Washingtonians

[justbugged]

Quote:
You do just show up with the bird in a cardboard box with air holes cut into it, and drop it off before 10:30 am. They will take your name and address. The earlier you drop it off the sooner it will be sold. The first birds tend to go for more than the last bird that they auction off. As far as I know I have never known anyone that had to go pick up their bird after the auction. A lot of roos don't sell for very much, mostly in the 1.00 range for young roos. If the roo is mature they go for a lot more. It is very entertaining to watch the auction that starts at 11:00am.

I can't tell you what someone else will do with them. I would think that most end up as dinner, but I have an uneasy feeling that there are people buying roos for cock fighting. Unfortunately you don't have any control over who buys and what they do with the bird. I just pray that none of my birds end up with the wrong people. If you have any problems Pm me and I will do what I can to help.

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
I think that the people that I have read about are free ranging all day long. I have been letting the girls out into the back yard everyday this week, but they are only getting an hour or two at a time. They are getting very demanding about getting out creating a stampede when I open the gate. They are also demanding chicken crack. Obviously I am being conned and trained to do as they demand.

I do get my revenge when I chase them all back into the run with the garden hose.

The hardest part for me is having to stay right there with them. If I wander in to the house to do something, the nasty little dogs will take the opportunity to molest a chick or two. I had to leave the house this afternoon to pick up my car from the shop, and then I went and did some errands. DH came right home from dropping me off and he heard some noises from the yard so he went running, and found 3 dogs and a Silkie in a face off. As soon as the dogs saw DH they went slinking away, and the Silkie was delighted because she won the stand off. DH got even and tossed her back into the run. I must have missed getting Inky back into the run when I left.

Mine don't eat a lot of oystershell either, so it's not very expensive to have for them. But i figure that they are getting what they want of it. I do have some troubles with the shells on a few of the eggs. I am still not sure which hen is laying the shell-less or super thin shelled egg. I have been procrastinating about separating the girls one at a time so that I can be sure who is laying what.

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
I have chicken tractor envy. I think you have a very cleaver DH.

 

[T Hi]

QUESTION-----


My quackers are about 15 and a half weeks old. When do you guys start putting out oyster shell for the ducks?

LOoraine---- So Midnight still has no sign of a curled tail feather but has the very raspy quack just like Shaniqua. What do you think?


Shaniqua put on quite the...uh...mating show for all the neighborhood! Oh boy! Or should I say... Oh drake!!!!!

 

[TrystInn]

T Hi,

Fwiw, we have a small duck egg business that sells to local bakers.

Our ducks lay very hard shelled eggs, so we haven't had to add oyster shell to their diet. The first egg or two from a young duck may be a soft shell as her system isn't quite mature yet. You should see normal eggs within that first week. If you don't, check your feed again for protein and calcium levels and if they aren't up to appropriate levels, add oyster shell as a free feed option.

18% protein and 2.5% calcium are the magic numbers here. You can also push up their protein levels by adding treats to their diet such as yogurt and spinach. My ducks adore Cheerios as an occasional treat.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
My girls free range most of the day. They only eat feed morning and night (I have to put it away during the day or the crows eat it), so they're not eating that much layer feed. It probably would be safer to have oyster shell available to make sure they're getting enough calcium.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I think that the people that I have read about are free ranging all day long. I have been letting the girls out into the back yard everyday this week, but they are only getting an hour or two at a time. They are getting very demanding about getting out creating a stampede when I open the gate. They are also demanding chicken crack. Obviously I am being conned and trained to do as they demand.

I do get my revenge when I chase them all back into the run with the garden hose.

The hardest part for me is having to stay right there with them. If I wander in to the house to do something, the nasty little dogs will take the opportunity to molest a chick or two. I had to leave the house this afternoon to pick up my car from the shop, and then I went and did some errands. DH came right home from dropping me off and he heard some noises from the yard so he went running, and found 3 dogs and a Silkie in a face off. As soon as the dogs saw DH they went slinking away, and the Silkie was delighted because she won the stand off. DH got even and tossed her back into the run. I must have missed getting Inky back into the run when I left.

Mine don't eat a lot of oystershell either, so it's not very expensive to have for them. But i figure that they are getting what they want of it. I do have some troubles with the shells on a few of the eggs. I am still not sure which hen is laying the shell-less or super thin shelled egg. I have been procrastinating about separating the girls one at a time so that I can be sure who is laying what.

I use cracked corn to get them back into the run. I throw the corn in, and they run in after it. The hose sounds like more fun.

 

[LaSombra]

I'm feeling all housewife-ish. I made my very first batch of strawberry jam ever today

I filled up 22 pint jars so I think we're set for a while with strawberry jam! yum

I think I might like this canning stuff. I might try some other jams also. We have some blueberries that could be used and our wild cherry tree is loaded right now...

already got 8 eggs today, as of 2pm. My pullets have been starting to lay. Today, I got my first white egg!

 

[justbugged]

I love homemade jams and jellies. I have been eating some of my orange marmalade with crumpets. I just love crumpets. I have always made jam, it is so much better and less expensive than store bought jams and jellies, especially if you can get free fruit. Plus it is very easy to do. Though the thought of cleaning up 22 jars, and getting them all put away today sounds a bit daunting. lol

 

[NWChicks]

I'm planning to can some homemade ketchup and BBQ sauce as soon as I get the stuff. I also have a pressure canner so when it's time I'll make up a huge batch of chicken stock and can that for future use. Even if they're tough and stringy old birds they'll still make a decent stock!