Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[babylady4]

Action City in Eau Claire. Only place I can find. I have no idea where you are so I guessed close to the Twin Cities.

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:

I started out with three ducks...just for those big, rich duck eggs....
And now I'm at about 50 ducks and 30 chickens! (Remember how I was trying to keep the number of ducks under 30 earlier this year, Terri O?

)

Well, I have someone interested in buying those Stanbridge Whites from me, and it sounds like an ideal situation, a better set-up than I have here, where they'll be worked with responsibly to increase their numbers....

But then, being a sentimental girl who doesn't care that my 60-odd birds are slowly draining every penny out of my college savings, I looked at them out in the yard last night and couldn't imagine the place without them, you know?

So, now I don't know. We have them all named - that's Georgia in the front with the purple legband, and Blossom next to her in the pink (the Foy's snap-on legbands ROCK by the way, and I got all the correct sizes!). I just don't have room for them. I need to decide whether I'm going to let them go, or build more pens...and either way I have to stop ignoring this guy's e-mail!

 

[chickeypoo]

I live in galesville WI. about 3 hours southish of the Twin Cities. by Winona MN.

 

[Raiquee]

Annarie)

Can you post pics of your Khaki Campbells? Is that one behind the whites in your last picture? What duck is sitting on those eggs?

I talked to the sitter when picking up Damien and she said sure to the ducks!

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
Sure - I'm always up for posting pictures of my ducks!

Yes - there's one Khaki in the background of that picture...and then there's a Campbell x Indian Runner mutt and two Dutch Hookbills, besides the Stanbridge Whites. Usually, they're all in separate pens, but they've been escaping on me lately and deciding to be free-range ducks.

They like to go play in the cold sump-pump water that's constantly being pumped from the basement. When a duck wants to get to water, my flimsy fencing sure doesn't hold it in! I have all new fencing and posts to put up, but I have to actually build gates (I need some of them to be weird sizes, the pens and runs are at the edge of the woods, squeezed between trees - I refuse to cut any down), and I haven't worked up the ambition to start yet.

Anyways, these are my two Khaki Campbells, Juniper (on the left) and Holly (on the right). Juniper is the one sitting on eggs, but the ducklings are going to be Campbell x Hookbill mutts, so they'll end up looking like Dark Campbells, which are the second picture:

Khaki Campbells:

Dark Campbells:

Same breed, different color variety. The Khaki Campbells lay white eggs, and all of my Dark Campbells except one lay green eggs.

If you breed a Khaki Campbell drake (which has the sex-linked brown dilution) to a Dark Campbell duck, all the female ducklings will be Khaki like their dad, and all the male ducklings will be dark like their mom.

Okay - that's my duck lesson for the night. I'm torn up over what to do with those Stanbridge White ducks. I'm leaning towards selling them, and then adding some Shetland Geese in the spring...I've been reading that Shetlands are very accepting of other birds, so I could probably house them in one of the duck pens along with one of the duck breeds....the trouble is that, if that went bad, an angry gander could kill a whole flock of ducks real quick (even a wee little Shetland that only weighs about 10 pounds).

What do you think, Buck Creek Chickens? Would you trust those Pomeranian's of yours around ducks when they're all ferocious and breeding? I could introduce them while they were still very young. Do they even care about so trivial a creature as a duck? My two big duck pens are 4'x8' with approx. 15'x16' runs, if that's any help.

 

[Dr HaHa]

Good Morning Chicken people! Went right to canning after the first cupper. Then did my daily moutain of dishes. Nice cool breezy morning! No more canning/ freezing until tomorrow. Heading out to work on the boat motor with the threat of squito bites diminished with the breeze.

Big news! To me anyway. One egg is rockin and rollin and I thought I saw another one move.

If the rocker survives it's name will be Alvin after Alvin Lee [Ten Years After]. Today is only day 19 so we might get an early bird. It's starting to seem that Buster waits for me in the mornings. For the past 3 days he's been on the roost and all the others are down. So I pick him up and we have a morning talk. Today when I let him down he went and rounded up all his girls then started talking to them like usual but this morning his voice had changed. Think he's going to try and crow very soon. That ought to be funny! Have to go stare at the bator. I think that helps. Enjoy your day!

 

[Dr HaHa]

It wasn't wishfull thinking the second egg just moved. See I told ya it pays to stare. The third egg is 2 days behind the others. Just made the mistake of checking the beans not enough wind out there. WOW got chewed. West Nile is going to see an increase this year. Unbelievebly the beans could be picked. Unreal! Have some peppers that could be stuffed for supper, think tomorrow night. Gonna do freezer inventory waiting for the wind to pick up.

 

[Dr HaHa]

OK all you Master----------bators the third egg is now moving this rookie needs to know. Should I still turn it for one more day or leave it alone? It went in the bator 2 days after the others and I turned it this AM. Instinct tells me to leave it alone but you guys know a heck of a lot more than me. As do most of the people in the world.

 

[rjripp]

I am new to this, so forgive me if I am jumping in somewhere I shouldn't be, but I am looking for chickens to buy near the Madison, WI area. We are just starting out and looking for 8-10 that are just laying or getting ready to lay in the next month or so. Again we are new, so we are not picky on breed just something that is a good egg layer, hardy for our Wisconsin winters/summers, and tolerable of small curious children. Thanks for your help and again sorry if I am posting in the wrong area.

 

[Sweetfolly]

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I'd leave it if it's moving already - you don't want to disorientate it; it's getting in position to hatch!

Still no hatching going on under my broody duck. I thought they'd be hatching right around the same time as your chicks...ducks take an extra week, and she'd been sitting for about a week when you set yours....the anticipation is killing me - I've never had a broody duck hatch her own eggs before - I never thought any of the Campbells would try!

Leaving later today for the state fair...I don't want to miss it (the ducklings hatching, that is)!