking

I don't know what they were waiting for! I still have 33 eggs to go!

Yay!!!

 

[Lynzi777]

Has anyone crossed a silky to another colored egg layer. Are there any dark or green or blue egg laying silkies out there?

I know I can look it up but how are EE's made. I have one that lays a honking big green egg. I only have the Amer Roo from Chickenstalker in PA.

My silky roo managed to managed to mate with one of my Orpingtons out in the yard, they're eggs are still brown, although I can't quite say what it did to the inside of the egg, my skin has developing this greenish glow to it after having some for breakfast the other day....

 

[Lynzi777]

Took my daughter to the Pedi this afternoon, they started her on an antibiotic that she has to take twice a day for the next two weeks. Like some of you mentioned, she said it doesn't look too serious but they're being told to treat everyone who has been bitten just because of how fast lyme is spreading.

 

[Cass]

I have a daughter in 9th grade and she has never done it, unless they did it in 7th grade she skipped that completely They go to public school. I'm gonna have to question the kiddos tonight and see what they know about it.

here is a link to the k-8 grade syllabus in science. I read a small part of it. I can see where some teachers can interpret it to not need to hatch eggs and other teachers might want to hatch eggs to actually SHOW the children how things grow, change, thrive, etc. The print is tiny, so I didn't read much.....but hatching eggs does bring science alive for the children....and I have never known a school who DIDN"T hatch eggs at some point in the children's education. I guess I have had very limited contact with schools. (my kids only attended school in 2 different districts in NY)

http://schools.nyc.gov/documents/stem/science/k8sciencess.pdf

 

[Lynzi777]

Life cycle of a "bird" is part of NY State curriculum. They must fulfill that part some other way. Pictures? Film strip? Does your son go to a public school? Private schools might do things differently.

I'm so glad we moved to NY when we did and my son got the opportunity to do this now 3 times! If we remained in CT, he definitely wouldn't have gone to a school that did it. My friends in CT wish their kids got to experience it.

 

[featherz]

I gotta get a video! One of my county boy chicks - a little 3.5 WEEK old bantam is CROWING!! Hahaha. It's so cute. He sounds like a tiny squeak toy but he gives it all he's got!!

 

[rancher hicks]

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