NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

I have 3 guineas left and love them too! I raised mine with chickens also and they go into the coop at night. Mine are free range and never go to far. I have lost 3 in the last year to predators but that's what they are for! I no longer have woodchucks in my yard as the guineas chase them out. They can be noisy but when I hear them, I know to run and check on my chickens.

Say what ?

 

[PhoredaBurds]

 Not offended. One more came down from the trees and walked into the run.  The other 2 disappeared though   The one that came down was the female and I am guessing that the other 2 took off because the female left.  No break in this nasty weather until late next week, so I hope they are eating.  I leave food out for them, but there is no evidence that they are coming down to eat.

Hopefully your Guineas are just off visiting your neighbors' bird feeders & will be back soon.

 

[JWEBB]

Not offended. One more came down from the trees and walked into the run. The other 2 disappeared though

The one that came down was the female and I am guessing that the other 2 took off because the female left. No break in this nasty weather until late next week, so I hope they are eating. I leave food out for them, but there is no evidence that they are coming down to eat.

Hopefully they will meander back home, the weather should be breaking for better days next week.

 

[rancher hicks]

Hopefully your Guineas are just off visiting your neighbors' bird feeders & will be back soon.

I have been keeping an eye out, thinking they might hear my roosters crow and come this way.

Not they I want them mind you but at least I'd know what to do with them.

 

[Cass]

Yeah I figured they didn't have oil yet so at first I had the water so they could swim in it. Then I noticed they wasn't floating as good and that's when if you watch the video changes light some I linked two videos together after I lowered the water some. I also used warm water like way warmer than I thought they would like. but they loved it. After a few min I took them out towel dried them and then placed a secondary heat lamp next to the main one to make sure they had a nice warm spot to dry. They dried within 5 min then moved away from lamp so I took second one off. Thank you for the heads up will keep an eye out on them when I play in water with them.

You sound like me. I gave them a bin to swim in daily and then toweled them dry and put them under the heat lamp. Crackin' up. The things we do for our birds. However the last one out of the bin didn't do so well....he was the hardest to catch daily and after a couple of days he was really sick. He pulled through, but I think he would have done better if I had not put him in water at such a young age. THEN someone told me how ducks away from their Momma shouldn't swim until they have feathers. Ooopppsss. LOL

 

[Cass]

Ok, folks. . I have planned my duck house and it won't hold more than 10 ducks. I have 3 already.

Someone tell me how long it takes for Muscovy ducks to lay. And how do I tell if they are fertile? Just like chicken eggs? And how smart does a drake have to be to "do the deed"? Cuz mine is mounting the hens, staying on their back for a Loooooooooooong time (5 minutes at a time) but doesn't seem to be doing like the chickens do. Do Ducks mate differently? By that, I mean, do they just lay there and it happen or do they need to actually move their hips like the Roosters do?

I am puzzled. I want at least 3 more of the Muscovies. But if my drake is clueless then how am I to get fertile eggs. (paying 5 bucks an egg like I did last year is not an option this year. I need my money for chicks to increase my laying flock) (I knew I should have stayed in school....so I could make more money...)

 

[Lynzi777]

Ok, folks. . I have planned my duck house and it won't hold more than 10 ducks. I have 3 already.

Someone tell me how long it takes for Muscovy ducks to lay. And how do I tell if they are fertile? Just like chicken eggs? And how smart does a drake have to be to "do the deed"? Cuz mine is mounting the hens, staying on their back for a Loooooooooooong time (5 minutes at a time) but doesn't seem to be doing like the chickens do. Do Ducks mate differently? By that, I mean, do they just lay there and it happen or do they need to actually move their hips like the Roosters do?

I am puzzled. I want at least 3 more of the Muscovies. But if my drake is clueless then how am I to get fertile eggs. (paying 5 bucks an egg like I did last year is not an option this year. I need my money for chicks to increase my laying flock) (I knew I should have stayed in school....so I could make more money...)

That's what I've been wanting to know. If my ducks would start laying already I'd be cracking them open to see if they have the target/bullseye mark on them like chicken eggs do. However I haven't seen either of my two drakes going after the ladies, even though it seems like the ladies are trying to "coax" them on. They just stand there and stare at them!

 

[Lynzi777]

Well, we reset the rat trap last night but didn't catch anything. Something set it off - either the snow or some other animal. But trapped nothing. At least I know all the foot prints out front and leading to my shed are from the chipmunks. When I went out there this morning to check the trap out front I saw one peeping it's head out of the hole in the front yard. Ran outta the hole when I walked away.

Not sure what's up with my Splash hen. She laid that one egg the day I came home from CT and hasn't laid another since. I've gotten one just about every day from the lavender. Anyone else have a hen that lays like that?? Just weird that she laid the one and then stopped. Kind of like my KC hen started laying back in November, laid 2-3 eggs and then just stopped. I thought for sure if she began laying that late in the year she would have continues thru winter but nope! Still nothing from the Orps either. C'mon warmer weather!!!!

Bringing the Pekins to their new home tomorrow evening. Then I'll be down to 2 little runner ducklings, the fawn and white hen and blue drake. Should be less messy once the bigger ones are out of the brooder.

I'm getting aggravated with my Brinsea. I have 5 eggs in there after removing my 2 silkie eggs that obviously weren't fertile. I don't think it's turning. I have it set to turn every 180 mins, angle at 8s and every time I go up there to look at it it's in the same spot. So I shift it myself. I think the 4 eggs in my LG gave up. They don't look nearly as developed as the ones in the Brinsea. So I'm sure I'll be chucking those next week. Figured I'll leave them in there another 5-7 days to be sure. But the ones in the Brinsea look great. For all 5 to be moving around I'm really hoping I get something to hatch.

 

[horsekeeper]

Ok, folks. . I have planned my duck house and it won't hold more than 10 ducks. I have 3 already.

Someone tell me how long it takes for Muscovy ducks to lay. And how do I tell if they are fertile? Just like chicken eggs? And how smart does a drake have to be to "do the deed"? Cuz mine is mounting the hens, staying on their back for a Loooooooooooong time (5 minutes at a time) but doesn't seem to be doing like the chickens do. Do Ducks mate differently? By that, I mean, do they just lay there and it happen or do they need to actually move their hips like the Roosters do?

I am puzzled. I want at least 3 more of the Muscovies. But if my drake is clueless then how am I to get fertile eggs. (paying 5 bucks an egg like I did last year is not an option this year. I need my money for chicks to increase my laying flock) (I knew I should have stayed in school....so I could make more money...)

Sent you a PM. If you want to hatch a batch of eggs, I will give you a dozen and take back any extras you don't want. Yes, it takes the muscovies a while to figure out it takes more than sitting on the hen looking handsome

. Once they get rolling they brood and hatch like maniacs.

 

[Peggy O]

nature berry farm keeps they're birds together by age groups. They have chicks in one little room then like 1 month olds in another 2 rooms I think it is. Then they have big area for their 2+ month olds then an area for full grown. They use one pole barn and 3 small rooms then rest is two rooms for older birds. So just about any you get there will get along hopefully. I haven't had a problem yet and I have a black jap bantam with my LF that I got there no problem.

Let me put it this way I have a 8x12ft coop, 21 birds in there,15 different breeds and sizes from Dellawares down to my black jap with no problem. This winter they have all pretty much stayed in there going out sometimes to eat if I didn't have food in there. Now I don't pen them at all so when they want to run around they have full use of yard to play and get away from each other. I have been pretty lucky and able to add birds with out any real trouble no blood when I change my flock around some.

Depending on your neighbors set up it could be too small of an area for them to be in and they might be fighting because of it. They recommend 4 square feet in the coop per bird and like 10sqft for the run of each bird. This helps keep them from fighting and gives them room to run away from other birds if they do get in a fight. Some people do more some do less it all depends on how your birds can handle it and how the person owning the birds decides to raise them.

Oh that really sounds cool, I bet we will get nice chickens if we go there. Sounds like they have a good system. Our neighbor's 6 chickens live in a home made coop and it's about 8 by 4 feet (the indoor part). Maybe 5 feet off the ground with a space underneath to go out the bottom and play under it, then a side yard that's maybe 10 x6ish. It's super nice and yet very simple and if I knew how to build anything I would make one like it someday. They don't fight as much as once in a while one of the white ones will kinda charge as if to say "Hey! Backoff!!!" to one of the reddish ones. The other chickens they have live in a 12 x 12 dog run like our dogs have, and an old dog house. I think there are 5 in there.