The geese are now free ranging - they just eat so much grass so fast the fencing was too much trouble to keep moving, so we just opened it up and let em go......and they do a route thru the farm every day. To say that it is picturesque to look up from weeding to see a gaggle of geese murmuring to each other 10 rows away is an understatement. They are such characters. Again, every 12 minutes some processed grass is deposited by 14 geese. Everywhere. So far not near the house. Processed grass is not smelly, and disperses fairly quickly......but still at almost the size of a dog poop it's a pretty incredible amount of fertilizer.The best is the 3 eggs a day. THREE VERY BIG EGGS!!!
The ladies are laying a dozen a day right now! We still have our double lady and they very neatly lay most of the eggs by about 11. I did build 4 more nesting boxes out of large round plant pots....jammed together side by side and screwed onto a board with another across the front so the eggs don't roll out. Works well. The ladies love them!
From a distance we see them running up and down their fence frantically after whatever the other has found....And they love squash. Luckily we have about a few acorns left over from last year that are not quite edible anymore....but are fine to cut in half and feed the ladies! (The spaghetti, sweet mama and stripetti are still rocking yummy! I'm surprised I'm not orange from all the squash we've been eating!)
Ducks: Arrived. Grow fast. Stink. Messy. Cute cute cute. Characters. A lot of cool information can be found HERE HOWEVER mine are outside tonight and they are only 10 days old. I couldn't bear it any more.....They go thru their water like crazy. Hubby on day 2 built a 2x4 frame with chicken wire on it to fit on the floor of their brooder for them to sit on up over the floor...and put a cover on their water so they couldn't jump in and a cover on their feeder so they couldn't sleep on it and crap in it.......The mucky sludgy poopy mess everyday underneath them was incredible.....They've been outside now for 4 days during the day and this is their first night out.....in a makeshift pen in the greenhouse, with a light on them, straw underneath them and I hope they will be ok.....As for feeding them a finely chopped slurry of veggies (see above noted webpage)....HA! I find and pull up all the weeds I want them to be responsible for when they are let loose on the fields....watercress, chickweed, clover, shephards purse....they are developing the exact palate their mama wants them to - no unschooling for those suckers. EAT AS I SAY. Now I just hope they didn't let that BIG BLACK SLUG get away today I put in with them......August and I have designed and tried to build (read hubby put together) the floor for the duck house. Ok, when hubby told me I had to cut 45 degree angles for bracing I was like, well you're going to have to show me the trick for that I don't know how. Did you know that the skill saw blade moves to a 45 degree angle? doh.
Ducks: Arrived. Grow fast. Stink. Messy. Cute cute cute. Characters. A lot of cool information can be found HERE HOWEVER mine are outside tonight and they are only 10 days old. I couldn't bear it any more.....They go thru their water like crazy. Hubby on day 2 built a 2x4 frame with chicken wire on it to fit on the floor of their brooder for them to sit on up over the floor...and put a cover on their water so they couldn't jump in and a cover on their feeder so they couldn't sleep on it and crap in it.......The mucky sludgy poopy mess everyday underneath them was incredible.....They've been outside now for 4 days during the day and this is their first night out.....in a makeshift pen in the greenhouse, with a light on them, straw underneath them and I hope they will be ok.....As for feeding them a finely chopped slurry of veggies (see above noted webpage)....HA! I find and pull up all the weeds I want them to be responsible for when they are let loose on the fields....watercress, chickweed, clover, shephards purse....they are developing the exact palate their mama wants them to - no unschooling for those suckers. EAT AS I SAY. Now I just hope they didn't let that BIG BLACK SLUG get away today I put in with them......August and I have designed and tried to build (read hubby put together) the floor for the duck house. Ok, when hubby told me I had to cut 45 degree angles for bracing I was like, well you're going to have to show me the trick for that I don't know how. Did you know that the skill saw blade moves to a 45 degree angle? doh.
Earlier this week in desperation I was going to try and set up an outdoor run for them with some of the pig fencing, however it's not QUITE warm enough (it is in the greenhouse....) My mum's ex came over (I called and practically begged...) and built the most amazing duck tractor in about an hour. I should patent it. It's hexagonal, with pvc piping and joins, about 4 feet high, 14 foot diameter with 1 inch chicken wiring attached with those pull plasticky tie thingys, don't know what they are called. Amazing. Will for sure be putting ducks and goslings in there until after strawberry season.......and moving it around.......
Sad postscript: The ducks made it through the night problem free (a quick google search told me I wasn't being cruel) but sadly our dang dogs had at them today. So much for being poultry trained. They systematically in about 5 minutes flat annilated them. I had JUST moved the pen to a clean spot in the greenhouse, removed the night shelter roof, changed their water, fed them weeds and gone inside. Not minutes later saw the dog......See farmer lady run screaming from the house in her slippers.....I was so upset. Devastated. Sad. Stupid stupid me for not making a better temporary pen. I have already ordered more ducklings, but feel terrible. Lesson learned (the hard way) Zapper collars go back on. (NOTE: The ducks were not in the pen in the picture above, but just a make do pen with short sides...)
I can hear a lot of peeping, which would be the 52 chicks and 26 turkeys in two brooders in my front hall. Arrived yesterday. Incessant peeping. Very fluffy and cute. All meat birds. Stink! We hope to figure out a way to move them out of the house tomorrow. They have to have access to heat at 95 degrees which is quite hot......there are infra red lights on them at all times.
Our goslings arrive in a week.....
Quack! Quack! QUAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!
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