The Quack Shack

[Luv Ducks]

i am counting down to return of @Miss Lydia In good faith I have started tagging her in duck posts that need advice and I am believing she will be back SOOOOON

I am praying that she will. She was sort of skeptical since it has been so long and wondered if they just told her Hubby that to make him go away. Hopefully not!

 

[Supercow]

I love my female Welsh Harlequin. She ended up having a dark green shade in her black bill which I thought was unusual but she is marked beautifully. Such a Sweet Duck too. Loud at times but Sweet. Good luck with your eggs. How many did you order?

Just the 10 and they are coming from a neighboring country (Italy) so I'm somewhat worried what the success rate can be because of the stress in transport.

On the other hand this is the same supplier that some lady here in Slovenia used 15 years ago to first introduce modern breeds of ducks here. (We are a very very small country / market so things don't just happen automagically and when they do happen it's with a delay.) So I guess there's a chance it works out well.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Just the 10 and they are coming from a neighboring country (Italy) so I'm somewhat worried what the success rate can be because of the stress in transport.

On the other hand this is the same supplier that some lady here in Slovenia used 15 years ago to first introduce modern breeds of ducks here. (We are a very very small country / market so things don't just happen automagically and when they do happen it's with a delay.) So I guess there's a chance it works out well.

I surely hope that it does. I love to see the babies hatch out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am praying that she will. She was sort of skeptical since it has been so long and wondered if they just told her Hubby that to make him go away. Hopefully not!

Your prayers have been answered for now anyway. I have tried so many times to get here and I could but that would be it I could not post or it would look like a script instead of normal BYC but today it’s working. Still no WiFi but by some miracle I am here. Hopefully that’s a good sign

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Very sorry about Bianca it's cold ... maybe she's hunkered down somewhere and can still surprise you by reappearing...

Over here I also did some orchard work today, cleared out the other half of previous season's blackberries (Triple crown - they produce bamboo size canes), piled up various dead wood lying around, hopefully there will be no wind tomorrow and I can burn it and then use the ashes for the veggie beds.

Instead of Asian bug larvae we have the really thick yummy ones - https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/cetonia-aurata/?lang=en , scroll down - usually in containers (grow bags, barrels etc) and the ducks really love those.

Thank you very much for encouraging me in regards of Blanca Duck, but she is really gone. There is nowhere for her to hunker down here…

That is exactly what is called the Asian Beetle here.
Those almost killed my Plum tree last spring. We can buy plastic-bag traps here that contain a strong smelling bait to attract them. The ducks love their larvae more than cat-food!

Burning the dead wood? - I am planning to cut away the shrubs around the pond and turn the debris into a dead-hedge.
This way i don't have to drag everything out of the woods, pile it up and burn it. A hedge is also easier to "implement" on very uneven ground and the cost of material is negligible, just some wire to keep the poles together.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I believe they only have one other farm and it is in Tennessee. I pray that those birds stay healthy. I was just shocked that they got bird flu as I thought it was only from the wild birds that got in with a person's flock and I know they take all kinds of precautions against that. It breaks my heart that all of those birds had to be put down.

Again: The wild ducks all have developed a natural immunity against bird flu. Killing whole flocks is counter productive…

 

[Miss Lydia]

What happened to Blanca duck?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I agree but since they had it they could not take the chance of selling any of them to anyone and getting sued for giving someone else's flock bird flu. It's a sad situation. I just pray that they can recover from this loss and don't go under over it. They still have their plant in Tennessee but this is a major loss for John Metzer.

We all could change that by filing a petition at the USDA to create regulation that allows and enforces poultry vaccination. Btw: Huumons cannot contract bird flu from eating eggs or meat if properly cooked.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Yes but how well we all know that insurance companies hardly ever give you what something is worth. I know when a Semi hit my car I got peanuts for it just because it was older, even though it was good running but because of miles on it they wouldn't pay for what it was worth to me.

Insurance companies also know about the reach of Metzer Farms on social-media…
Sorry about the experience with your car, yes when dealing with us "little fish" insurances play the "jerk" card by default nowadays.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Whenever I have looked up pictures of Metzer Farms the birds all seem to be in pole barns running around with lots of shavings under them. That is why I thought they were protected from the wild birds. Evidently they must have exposure to them somewhere if this is where the flu came from.

They kept their ducks in pole-barns with attached uncovered runs and there they might have mingled with wild ducks from the nearby Salinas river…