Washingtonians

[blueducklings]

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My oh my, you ARE bad...tsk tsk.

But I'm just as bad... maybe badder!

At least you haven't plugged in your bator.
I have a BIG bator humming in me laundry room and there are eggs in it.

So far I've sold 15 ducklings and made $150.
Spent...$500? Maybe more. This is definately a hobby. Not a money making investment.

But I did have to kick all the ducks out of my house last weekend.

20 ducks in the house got a bit stinky.

My DH has quit counting my ducklings and given up on figuring how many coops I might need.
He even gave up on asking the county's limit.

I told him we live next to horses and cows. There is no limit.

I went from 2 to 20 ducks in 4 months, and I have a BIG bator.

Got to love my DH.

The bator would be plugged in if I could figure out where to put all the chicks it would hatch! and if I didn't feel so awful getting rid of all the boys.

Yes, a slight technicality. Something to do with math.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

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So last night I checked my 3 dud eggs, and my Lav Orp egg had a pip and the chick was peeping away! By the time I went to bed it was 1/3 of the way zipped and she was hatched this morning! Another Lav Orp! Very nice surprise. Unfortunately, her hatch mates weren't being very nice to her when I put her in the brooder. I pulled out the female olive egger to keep her company and set up a seperate area in the brooder for the two of them. As soon as I know she is steady on her feet and eating and drinking, I'll try again to put her with her hatch mates.

 

[blueducklings]

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So last night I checked my 3 dud eggs, and my Lav Orp egg had a pip and the chick was peeping away! By the time I went to bed it was 1/3 of the way zipped and she was hatched this morning! Another Lav Orp! Very nice surprise. Unfortunately, her hatch mates weren't being very nice to her when I put her in the brooder. I pulled out the female olive egger to keep her company and set up a seperate area in the brooder for the two of them. As soon as I know she is steady on her feet and eating and drinking, I'll try again to put her with her hatch mates.

I have a mixed age brooder and they are fine.
I put new kids in a basket for a day or 2 so everyone is friendly, then let them out on day 3. Works everytime. I had 5 week, 3 week and 1 week babies together. No problem...but they have no beaks.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Oh! And I wanted to share this great idea with folks who might need a brooder, or a bigger brooder than they currently have. I was at the Woodinville Costco today, and there was a woman there getting one of the big octagonal shaped heavy boxes that they have their bags of potato's & onion's in and she was going to use it for her chicks to grow out in because they were outgrowing their current brooder box! Was this any of our boardy friends? I thought it was a brilliant idea and had to share!

 

[renart]

DW was away today taking care of her sister over to her mom's. So, with all my free time at home, I planted 11 more trays of seeds and got those situated in the greenhouse. Made myself lunch. Did all the laundry in the laundry room, and put it all away. Broke down the DW's bed and washed all the linens and such and then rebuilt it. Went to the store, bought her a doz mini roses, an assortment of her fav candy, and a card. Not suckin up too much here. This has just been a wacked month (April and part of May) and she deserves a break.


Here be a

picture of abuffy working on petunia's makeup in the mirror !

 

[pettec63]

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thats cool!! lol

I just relized not counting the eggs under the broodies..............I have 25 animals
if the eggs hatch then it is 30

I know it doesn't take long to add up does it?? specially where chickens are involved! lol!

 

[herbandteas]

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I just relized not counting the eggs under the broodies..............I have 25 animals
if the eggs hatch then it is 30

I know it doesn't take long to add up does it?? specially where chickens are involved! lol!

I know wow that was fast too!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

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It kills me every time you refer to those guys. I'm going to have to toughen up now especially if I'm going to continue hatching chicks. Any cockerels I hatch will have to go. I've already had an offer from a family member to "take them off my hands". Listen, I eat chicken, I love chicken and I know it started out as a cute chick somewhere, but I've just not yet had the experience f knowing my food personally before consuming it. If only I could determine sex when they are a day old so cockerels were not fawned over and cherished.

It's a common story throughout BYC I'm sure. I'm certainly not the first city girl coming to terms with this truth, and I think it's a beautiful thing to raise your own fresh food.

Just wanted you to know I empathize Ogress. I'm sure that was tough for you, and I'm right there with you.

I know! I get it! I was told a long time ago if your gonna eat it don't name it!! So, I've held off naming any of my chickens just in case!! lol! no seriously!!!!

Remember that any chicken that you raise and eat will have had the best life possible for a chicken and a death which is fast, painless, and free of panic and trauma. All small farmed meat tastes better for the sanity of the animals as much as anything, but also for your clear conscience that what you eat has not been deprived of life while it was living.

If it helps not to name them, do it, but what would help me is knowing that they're not Cornish Xs who've been kept in tiny boxes with nothing to do except eat and not even the room to stand up and flap their wings and stretch. I may not know them personally, but I know the ones you raise will be happier, for whatever chickens feel as happieness.

 

[pettec63]

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I know! I get it! I was told a long time ago if your gonna eat it don't name it!! So, I've held off naming any of my chickens just in case!! lol! no seriously!!!!

The hogs for my 4H project were named things like Porkchop, Hamlet, Jinx...all names that kept things in perspective for me. The calves that my dairy ccow had were named: Burger King, T-bone, steak...again, keeping things in perspective. Mind you one of my calves I trained to shake hands/hooves. It is hard though.

that is tough!! I did name my two pigs chuck and larry, but never really used it ..... I can tell you this, I was the only one that took care of them up until they were butchered, I hadn't had a butcher out since I was a kid and long before I became a vet tech, when the guy came to do the deed, I told I'm going in the house and turning up the music!!! which I did, and when we got the meat back from the processor, I actually felt kind of sick the first time I had some, I'm ok now no problem, I told my BF he's raising the next two!! LOL

 

[pettec63]

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OHHH what a nice guy!!! Good job!! She'll love you for it!!!