Sorry for the huge post, finally got caught up on my reading again. Sorta!
I’m new to ducks too, just got some adults from a friend in the fall. I do notice my male has much thicker legs, just like chickens, but the curl on the tail is the best way to tell.
They are fine birds! I have a couple. They are hardy, quiet, and beautiful. I keep seeing your emails Dennis, and keep being tempted to pay you a visit...
I love my GFQ that you recommended to me. Set it and forget it! I just turned it on yesterday. I have some neighbors looking for pullets, and I’d like to replace some of my older girls soon.
Who can resist those fluffy butts? I have on occasion, but it is hard!
I saw my neighborhood possum around my coop a couple of weeks ago. It was late at night and I know he was just nibbling food that was left out. I’ll post pics soon from my phone. I don’t seem to have any predator problems from them, they just clean up around here so far.
What a cutie! Last I was here, your old poochy had passed. Glad you found a new pup! How old is he?
That’s about what I’m getting too also thank exactly! With a turkey egg here or there...
Just an FYI, stay away from the 4K TVs for now. My husband is in the tech field and he says the picture is often not that good, if even noticeable. Most shows/movies are not in 4K yet, so it doesn’t matter anyways. He loves the slightly older Plasmas. They have the best picture in our opinion.
Did you buy a camera yet? I know I have a slightly older digital camera around here you could have, I’ll ship it to you. Even if it only holds you over until you find something new, it’s just sitting in a drawer around here. Hubby is always asking me to take pictures, but we don’t go anywhere much, and I always have my phone which takes pretty good pictures.
I’m pretty close. We have about 32 or so chickens (it’s hard to do a head count at this point). 4 ducks, 8 turkeys, and 14 chicks, some of whom will be sold/given away.
I would love to go to a swap. Do you know where to look for info on local swaps?
Me too! My birds have a little visit to her property every other day it seems. Thankfully, she had chickens and loves animals. She rehomed her chickens with me, and she is wheelchair bound, so I’m sure she likes to see them running around. Her boyfriend is cranky, but we just ignore him.
Congratulations on joining the chicken club! I started doing research and hanging out here about 5 years ago. I was reading a ton and had my coop built before the little buggers showed up. I have learned so much from this website and all the people here. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of people that raise poultry. This may sound silly, but don’t get too hung up on every detail in the books. Chickens are very hardy and forgiving creatures. We’ve all made mistakes and still had successes. I see your near Philly, I used to live in Mid-bucks county where I had my chickens in area that I wasn’t supposed to. We moved out to upper bucks a couple of years ago and we love it. If you’d like to meet up for some “chicken chat” I’d be more than happy to help.
I don’t think it matters too much, I didn’t even consider it when getting my coops. Southern exposure is best for windows, to catch extra light and warmth in the winter. My coop is in the woods, under pine trees, so it doesn’t matter much here. Also, our winters are really very mild here compared to other parts of the country. Your girls will be fine. The biggest problem you may have is predators. With some precautions , this can be avoided, but it is more of an issue than nutrition, cold, etc.
I’m so sorry, that’s terrible. We were very fortunate this year. We only lost 4 to a hawk this winter. No fox, to the best of my knowledge. We lost my big beautiful Bielefelder room but he fought to the death to protect his girls. Pretty sure my Silkie got nabbed by a hawk. One day, she was just gone. I’d like some more silkies, but here I definitely have to keep them in a fenced area.
I can’t believe it’s time to start gardening! It was such a wet and stinky winter around here. Then it got nice all of a sudden, how wonderful! Looks like today will be another gorgeous one. I need to clean out the garden ASAP.
I think I’m going this route too. There’s just too much to do elsewhere around here, and our one farmers market always has beautiful stock.
I’m so sorry dear. I’m so glad Sparkles went peacefully, but it’s very tough when they go suddenly.
Okay people, picture overload time!
This is just too cute!
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Mr. Possum, notice the chicken food on his nose lol.
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Our new pooch Maple. She is a husky mix, we think husky/shepherd. We rescued her in June. She was so skinnny and probably living in the streets in the south. We are still training her. We did have some issues with her grabbing a turkey chick or two when we first got her, but I think I was expecting too much too soon and she wanted to play more than hunt. There have been a few times now where the chickens or turkeys are well within her reach while she is tied out on a line, and she runs “at” them to make them run, not to grab them. She’ll be fine soon, but it’s funny to see the other dog correct her when she gets excited by the chickens.
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Our pit mix, who is about 10 now.
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Another pic of Maple.
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My aunts cute little Roo, who just showed up one day from the neighbors and never left. He has 3 fat girls all to himself!
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These two pictures are out of order, but I went to move the kiddy pool the other week, and look what I found behind it! Little boogers...
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Trash picking for chickens, it’s a thing! Saw this beauty out on trash day by the curb. It was all wrapped up in plastic, and I could see a pane was broken, but I took a chance. It is a brand new window, and the pane that was broken was a double pane, so it will be fine for the cooop for some extra ventilation. What a find, it even had the mounting screws! View attachment 1729252
The newest group of chicks. They are huddled here because they don’t know where to go. I ordered from Murray McMurray this year for some variety, and because I talked a couple of neighbors into going in with an order to meet the minimum. I have 2 Jersey giants, 2 Blue Cochins, 2 Black Australorps, some Ehiting True Blue/Greens, and a few others. Pretty sure my one blue Cochin and partridge Cochin are Roos though.The good thing is, if they’re nice boys, I already have homes for them.
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Our other new addition, Kitty. She is a Moluccan Cockatoo rehomed from a friends friend. She is about 12 years old and very sweet and cuddly. But boy is she loud too. I didn’t realize when I first got her, I was reinforcing screaming patterns, so now we are trying to untrain that.
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Two days worth of eggs!
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A friend gave me this pre-fab coop that he got from a friend, and had never used.
It needed a good power washing and some paint, but now it looks great, I put some casters on it, to pull it around, and it works well now like that because the chicks can go in and out from underneath.
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One of our female ducks. These poor girls are getting so abused because Donald doesn’t have enough girlfriends. He has pulled out their head feathers and even made some of them bleed. I told hubby we’d have to get him some new girls, or rehome him. I almost fell over when he said to get him some new girls! He even wanted to come with me to Tractor supply to pick them up! They usually have some few week old ducklings at this point. I’ll be grabbing any clearance meat birds if I find them too.
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The new chicks are loving life outside. I will be constructing some sort of temporary run that is protected from aerial predators.
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You never would have made it a few years ago. Back in the olden days (‘13-16’ I think), we had a large group of chatter boxes. @LittleMissPurdy and I were not very talkative though. Nope, we were very very quiet!
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Quiet, yep... uh huh....
.had tons of fun though. Loved meeting so many awesome people from this thread. Still having a good time here, it's just life situations that have changed up a bit.
...like the landscaping so far??
My first batch of chicks arrive tomorrow!
I think I have everything in order:
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- Starter Grit
- Starter Feed
- Heat Plate
- Feeder
- Water
- Temperature Gauge
- Soft Flake Pine Shavings
- Potty Pads
- 54-Gallon Tub
My cats are super curious. Haha!
..your cat is like..wha' the he**???? 
Now I have my RIR hen starting to do the same. I also have 2 buff orpington hens that will come for cuddles sometimes. I love my babies!
Thank you!
