I also fixed my fruit tree choices from before. I ended up with 2 peaches, a 'Frost' and a 'red haven." The frost is supposed to do better with the inconsistent spring frosts that are becoming the new normal. They should have staggered harvests in the summer and not require any significant spraying or care, past pruning.
By request: They weren't happy with me hovering above them, especially after yesterday when I dumped 3 gallons of water in the brooding area. I hate those cheap water founts you get a TSC. Those Blue Plymouth Rocks will be some pretty birds I'm thinking. I steered away from some of my favorite breeds, thinking that if or when I decide to thin out this Fall ( and I probably will ) it'll be easier to discern which are new and which are three year old birds.
He's a veterinarian and raising chickens has been a hobby of his since we were in grade school. I think what he makes off selling the eggs and the costs of their upkeep offsets the costs to keep his show chickens.
Japanese Knotweed is an invasive species common here in our area of Upstate NY. It’s frickin’ everywhere and believe me, if you don’t have it, you don’t want it. It grows tall, almost bamboo like, and chokes out native plant species. However, if you have goats, it’s manna from Heaven to them from the moment it sprouts. I’ve even cut whole plants and hung them to dry like tobacco for winter feeding. ( It’s more a pain in the ass than it’s worth though.) Watching the boys eat the new shoots like celery is absolutely hysterical. I may make a video because the crunching adds to the humor. I got a half bucket this evening: You could say they loved it:
Ducks were busy making century eggs. Wish they told me. I found this while I was planting basil. Pretty nuts how it was starting to gel up, but was totally odorless.
The new additions got a little more room to run: I’m thinking ( hoping ) that by the time it’s too hot for them to stay inside all day, they’ll be big enough to join the adults. They see each other daily, so I’m sure that’s gonna help.
Look at the patches on these dumb fucking welsh harlequins. Just like before, the two are going broody together, and late. It is already getting really hot mid day. These dummies probably can't successfully hatch anything anyway because they argue over who gets to sit on the nest.
I'm afraid if I mess with the nest they will stop sitting on it. That has also happened before. I am considering penning up a single one with food and water and the nest in the kennel (they luckily nested where they were supposed to inside the XL dog kennel). If a duck is separate from the eggs and nest they'll sooner or later break of the broodiness. I really don't NEED any more ducks but I will let someone practice hatching and raising a small number, maybe like 4 eggs total. We probably have space for another 2 ducks but I would start looking to sell some at that point.
My idea for integrating the new pullets in with the older chickens seems to have worked pretty well. I've released them into the flock and there's been little pecking and all that so far. I'm a little leery about letting them outdoors so soon ( they're only about two months old ) but they're roosting and know where the feed is, so once they do go out I feel like they'll make their way back in. It's gonna be in the higher 80s this week so it's better than leaving them indoors and risk overheating, just for another week or two's worth of safety.
The neighbors were having some work done in their woods this week so I walked over and asked the guy if he wanted to make some more money. The roads through our woods were littered with downed trees and moving them with a dozer is a lot easier than cutting them up. He charges $100/hr and while I don’t think he worked on it three hours, it was $300 well spent: Clearing those roads would have taken me a day and half at least. There’s another road that’s really steep and I thought too dangerous to use anymore but once I walked it and cleared some debris it looks like it just needs some light grading. So I spent the day in the woods. This is the “fun work”, turning me and the four wheeler into a muddy mess.
My condolences to whoever laid this This little lady has been sitting diligently on a nest and we are about halfway to hatch day. She is a little quieter against the other ducks but has been tending to her duties consistently. She got off a lot more when it was hot and has stays there all day on the cooler days. A Welsh harlequin duck tried to sit with her for a couple days but the broody momma ignored the interference and the WH eventually went away.
If you are into the really fun mushrooms, psilocbye ovoideocystidiata apparently love this stuff when found near creek over washes. I havent seen any knotweed at our place thankfully.
In this weeks episode of two ducks, one nest... I also found who is eating eggs. I witnessed the duck in action right after she stabbed it. Everyone was chasing her and eating the yolk that she was trailing everywhere. I think I understand what's going on now, with her specifically least. Today she or someone stole an incubating egg, and there was a partially developed duckling in the mud, dead, getting picked at by the odd passing duck. So that's not great. I think I know how to fix this though.
The system I used for keeping chicks in the same coop with the adults this year seemed to work really well. Being separate but visible to each other seems to have made for a smooth transition into the flock for the young pullets with only minor pecking. In fact, last night I saw that half of the young pullets were on the top roost with the adults. I was a little concerned they were too young ( about 2 months old ) to be outside in the pen but it was better than keeping them indoors with the heat as it was. They stayed in for about 5 days while the adults went out, and then suddenly all decided to explore. All I could do was hope they'd go in on their own and they did with no issues. I also made sure the adults stayed in the pen instead of free ranging like usual, not sure if that helped but it couldn't hurt. I'll likely get rid of the older birds once the young ones start laying, and then get on a cycle of adding new birds every other year using this "system".
She's the smallest one, and the one the drake harasses the worst. I have dealt with him, he has separate day and nighttime pens. But she is probably practically starving, from all the escaping and regrowing feathers. I have increased their feed and kitchen scraps and made sure to keep the drake away all the time. I also have re assessed their oyster shell situation. It gets picked over and the big kernels remain. It looked like they had enough but it probably wasn't small enough for that smallest duck to eat easily I think she just needs time with less stress and more food, and will bounce back. I think she was targeting the eggs more for shell than calories overall.
That's a great system. I am about ready to cycle out my oldest birds but am not sure how I want to do it. They are still laying, and have great temperaments, but the drake is awful to that group of ducks specifically. I can easily get a new drake but he is supposedly through the worst of his young hormones. I dunno. Hea a fucking asshole and I'm wondering if keeping one is worth it.