The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Rutabaga? I love the greens of these too, and the roots can be used just like the turnip roots. My next fav is Turnips then Mustard greens.

You sure had a nice patch of greens Hillbilly. That duck fertilizer really makes a difference. My mom swore by horse manure she called it gold. lol

Good Morning and Evening Everyone.

Thanks for warning us Wunda.

I call the composted bedding from the duck-house my Duck-Silver and the compost from the duck-run is my Duck-Gold.
By using this stuff, i am able to grow potatoes in the very same spot year after year without depleting the soil of nutrients. Potatoes are very heavy on Nitrogen, which is the one thing that the Duck-Gold provides in excess. (Wood-Chips drenched in duck-poop and composted for 12 months)
Also important is to plant something like Mustard-Greens or Turnips after the potato harvest, as the odors of these plants will drive a lot of pesky insect larvae away.

 

[Summer_]

Hello! I’m late lol

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good morning / evening folks

I'm a fan of kale for soups and stews. Plant in the fall and harvest all winter.

I have planted some kale this year, but only a few plants grew. No clue what i did wrong, but i will give it another trial next spring. I am not a big fan of kale or cabbage, but the ducks love it in their supper-bowl and it makes their feet bright and bills orange and also increases the egg quality. The few kale plants i have, will likely last the ducks through December, then i may have to buy a couple of red-cabbage heads for them.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Greetings and salutations! Up to 2 3/4 chicks (one is almost zipped out)!

I like Watercress. It has a really nice, sharp, peppery taste to it. Wonder if I can grow it here.

@rjohns39 Easy for you to say down in Tennessee! If I tried to grow something over the winter, I'd be spending more on electricity to heat the greenhouse than buying to produce outright, lol!

I like Watercress too, unfortunately the ducks will like it too and i have only one pond…

Have you tried to sink your greenhouse half-ways into the ground?
Or insulate the bottom half on the outside with straw- or hay-bales?
A thick layer of dry(!) wood-chips on the floor also helps to insulate.
And a large water-tank will heat up during a sunny day and keeps temperatures up during the cold night.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

View attachment 3327670

It's in focus, I swear! the chicks are just fuzzy!

I believe you! - My ducklings always look fuzzy too on the pictures!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hi and salutations!

Only three eggs hatched out from my OEGB, out of eight. Four died in shell, two of which were close to hatching age, and one was infertile (don't know how I didn't catch that).

View attachment 3328268

It will be interesting to see what colour that little silvery one turns out to be!

Still have two more batches cooking in the incubator, and a few being brooded off and on by one of the hens. She's good about it during the day, but doesn't sit them at night.

A brood hen in the middle of Winter? - My duck have stopped laying eggs alltogether for the first time in five years of "ducking".

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

A merry and sunny Sunday to everybody!​

It is lousy cold here, barely above the freezing mark, with an icy wind blowing.
But the ducks enjoy the sun and for me there's very little work to do outside. Still need to do duck-duty and finish the patio…

 

[Canadian Wind]

I like Watercress too, unfortunately the ducks will like it too and i have only one pond…

Have you tried to sink your greenhouse half-ways into the ground?
Or insulate the bottom half on the outside with straw- or hay-bales?
A thick layer of dry(!) wood-chips on the floor also helps to insulate.
And a large water-tank will heat up during a sunny day and keeps temperatures up during the cold night.

All ideas I want to implement. Once I have a greenhouse, lol!

 

[Canadian Wind]

A brood hen in the middle of Winter? - My duck have stopped laying eggs alltogether for the first time in five years of "ducking".

She's being kept inside with two other hens and a roo. I didn't have anything to put them in so I evicted my gerbils from their two-storey cage and put the OEGB in there.

Please excuse short replies, I am sick right now.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Good (?) morning/day/evening. I may just decide to hibernate this winter.