BBP How many ducklings did you end up with? Did the one that was struggling to hatch make it?
Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"
- Thread starter bigzio
- Start date
Oh yeah, all 3 hatched. The last one finally externally pipped so I tore in there to find all the blood from the membrane absorbed. He was ready to get out! They're all doing great now.
I love my ducks. They have a ton of personality, especially the hens. I could live without chickens, but I will always keep ducks.
I love my ducks. They have a ton of personality, especially the hens. I could live without chickens, but I will always keep ducks.
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I would like that question answered as well...... ;D
Had lunch with my sis and her kids today...... and I was reminded WHY I am NOT having any more kids!
I swear to GOD I am just getting less tolerant as I get older.... I think I was grinding my teeth through the whole ordeal...... Nothing a little Vino can't fix! 
No Call eggs yet...... BBP, when did your calls start laying? Do you have them under artificial lighting conditions? I would not think that I am such a great distance away from you and SW that my calls would start laying so much later!
Still planning our vacation. I hope the trip is memorable for all of us, in a good way. I have been given the assignment of watching the movie RV before we head out....... I am also keeping my fingers crossed that the price of gas drops significantly..... or at the very least stays below $4 a gallon!
Had lunch with my sis and her kids today...... and I was reminded WHY I am NOT having any more kids!
No Call eggs yet...... BBP, when did your calls start laying? Do you have them under artificial lighting conditions? I would not think that I am such a great distance away from you and SW that my calls would start laying so much later!
Still planning our vacation. I hope the trip is memorable for all of us, in a good way. I have been given the assignment of watching the movie RV before we head out....... I am also keeping my fingers crossed that the price of gas drops significantly..... or at the very least stays below $4 a gallon!
Jeez, you guys are impossible to keep up with! Just wanted to say that though I'm super exhausted and can't really do a point-by-point response, I'm enjoying being back and reading though your posts.
Oh, and THANKS Jim, I feel so loved.
Oh, and THANKS Jim, I feel so loved.
I don't use lights on any of my birds. I don't believe in forcing them to lay. I have one call hen that's been laying since early Feb. I have another that just started this week. Unfotunately, I caught the chickens eating the duck eggs this morning. I haven't decided what to do about that.
*sigh* Awful, awful day today at work... my favorite manager is on medical leave for two weeks, and...well, quite frankly, I cannot stand my other manager! Ended up kind of blowing up at her as I was leaving this afternoon, and I just know I'm going to hear about it next time I'm there.
I'm not planning on still being there 6 months from now anyways - that was part of the urgency of moving to the new house so soon - the sooner we sell the expensive house in Baraboo, the sooner I can afford to go back to school full time! But I definitely need to NOT get myself fired before the house renovations are done!
Came home and candled the eggs in the 'bator to cheer me up - except that it didn't! I can't see a thing in the thick-shelled, pale brown Cochin eggs yet, but I can see clear as day that only ONE of the 15 Dutch Hookbill duck eggs that I set is developing!!! I think, maybe, since the Hookbills girls have dug out a nest outside, right next to their shelter, that the eggs got too cold on the ground. Of the Call duck eggs (which were all laid inside the wooden boxes in their raised pens), all 5 eggs that I set began developing, one blood ring, so there are 4 still going. So that saved the day from being a total disaster I guess.
And... as requested... pictures of the house
Kitchen/Living room
The master bath will *hopefully* be done tomorrow - the rest of the framing is going up, a skirt's being built for the tub, and the glass shower's going in (obviously, the walls still need to be finished, but we wanted to get everything moved in and make completely sure we're happy with the layout before we committed to it!):
The bedrooms are pretty much done, except we're having new carpet put in the two bedrooms upstairs, and I'm not even going to post a picture of the mail-level bathroom because it's been completely gutted down to the studs so that we can re-build the layout of that one too (it's bigger than the master bath, but it's going to serve as a guest bath AND our laundry room, so we had to tweak the layout a little). So, yeah. It's a LOT of fun, and really exciting... but it's a major headache. And a mess.
I don't have any exterior pictures because we haven't had any work done to the exterior yet, but I'll be there all day tomorrow and take a few of the house and the yard. It's only 2.5 acres - just enough for him to have a big garage/shop, and for me to have my birds. We were looking for something bigger, but fell in love with this place because it has so much character and history, but because the previous owner stopped halfway through renovating it himself, it's basically a clean slate!
BL4 - I don't think all my Call gal's are laying yet. I think BBP and I just have a couple of early-birds! Of the two-year-olds, I'm pretty sure it's my Blue Pied hen that's been laying an egg every day (which she does all summer long - I worry about her, she's my absolute favorite), and I can't prove it, but I personally believe that ALL the 1-year-olds who just started laying this week are her daughters (based on their color genetics and the way they're built just like her!). Which means I'm pretty biased towards keeping her daughters and it's a good thing I just added some new blood to the flock!
ANYWAYS - the point of all that is that I believe there is a big genetic factor as to when birds start and stop laying for the season that you can't change no matter how much you tweak the conditions!
Came home and candled the eggs in the 'bator to cheer me up - except that it didn't! I can't see a thing in the thick-shelled, pale brown Cochin eggs yet, but I can see clear as day that only ONE of the 15 Dutch Hookbill duck eggs that I set is developing!!! I think, maybe, since the Hookbills girls have dug out a nest outside, right next to their shelter, that the eggs got too cold on the ground. Of the Call duck eggs (which were all laid inside the wooden boxes in their raised pens), all 5 eggs that I set began developing, one blood ring, so there are 4 still going. So that saved the day from being a total disaster I guess.
And... as requested... pictures of the house
Kitchen/Living room
The master bath will *hopefully* be done tomorrow - the rest of the framing is going up, a skirt's being built for the tub, and the glass shower's going in (obviously, the walls still need to be finished, but we wanted to get everything moved in and make completely sure we're happy with the layout before we committed to it!):
The bedrooms are pretty much done, except we're having new carpet put in the two bedrooms upstairs, and I'm not even going to post a picture of the mail-level bathroom because it's been completely gutted down to the studs so that we can re-build the layout of that one too (it's bigger than the master bath, but it's going to serve as a guest bath AND our laundry room, so we had to tweak the layout a little). So, yeah. It's a LOT of fun, and really exciting... but it's a major headache. And a mess.
I don't have any exterior pictures because we haven't had any work done to the exterior yet, but I'll be there all day tomorrow and take a few of the house and the yard. It's only 2.5 acres - just enough for him to have a big garage/shop, and for me to have my birds. We were looking for something bigger, but fell in love with this place because it has so much character and history, but because the previous owner stopped halfway through renovating it himself, it's basically a clean slate!
BL4 - I don't think all my Call gal's are laying yet. I think BBP and I just have a couple of early-birds! Of the two-year-olds, I'm pretty sure it's my Blue Pied hen that's been laying an egg every day (which she does all summer long - I worry about her, she's my absolute favorite), and I can't prove it, but I personally believe that ALL the 1-year-olds who just started laying this week are her daughters (based on their color genetics and the way they're built just like her!). Which means I'm pretty biased towards keeping her daughters and it's a good thing I just added some new blood to the flock!
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Nothing new for Me on the chicken front.
I did see an ad on the Mad City Chicken google group that there is a person is trying to help rehome some hens.
here is an excerpt of what she posted
Quote:
I am waiting to hear if there are any more that need homes. If anyone is interested I can QT them till they are picked up. PM me.
Have a great night folks
Carol
I did see an ad on the Mad City Chicken google group that there is a person is trying to help rehome some hens.
here is an excerpt of what she posted
Quote:
I am waiting to hear if there are any more that need homes. If anyone is interested I can QT them till they are picked up. PM me.
Have a great night folks
Carol
SF, I am going to throw a wrench into your train of thought there.... last fall ALL my calls had quit laying after Taffy hatched out these last 4 babies. When it got cold early, I put a heat lamp out inside the shelter area of the pen since the babies were still not fledged. After a few weeks with the light on in the shelter 24/7, suddenly the rest of the girls decided it was time to start laying again (I believe this was early October). They did not quit until I removed the light.
added to say WOW SF!! those are some neat pics. I love the interior, even if its only partially done.
Speaking of houses, have you thought of going with Jo Ferarro? She has a house selling guarantee at an agreed upon price and a sell by date or she buys your house.
I can get more info if you want. She sold some farm land near where I board at within a week. And she advertises on 101.5 all the time.
Speaking of houses, have you thought of going with Jo Ferarro? She has a house selling guarantee at an agreed upon price and a sell by date or she buys your house.
I can get more info if you want. She sold some farm land near where I board at within a week. And she advertises on 101.5 all the time.
That all looks so great! I feel exhausted just thinking about the work going into it! Where are you guys moving to? From Baraboo? Oh ... Btw... I know a super awesome roofer if you ever need one. I've got some pull with him... Seeing how I sleep with him every night...*sigh* Awful, awful day today at work... my favorite manager is on medical leave for two weeks, and...well, quite frankly, I cannot stand my other manager! Ended up kind of blowing up at her as I was leaving this afternoon, and I just know I'm going to hear about it next time I'm there.I'm not planning on still being there 6 months from now anyways - that was part of the urgency of moving to the new house so soon - the sooner we sell the expensive house in Baraboo, the sooner I can afford to go back to school full time! But I definitely need to NOT get myself fired before the house renovations are done!
Came home and candled the eggs in the 'bator to cheer me up - except that it didn't! I can't see a thing in the thick-shelled, pale brown Cochin eggs yet, but I can see clear as day that only ONE of the 15 Dutch Hookbill duck eggs that I set is developing!!! I think, maybe, since the Hookbills girls have dug out a nest outside, right next to their shelter, that the eggs got too cold on the ground. Of the Call duck eggs (which were all laid inside the wooden boxes in their raised pens), all 5 eggs that I set began developing, one blood ring, so there are 4 still going. So that saved the day from being a total disaster I guess.
And... as requested... pictures of the house
Kitchen/Living room
The master bath will *hopefully* be done tomorrow - the rest of the framing is going up, a skirt's being built for the tub, and the glass shower's going in (obviously, the walls still need to be finished, but we wanted to get everything moved in and make completely sure we're happy with the layout before we committed to it!):
The bedrooms are pretty much done, except we're having new carpet put in the two bedrooms upstairs, and I'm not even going to post a picture of the mail-level bathroom because it's been completely gutted down to the studs so that we can re-build the layout of that one too (it's bigger than the master bath, but it's going to serve as a guest bath AND our laundry room, so we had to tweak the layout a little). So, yeah. It's a LOT of fun, and really exciting... but it's a major headache. And a mess.
I don't have any exterior pictures because we haven't had any work done to the exterior yet, but I'll be there all day tomorrow and take a few of the house and the yard. It's only 2.5 acres - just enough for him to have a big garage/shop, and for me to have my birds. We were looking for something bigger, but fell in love with this place because it has so much character and history, but because the previous owner stopped halfway through renovating it himself, it's basically a clean slate!
BL4 - I don't think all my Call gal's are laying yet. I think BBP and I just have a couple of early-birds! Of the two-year-olds, I'm pretty sure it's my Blue Pied hen that's been laying an egg every day (which she does all summer long - I worry about her, she's my absolute favorite), and I can't prove it, but I personally believe that ALL the 1-year-olds who just started laying this week are her daughters (based on their color genetics and the way they're built just like her!). Which means I'm pretty biased towards keeping her daughters and it's a good thing I just added some new blood to the flock!ANYWAYS - the point of all that is that I believe there is a big genetic factor as to when birds start and stop laying for the season that you can't change no matter how much you tweak the conditions!
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