YO GEORGIANS! :)

[carcar80]

Lookie what my honey is building me! Maiden voyage next Saturday when we dispatch 12 red rangers. Any words of wisdom for me?

Nice!! What'd he use and what $$ do you have in it, if you don't mind sharing?

 

[ChristyinGA]

Nice!! What'd he use and what $$ do you have in it, if you don't mind sharing?

We are kind of shortcutting because we have to process these birds. They were hatched 3/1 so I don't want them to go much longer. We would usually have scrounged around and hit flea markets, etc. but no time...

So -

We found the 55 gallon drum on CL for $15.(I bought 2. Otherwise they were $20 for 1.)

Purchased a kit from eBay that contained the feather plate, shaft, pulleys, bearings, 125 fingers, and the book. $295 (eek!)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301105604312

4 8' 2x4s, a 12' 2x6, waterproof switch and switch box, and various nuts and bolts at Home Depot - $70

Still need to purchase a 3/4 hp motor (hoping our neighbor has one in his shop). If we have to buy it, it's about $125 I think. And we need a v-belt.

So we're looking at between $400 and $500 by the time it's all said and done.

Also picked up two restraining cones and a propane turkey fryer. We have coolers and folding tables and a portable sink. And I got some cheapie waterproof aprons, latex gloves, and dishwashing gloves. Have knives and a tomato huller (to pull lungs.) And shrink bags.

I think we're ready? I need to figure out how much salt to put in the ice bath though.

 

[Prinette]

Duck owners how do you guys feel about clipping wings in mallards?

 

[ChickDancer]

Duck owners how do you guys feel about clipping wings in mallards?

I used to own a female mallard and never clipped her wings. She flew, but never flew away. So I'd personally never do it.

 

[RoboDuck]

Lookie what my honey is building me! Maiden voyage next Saturday when we dispatch 12 red rangers. Any words of wisdom for me?

Keep your hands out of it while it's running.

 

[RoboDuck]

So I am about done with geese. Every one of my pilgrim eggs were doing fine and then just suddenly quit. Probably an incubator malfunction of some kind but it still sucks. Now it's next year before I can try again. And for some reason one of my pilgrim goose egg sources flaked on me and I never heard from her again after she informed me that her girls had started laying. She just vanished and never answered anymore emails.

 

[carcar80]

Duck owners how do you guys feel about clipping wings in mallards?

I've had lots of Mallards and only one has ever stayed aroun. Not sure if it's because she was raised in a pen (she was my MILs first).. The ones I've hatched I've free ranged ASAP and they fledged as soon as they could.

So, maybe it depends on how you will raise them? If you want to be very sure they don't leave, clip. However I have to add, I'm more concerned with ability to get away from danger than staying home.

 

[carcar80]

CD, what do you think? How was your Mal raised/kept?

 

[GAMarans]

And though we got nothing out of those Pilgrim eggs the PBs that we had going all hatched.

And the Mallards went 5 for 5 ... though one died shortly after hatch.

 

[RoboDuck]

Great. So if we get Pilgrim eggs from carcar, maybe they'll hatch since everything else from her does.