I didn't know what the were until I started keeping ducks, either. My original black ducks had straight up Mardi Gras colors on their speculum. Gorgeous. Also, I had to Google it when I typed up the post because I tried using the word frenulum first and was like wait...that's not right...
I tried to get a pic of the iridescent colors on the ducks. The black ducks used to be solid black with iridescent purple, teal, and shimmery metallic all over and those same colors solid on their speculum. They are aging and in the middle of a molt so their feathers are in a sad state. This is my best looking girl of the bunch right now.
I like the mottled look of that one on the left. I was just thinking yesterday about how I miss having some types of birds around here. I enjoyed pigeons, for example, although the mess in their coop was something you have to stay on top of. And they breed faster than rabbits. But more, I was thinking about ducks and for a moment I thought perhaps I'd get some come Spring. Then I remembered why I've downsized, including feed prices and got over it.
Yeah, feed prices are just stupid. I have acquired some cones to use as culling cones. Mr Drake is going to freezer camp, and once I figure out who else is a drake they are headed there too. That'll help the feed costs a little.
I gave away about half my laying flock a week or so ago so I don't have to feed that many mouths throughout winter. Although counting the new ones, it was a wash I guess. Honestly, it'd be cheaper to just buy the eggs at $3.50/doz at the hardware store, but so many times we'll be short an egg or two and instead of driving to town town I can just go to the barn. So now we're just down to the chickens and the goats. Speaking of the goats, their shed is on a hillside which can get icy in winter and be a hazard. I fell this past winter and luckily didn't break anything. A couple weeks ago I slipped on the muddy hill side and while I didn't break anything, twisted my knee, which is better for the most part. But it solidified my plan to let these goats age out here ( since the thought of giving them to someone kills me ) and then no more of them either. Just some laying hens, and that'll be it.
I don't know how you cull them. I know that if I raised a duck from hatching, I'd be way too emotionally attached to it to kill it. I'd 100% be that person on Naked and Afraid that starts crying after they kill an animal. And yet my diet is like 80% meat.
Poultry are charming in their own way, but if you accept it as part of the process it isn't horrible. What makes it bad is if you think you'll never have to do it and are suddenly presented with that as the only option. I am very fond of my ducks but they are not even in the same league as say, my dog. Culling the sick baby in the last hatch definitely made me cry. I sat in the garden with it in my hands for 10min before mustering up the courage. Adults are emotionally easier. Keep two drakes in a flock and then tell me you aren't ready to cull. They can cause such misery within their group. The actual killing of an adult bird is pretty quick, which definitely makes it easier. We used an axe last time but I got sprayed with blood and we chipped the axe. We are going to bleed it out while it hangs upside down in a cone this time. When hanging upside down poultry are really calm, and they lose a huge volume of blood fast when you cut them, basically passing out within seconds. Just need to be sure the knife is very very sharp.
I kill animals at will hunting. Even then the deer that stop to watch their friend bleed out still gets me a little. I don’t know how you’d not become emotionally attached to an animal you raised from a baby. Unless it was on the industrial scale or something. At that level they just dump male chicks into a shredder that can handle a Buick.
There is a purpose to it. I take no joy out of it, it is more of a duty. For the first cull, I even tried to re-home the Drake for over 6 months, too. I give them the best life I can while they are alive and the quickest death at the end. In exchange for the care I provide, I get fertilizer, eggs and meat. Everything that has a beginning has an end. I find it to be much easier to stomach thinking about what I do compared to large scale farming that supplies my grocery meats. Before I got into keeping ducks, I planned and thought and read about it for at least a couple years. This decision to keep a healthy flock, including the possibility of culling, was mulled over a lot and I had to come to terms with it before I could move forward with owning it. Or maybe I'm just dead inside lol everything is fine
All that being said, culling my first black ducks is something I really, really don't want to do, but may have to in the next year. Culling an old hen who isn't laying well and was one of my first ducks ever will not be easy. I hope to re-home and retire them before it comes to that.
Though I haven’t butchered animals in years, like @bewildered I've always raised any animal meant for butcher to have the best life possible and then the swiftest death at the end. It’s hard to explain, but in the back of your head you always have to keep in mind they are food, not a pet. When I had pigs, they were named “Ham” and “Bacon” as a constant reminder.
Neighbors back home named their cattle in a similar manor...Armea for "our meat", kabob, Rosie the roast, etc
I picked up a 16in bar Dewalt battery chainsaw recently. For someone like me that'll occasionally cut firewood for the patio firepit, while camping, or maybe need to cut up a tree in my yard after a storm, an electric chainsaw is ideal. I don't need to store mixed gas or tune it. The only storage prep is cleaning it and draining any bar oil still in it once I'm done cutting. I went with a Dewalt chainsaw as all my power tools are Dewalt and use the same batteries, but I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from an electric chainsaw. Holy shit is this thing worth it! With two 9amp 60volt batteries I was able to delimb and buck two 14in diameter sycamore trees that had already fallen down. The saw had plenty of power and never bogged down. I thought about getting the 18in saw, but decided for my needs, the 16in is enough. It's lightweight for a chainsaw with no vibration. The only fatigue I had was from the thumb on the safety switch. Also, I didn't need hearing protection.
Yep... have the same one. It's amazing. I bring it in the RV and it's the perfect ninja chainsaw. All it takes is some bar oil. I've got the 60v grinder and worm saw as well... I'm super happy with them.
I've been slowly moving from gas to battery for all of my tools and yard tools. The only gas powered yard stuff I have left is a high HP pressure washer (but I have a smaller Briggs and Straton electric that does 90% of what I need)... a 7.5 HP chipper... and a Stihl leaf vacuum/chopper. Everything else I've moved over to the Stihl or Dewalt battery powered stuff. I do have a few Festool track saws and stuff that I use for more woodworking and carpentry, but all of my drills, multitools, lights, etc, are Dewalt.
have the same one. It's perfect for my needs (which are basically yours). I hate fucking around with gas engines when I don't need to. Plus in an emergency I can charge it off my solar panel/battery bank combo.
When I'm out in the Airstream, I also use a couple of the Dewalt portable lights... so having a couple of those batteries and a single battery charger, I get the chainsaw, a few lights, and even a portable dewalt fan. It's all super handy while camping, and all rechargable from the solar panels or shore power easily and quickly.
Oh... and I also have the portable vacuum and air compressor with me as well. Now that I think about it, I bring a shit-ton of Yellow with me when I camp.
The portable wet/dry vac has been a handy thing a few times. The corded/battery fan is really, really handy... so much so that I have a couple of them in my office as well. Super quiet. Really handy task light: And the air inflator... handy for tires on the trailer or truck (it does high pressure stuff), bike tires, inflatable mattresses, etc.