If you can wait, there is a poultry auction in Bath NY in September ( or at least there should be, unless we're not all dead from whatever else 2020 throws at us ). There's always some available there, and they run around $100 per bird usually, maybe more for hens. As others mentioned they are LOUD. Not only that, but if you plan on letting them free range, they will eat all your flowers and other lovely plants then shit all over everything else.
Rather than wait till Fall like I planned, I moved some birds around here at "the farm". My son and I moved our 21 new chickens to the big coop across the road and then brought the turkeys over here where the chickens were. This way the chickens have more room and won't kill off the grass as easily, and I can manage the turkeys better when they nest and hatch lil ones. I kept the new chickens in for the day to let them adjust, and then had to open the door to let the older birds in. That's where the comedy began. The younger birds not only wouldn't go in, they fucking scattered when I tried to herd them in. So I got our boys and we began a chicken hunt through the underbrush. This was a rookie mistake, as I could have just waited till they roosted outdoors and pulled them in easier. But no, I had to be an idiot. More than an hour later, losing my glasses in the process ( thank God the boys were here, I'm blind without them, and it was dark ) we got all but three in, and they ran for who knows where. I told the boys, "Fuck 'em" and wrote them off as coon food. Yesterday I found a pullet in our shed where I keep the bachelor ducks. This morning the other two pullets were in the chicken yard. I can't believe they all survived. I don't know why I do this shit somedays. I guess cuz I always have.
I was up early this morning to get chores done before the heat and humidity skyrocketed. First thing I tripped and fell going into the turkey coop. I hit the ground hard and cut my leg, not bad, but hitting the ground hurts a lot more than it used to. Shoveled out the neighbors horse stalls and fed them, then back here to clean the goat barn out. Then I wet down the compost piles which were bone dry thanks to only an inch or so of rain in the last month. While I did that, our Tom turkey was apparently trying to fuck a dead limb that fell in the pen. Must be the hens aren’t in the mood. Good enough for one day I guess. Just another day on the farm.
My first post in this thread. We got six chickens, two ducks and four geese a few days ago. Jungle Julia's idea; she grew up with poultry birds, and wants fresh eggs. I'm not looking forward to the amount of racket the geese are going to make.
We THINK we have three female geese and one gander; no idea about the ducks. She specifically wanted geese (African) to protect the flock of fowl. And for the huge eggs. It was all about the eggs.
Africans are good watch dogs. They can be aggressive. They won't win a fight against a hawk or a cayote but they will make a racket. They lay less eggs overall but they're definitely huge! Careful with male ducks. You really need a 5:1 ratio or they will hurt your other birds. Chickens aren't built to withstand their matings and it can cause them to prolapse. I wanna see some pics Dixie!
Ok fine. Let me specify... No penises. No vaginas. @dixiebandit69 Show me your animals! The ones with feathers. Quack, cluck, cockadoodle-doo, or hiss.
Isn't that a bit racist? I've heard black people called monkeys, but dogs is a new one to me... Well, I had some ready to go, but then Nett had to ruin my game. I'll post some pictures in the coming days; right now, it's hurricane time.
I'm actually not I'm actually not sure about a gander. But drakes definitely will, especially with too few ducks around.
Oh, I misread that. I keep all our birds separated, especially from the ducks because they’re so damned messy. So I’ve never observed the “any port in a storm” behavior.
I dont know if I mentioned this before, but if someone is interested in self-sufficiency and homesteading, the #1 source I point them to is The Encyclopedia Of Country Living by Carla Emery. You can find it HERE, but I've found older versions at local book sales for a couple bucks. If she doesn't cover a subject, you probably didn't need to know it anyhow.
Well goddamn. One of the new welsh harlequins dropped dead sometime while they were put away for the night. She was still limp when I found her. I suspect that she choked on something, no signs of abuse/overmating. She was making a motion with her head the day before but it wasn't constant and she was eating and drinking fine. What in the fuck.
Are you feeding them duck food? Ducks generally need more niacin than chickens, etc, so can go lame if there is a niacin deficiency. Friends of my dad grew chickens and figured chicken food would be good enough for their ducks and ended up killing half their flock before the vet smacked them and said “they’re ducks, not chickens, so feed them duck food, not chicken food.” Just a thought?
It's a good thought but niacin deficiency issomething I avoid by proper feed. They get Mana Pro duck starter as ducklings and once they hit adolescence they get Purina all flock which is appropriate for ducks. Niacin deficiency is usually a problem in ducklings since they are growing so fast and need more of it. They get gimpy and have weak legs as an initial symptom. These guys were otherwise healthy. @SouthernIdiot something about eating an animal I found dead really turns my stomach. That duck is currently in the trashcan.