Where did they come from???

[KettermanHillCoop]

So something happened to me this weekend that could cause someone to say "where did they come from".

I made a trade for several of my chickens for 5 ducks. A trio of wood ducks, and a pair of marbled teals.
The only open area i had to put them is a makeshift bachelor pen that i had set up when i had some males to rehome. It has a small coop box that i used for grow-outs, it is fenced, with netting overhead.
Well, the first evening (Saturday), the wood drake found an opening in my netting and took off. I hoped he would stay nearby his girls, but I haven't seen him since. Yesterday I was trying to remove some water collected on top of a canopy, and startled the others, and 2 more found other holes. So now 3 are gone. I won't likely see them again, as they don't even know they were safe here. Their wild instincts took over and I'm sure they are gone.
They would be next to impossible to catch if anyone found them, unless wounded. But just so everyone knows, it is possible to lose birds accidentally and feel totally horrible about it. I failed. Majorly

Awwwww.....{{Hugs}} to you.

 

[pennyJo1960]

So something happened to me this weekend that could cause someone to say "where did they come from".

I made a trade for several of my chickens for 5 ducks. A trio of wood ducks, and a pair of marbled teals.
The only open area i had to put them is a makeshift bachelor pen that i had set up when i had some males to rehome. It has a small coop box that i used for grow-outs, it is fenced, with netting overhead.
Well, the first evening (Saturday), the wood drake found an opening in my netting and took off. I hoped he would stay nearby his girls, but I haven't seen him since. Yesterday I was trying to remove some water collected on top of a canopy, and startled the others, and 2 more found other holes. So now 3 are gone. I won't likely see them again, as they don't even know they were safe here. Their wild instincts took over and I'm sure they are gone.
They would be next to impossible to catch if anyone found them, unless wounded. But just so everyone knows, it is possible to lose birds accidentally and feel totally horrible about it. I failed. Majorly

oh no I am so sorry how far away was their prior home ? but your a great chicken owner and a great person over all do not forget that

 

[WVduckchick]

oh no I am so sorry how far away was their prior home ? but your a great chicken owner and a great person over all do not forget that

Thank you! I do take good care of my birds, I guess that's why i feel so horrible. She lives maybe 100 miles from me, probably 70ish air miles?
I'm not even sure if she had them since they were babies, so i doubt they will make their way back there. But from my research, they have a pretty good chance of surviving wild, unlike chickens or domestic fowl.

 

[biophiliac]

Thank you! I do take good care of my birds, I guess that's why i feel so horrible. She lives maybe 100 miles from me, probably 70ish air miles?
I'm not even sure if she had them since they were babies, so i doubt they will make their way back there. But from my research, they have a pretty good chance of surviving wild, unlike chickens or domestic fowl.

At this point I hope you will stop feeling guilty. You gave some wild(ish) birds their freedom, you are their hero. Maybe it was their fate to be wild. We can all wish them well. Hope this doesn't sound too insensitive, I am sorry you lost them.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

So something happened to me this weekend that could cause someone to say "where did they come from".

I made a trade for several of my chickens for 5 ducks. A trio of wood ducks, and a pair of marbled teals.
The only open area i had to put them is a makeshift bachelor pen that i had set up when i had some males to rehome. It has a small coop box that i used for grow-outs, it is fenced, with netting overhead.
Well, the first evening (Saturday), the wood drake found an opening in my netting and took off. I hoped he would stay nearby his girls, but I haven't seen him since. Yesterday I was trying to remove some water collected on top of a canopy, and startled the others, and 2 more found other holes. So now 3 are gone. I won't likely see them again, as they don't even know they were safe here. Their wild instincts took over and I'm sure they are gone.
They would be next to impossible to catch if anyone found them, unless wounded. But just so everyone knows, it is possible to lose birds accidentally and feel totally horrible about it. I failed. Majorly

Aww, I'm so sorry. It can and does happen despite our best intentions/efforts. I have not seen Marbled Teals -- I'll bet they are pretty.

 

[venymae]

@KettermanHillCoop I feel a little late to the game, but here is what we did and LOVED for winter water:

5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples and a stock tank deicer. 5 gallons makes it last a while, so you are not constantly filling it! The lid on the bucket keeps it clean and easy to refill. Horizontal nipples don't hold water in the nip, which prevents freezing. They also don't tend to start dripping like vertical nipples do. The stock tank deicer we used (pictured) was plastic safe, had a heavy duty cord, and automatically turned of if the temp went above 40.

As someone who is a die hard aquarium person and worked with various aquarium heaters for the last 20+ years I DO NOT recommend them for outdoor use, especially in a watering can. They are wasteful of energy, if they short they can over heat and melt things, they would need to run really hard to keep up with the cold, most can only go down to 65 degrees if adjustable or are set at 78 degrees if not adjustable. If the water level goes down enough that the glass and heating element is exposed, they can crack or break (most are glass). They also have a regular household cord. Plus they are almost the same price as a stock tank deicer!

So, yes they can work, but there is a much better option.

 

[WVduckchick]

At this point I hope you will stop feeling guilty. You gave some wild(ish) birds their freedom, you are their hero. Maybe it was their fate to be wild. We can all wish them well. Hope this doesn't sound too insensitive, I am sorry you lost them.

You are right, and not insensitive at all. Thank you. I've considered releasing the final 2, but just can't bring myself to do it yet. I'm going to see if they calm down any after a while with me, then decide.

Aww, I'm so sorry. It can and does happen despite our best intentions/efforts. I have not seen Marbled Teals -- I'll bet they are pretty.

Thank you! They are gorgeous little birds. Hard to even get good pics of them yet, but here's an internet pic of one

This is my 5, before some took off.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

@KettermanHillCoop I feel a little late to the game, but here is what we did and LOVED for winter water:

5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples and a stock tank deicer. 5 gallons makes it last a while, so you are not constantly filling it! The lid on the bucket keeps it clean and easy to refill. Horizontal nipples don't hold water in the nip, which prevents freezing. They also don't tend to start dripping like vertical nipples do. The stock tank deicer we used (pictured) was plastic safe, had a heavy duty cord, and automatically turned of if the temp went above 40.

As someone who is a die hard aquarium person and worked with various aquarium heaters for the last 20+ years I DO NOT recommend them for outdoor use, especially in a watering can. They are wasteful of energy, if they short they can over heat and melt things, they would need to run really hard to keep up with the cold, most can only go down to 65 degrees if adjustable or are set at 78 degrees if not adjustable. If the water level goes down enough that the glass and heating element is exposed, they can crack or break (most are glass). They also have a regular household cord. Plus they are almost the same price as a stock tank deicer!

So, yes they can work, but there is a much better option.

I like this idea very much. Do you drill a hole in the bucket to run the cord? If so...where on the bucket? Do you happen to have a picture of your set up? I'm a visual learner...and things make more sense to me when I see it.

Would my local Ag store carry this...or is this an online thing?

 

[OneMountainAcres]

@KettermanHillCoop I feel a little late to the game, but here is what we did and LOVED for winter water:

5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples and a stock tank deicer. 5 gallons makes it last a while, so you are not constantly filling it! The lid on the bucket keeps it clean and easy to refill. Horizontal nipples don't hold water in the nip, which prevents freezing. They also don't tend to start dripping like vertical nipples do. The stock tank deicer we used (pictured) was plastic safe, had a heavy duty cord, and automatically turned of if the temp went above 40.

As someone who is a die hard aquarium person and worked with various aquarium heaters for the last 20+ years I DO NOT recommend them for outdoor use, especially in a watering can. They are wasteful of energy, if they short they can over heat and melt things, they would need to run really hard to keep up with the cold, most can only go down to 65 degrees if adjustable or are set at 78 degrees if not adjustable. If the water level goes down enough that the glass and heating element is exposed, they can crack or break (most are glass). They also have a regular household cord. Plus they are almost the same price as a stock tank deicer!

So, yes they can work, but there is a much better option.

I use the same heater in my 5 gallon bucket but I use the vertical nipples on the bottom. They do leak a little bit over the winter but nothing extreme and since it's out in the run, no big deal. Works great for us!

 

[pennyJo1960]

I like this idea very much. Do you drill a hole in the bucket to run the cord? If so...where on the bucket? Do you happen to have a picture of your set up? I'm a visual learner...and things make more sense to me when I see it.

Would my local Ag store carry this...or is this an online thing?

yes any Ag or farm store would