Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[jvls1942]

Susie"J" :

Good mornin to all, I have a question about the food and water in the coop, do you keep it in at all times or should it be in the run? maybe both? At this time I have some outside and in, not sure if I need it inside the coop at least until the young ones are a bit bigger. What would I do without all of you

Thanks and have a great Saturday!
Susie

I feed inside just to keep rain from getting into the feed pan and making the mash, mush..

I feed cracked corn outside once in awhile, to keep the geese and ducks away from the layer mash inside..​

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
Dave, you do not have to heat the whole coop up to keep the chicks warm.. just as long as there is a warm spot under the heat lamp, they will e fine.. just observe the chicks, they will let you know if they are cold or hot..

My chicks are out in the breeder pen with no heat at all.. they are 6 weeks old..

 

[Celtic Chick]

Sorry, MLH. I won't be bringing up head cheese again, I don't think.

Too cute of a story about your chicks having a bad influence in their midst. And, no, they aren't too bright all the time, are they? It sounds like you have quite a few mischevious chicks over there. Dust bathing in the food bowl? Sounds like he was having a ball!
DK, so glad your DH did a good job picking out the chairs. Although I would secretly have loved to hear you describe some perfectly hideous monstrosities, being the evil person that I am.

Oh, that is great that you got the green light to go to the bash! You should bring him. I'm dragging my hubby along with me.

And Maya sounds precious! You should bring her to the bash. I'm sure everyone would love to influence her little brain with everything chicken.

DrH, I absolutely love your pic of PeaTwo! What a handsome roo.
JV, congrats again on the turkey. And happy to hear the duck still has her nest. She ain't no fool.

Scary about that Reptitherm. Thank goodness you discovered it before it did any worse damage, although the damage sounds terrible. So sorry about that.
Welcome, Gaelio and moeplants! Happy to have you join us!
Bigz, love your hummer pics! How cool is that! They are so amazing. Did it really fly into the window? Poor guy. I haven't seen any hummers yet, but the orioles have been visiting the oriole feeder daily for the past week.
otonoh, love the chick pics, and those eyes are cool on that one. I love the first day the chicks get to explore outside. So much to see & do!
Susie, I have cameras out in my coop & run too. Hubby was the enabler (his idea, not mine), I swear. He bought me a camera system for my birthday in Jan. so we could keep an eye on them when we weren't out there. I absolutely love it esp. now that the babies are out there. And I've read not to keep the water in the coop because it can raise the humidity level, which can cause respiratory problems. Feed is inside & out in the covered run, as is the grit & calcium, scratch outside.
H&R, thanks for the info. You're lucky you got some of your garden done. That is exactly what I wanted to do yesterday, but the roofers shot that idea to heck. I think I'll be the last one to get the garden in this year with the weather we've been having.

TO, you absolutely have to try fresh morels! They are heavenly!

I haven't had any for a few years though.......

I had to go out again last night & put my babies to bed too. And I had the light on....... Congrats on the parrot eggs! My one dove keeps laying eggs like a mad woman, but none are fertile, so I keep taking them away only to have her lay more. Poor girl. I've only had her since Jan., and my other dove still won't give her the time of day. Not that I need any more babies anyway! And get yourself some fresh stuff. Your plants will love the leftover coffee jolt.

Dooner, DE out in the dust bath area mostly. I never measured it though. Just shake a bit in & rake it a little. Haven't put any in the boxes yet since noone spends much time in there. My girls are the stop, drop & go kind.
Hope everyone has a good, productive day today. We have to drive to IL this evening. So not looking forward to that.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
the amount of eggs you get from a duck varies with the breed.. there is a breed that will rival a chicken's production.. I think it is a cayuga ? correct me if I am wrong..

There are many reasons to raise ducks.. None of them are good reasons , however.. LOL
I just enjoy having my Muscovys around..

I like to sell ducklings.. I do not particularly like butchering ducks, but I do love eating them.. Sooo we have to butcher..

some people claim that duck eggs are better for baking.. IDK,
It is probably just because the duck egg is much larger than a normal chicken egg, so if the recipe calls for 2 eggs , you are actually adding almost 3 eggs in terms of chicken eggs..

 

[Dooner]

As a newbie, tell me what to do. You have read that I am building a 4x6 coop. Remember it is a stealth coop. I am 150 feet from the lot line and the neighbor's house (who would likely turn me in if discovered) is about another 75 feet. I have three hens and want to add two more, but I am afraid the noise would be too much.....so then I thought just one more. Now I am thinking, should that one more be a duck? Would one duck live in and function right along side the hens....same food, nest, run, etc or should I just stick with my original plan of a four chicken flock? Oh yeah, and do they make more noise?

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
ROTFL... You are asking the wrong group if you should get more birds.. the answer is a resounding YES !!! darn th laws, darn the neighbors.. LOL

Ducks are not quieter than chickens.. unless you get a male duck,, they do not quack.. they will co-habitat with chickens very well..

 

[Terri O]

Just came in for a spot of breakfast (and fresh coffee!) MMM--soft boiled eggs hit the spot. Of course as soon as I let the last pen of birds out it started to rain a bit...it is sprinkling now. OOPS--that reminds me--I left the hydrant on! Back soon!

I hate when I do that....sometimes it has run all night. I have a system that worked really good when I was using it...if you have that trouble too you could try it. I got one of those coiled key rings for your wrist and hung it on the pump. WHen I turn the water on I put it on my wrist; when I turn the water off I put it back on the pump. It really works! Gotta start that up again....

THe mama duck came out. Only 5 babies this year. 4 all yellow ans one with a black back. There might be more under the hen that was sharing the nest...she is a nasty one so I have to put her in a kennel when I look at her nest or she tries to peck my eyes out! Yes I really mean that! I always laugh when some people post that their chicken "pecks" them when you reach in the nest HA! They should try this one!
I really wonder what my geese are up to? No babies yet! They are getting off their nests now too so maybe the boys I have are getting too old? Might be time to sell the whole bunch...the horses ticked me off again today too...broke the fence for the second day in a row! Actually this might have been from deer because there were two breaks and one post out! THey usually dont mess it up that bad! THe sassy ones were actually still in so I left mine and a mare out there to graze...they are in heaven for sure! Will have to get them in soon though-this spring grass isnt too good for them in quantity!
Open horse show tomorrow that the 4H puts on. DD19 is going so I guess I am too

It should be fun though...my student is going to be there too. On Monday we start with hauling the horses to the fairgrounds for lessons every week. It's a good way to get them used to the fair area for showing...gives the kids practice too.

Also my lady that broke her hip is coming home tomorrow. I guess her sister wants me to go there every day! I feel any little free time I had going up in smoke! I can load her up and take her places though...but no more lunches out! Her sis says that she will barely have enough $$ to pay me every day! Guess we will be cooking at her place.

My goal today is to get my summer clothes in the dresser...since I really cant garden in the rain...I better get at it! Have a fantastic day! Terri O

 

[ParkfieldFarm]

Dooner, the only thing about ducks in that they are much messier, and don´t forget you´d have to have a pool of water in the run all of the time for him.

 

[Terri O]

Quote:
Oh Dooner you are just precious! Of course you should get some ducks...lots of them!

Really though, you could get a couple of female muskovies. THey dont make a quack noise they just hiss. The one thing about ducks though is that they love their water and will quickly empty anything you fill for them. They really make it soggy in the coop when mine go in there. My hens never seemed to mind them much but this year it is different. WHen the hen ducks go out they are mobbed by furious hen chickens! I dont know if they are defending the babies or what. I usually grab up the duck and "save" her! Of course I get all spattered with mud and such then...not a pretty picture! Anyway, I would be happy to provide you with a female muskovy or two!
OK really gotta run now! Terri O

 

[Dooner]

Quote:
Oh Dooner you are just precious! Of course you should get some ducks...lots of them!

Really though, you could get a couple of female muskovies. THey dont make a quack noise they just hiss. The one thing about ducks though is that they love their water and will quickly empty anything you fill for them. They really make it soggy in the coop when mine go in there. My hens never seemed to mind them much but this year it is different. WHen the hen ducks go out they are mobbed by furious hen chickens! I dont know if they are defending the babies or what. I usually grab up the duck and "save" her! Of course I get all spattered with mud and such then...not a pretty picture! Anyway, I would be happy to provide you with a female muskovy or two!
OK really gotta run now! Terri O

Thanks for the considerations...you all are too nice.