The Quack Shack

[Pyxis]

Last evening I was out taking care of the birds. It had just gotten dark, and was cold. A balmy 4 degrees at the time and heading towards the negatives, with wind chill making it worse.

I opened the door to the Aztec's coop, and something shot out, knocking against my ankle and scaring the crap out of me.

Turns out, it was a very smart wild rabbit, who found the coop with the nice piles of hay on the floor and sheltered from the wind. I kind of hope it found its way back inside to shelter from the cold. I like the little guy, he's always hanging around in the evenings grazing when I'm out with the birds.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Last evening I was out taking care of the birds. It had just gotten dark, and was cold. A balmy 4 degrees at the time and heading towards the negatives, with wind chill making it worse.

I opened the door to the Aztec's coop, and something shot out, knocking against my ankle and scaring the crap out of me.

Turns out, it was a very smart wild rabbit, who found the coop with the nice piles of hay on the floor and sheltered from the wind. I kind of hope it found its way back inside to shelter from the cold. I like the little guy, he's always hanging around in the evenings grazing when I'm out with the birds.

Poor bunny! Hope it does too. And nothing else gets in

 

[Texag87]

We have three to five bunnies in the front every night. I have to build a fence to keep them out of the garden. Bunnies are good to eat so there is the alternative of harvesting them with the crossbow.

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning folks Good evening Wunda & Kiwi

 

[igorsMistress]

So where did you order those ducklings? - It could very well be that there's a disease spreading in that hatchery. Usually ducklings are tough as nails, i was so worried about the first batch being too cold, too warm, thirsty, hungry, wet, bored,…
From time to time it happens that you have a straggler or runt and it is actually better for them to leave this world early, than being bullied around and shunned to the end of the food-chain. Ducks are some kind of merciless when it comes to sick flock members.
Your kids will loooove the White Layers!!! They and Runners are my personal favorite breeds. White Layers do everything for food e-ve-ry-thing! And as grown ups they look like "real" ducks, white and fluffy and they waddle like ducks. But they are much more agile than for example the Pekin ducks. I cannot contain myself, when the "Wild13" (the 13 fall ducklings) come running down the hill for some treats: The Runners look like they're wearing brown sweaters and white shorts and White Layers look like soft, fluffy slippers on legs.
I never had a WL drake! Have you ordered »Straight Run«?

Good morning. I called the hatchery and reported it. They were a bit surprised that all three passed but have no wide reports of issues. For that reason I’m not going to mention them by name. The box had a crushed corner and it looked like people had peeked inside a few times by lifting one of the flaps so I have no idea what they went through. Also, every bit of their gro gel was gone and the bedding was dry so it didn’t get spilled. It almost looked as though they never had any to b gin with and I mentioned that to the hatchery as well.

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning. I called the hatchery and reported it. They were a bit surprised that all three passed but have no wide reports of issues. For that reason I’m not going to mention them by name. The box had a crushed corner and it looked like people had peeked inside a few times by lifting one of the flaps so I have no idea what they went through. Also, every bit of their gro gel was gone and the bedding was dry so it didn’t get spilled. It almost looked as though they never had any to b gin with and I mentioned that to the hatchery as well.

Good morning IM, have a great day

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Last evening I was out taking care of the birds. It had just gotten dark, and was cold. A balmy 4 degrees at the time and heading towards the negatives, with wind chill making it worse.

I opened the door to the Aztec's coop, and something shot out, knocking against my ankle and scaring the crap out of me.

Turns out, it was a very smart wild rabbit, who found the coop with the nice piles of hay on the floor and sheltered from the wind. I kind of hope it found its way back inside to shelter from the cold. I like the little guy, he's always hanging around in the evenings grazing when I'm out with the birds.

I have some mixed feelings about bunnies: Last year i had one bunny that frequently scared the eggs out of the ducks by suddenly racing out from under the duck vacation house, almost destroying my sweet potatoes and eating my kale patch bald.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good morning. I called the hatchery and reported it. They were a bit surprised that all three passed but have no wide reports of issues. For that reason I’m not going to mention them by name. The box had a crushed corner and it looked like people had peeked inside a few times by lifting one of the flaps so I have no idea what they went through. Also, every bit of their gro gel was gone and the bedding was dry so it didn’t get spilled. It almost looked as though they never had any to b gin with and I mentioned that to the hatchery as well.

That still sounds weird: I had one out of 28 birds i have ordered in total from two different hatcheries injured not dead and she still lives. I heart a lot of dead or dying birds on arrival as well as chicks, dying due to shipping stress, but ducklings?
On the other hand you said that the box looked as if it had been opened and if well-meaning people have tried to feed them with their breakfast sandwiches… ☹

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good Day, Afternoon, Evening, Night or Morning Blue Marble Inhabitants!

Wash-out Sunday here in WV and we're on the "happy" side of Winter-Storm »Orlena«! There's heavy rain to the North, Snow to the North-East and sleet to the East of us. And the ducks have resumed their oil-drilling activities all over the property…

 

[igorsMistress]

That still sounds weird: I had one out of 28 birds i have ordered in total from two different hatcheries injured not dead and she still lives. I heart a lot of dead or dying birds on arrival as well as chicks, dying due to shipping stress, but ducklings?
On the other hand you said that the box looked as if it had been opened and if well-meaning people have tried to feed them with their breakfast sandwiches… ☹

I agree it’s weird and it makes me nervous but I reported to the hatchery right away. Here’s a pic of how I have the duck house separated. I know the older ducks can’t reach over the barrier, it’s two feet tall. I don’t think their bills can fit through to do get to the babies. I never saw babies on the wrong side of the barrier and their bodies were all on their own side when I found them. This made me reject the idea that the older birds did something to harm them. I’m considering a HWC strip across the bottom of the barrier as an extra precaution.