The goats are playful and the ewes are relaxed as their bellies are growing with their little ones. But the ones that are the happiest are the birds. Cooped up all winter in two tiny buildings, only out to eat and drink and then back in to stay warm, they now have the run of the barnyard. The Ameraucanas love to hang out with the adult ewes and are in their pen, eating the Great Pyrenees dog meat and scratching through the sheep manure for worms or eggs or whatever they find there. One little hen found a composting pile with dirt on top, which was fully thawed and she was in Heaven, bathing herself in it. A duck fell asleep, soundly, on a pile of straw, abandoning all cares. Normally the Khaki Campbell ducks are a little flighty and getting close enough for a good picture is not so easy. The geese are searching for nesting areas, so I made three for them today. There are four females and I will have to come up with a fourth nest in the area for her. As a reward for their freedom, the hens laid a dozen eggs today. Thank you my little chickens! The problem with free range chickens, though, is they lay the eggs in strange places, like the straw pile or the hay bales. There were two duck eggs too and soon, it looks like the geese will start to lay as well. The bunnies will visit the buck and there will be little bunnies...oh the fun of spring is wonderful on a warm day.
OK, I know it isn't officially spring, but the days have been so warm, that the snow is rapidly melting. The animals have come alive and are robust and full of joy. The little ewe Jacob, one of Stephen's daughters, jumps with pleasure when she is about to be fed, straight up into the air off all fours and so does her father, though she has never met him. The goats are playful and the ewes are relaxed as their bellies are growing with their little ones. But the ones that are the happiest are the birds. Cooped up all winter in two tiny buildings, only out to eat and drink and then back in to stay warm, they now have the run of the barnyard. The Ameraucanas love to hang out with the adult ewes and are in their pen, eating the Great Pyrenees dog meat and scratching through the sheep manure for worms or eggs or whatever they find there. One little hen found a composting pile with dirt on top, which was fully thawed and she was in Heaven, bathing herself in it. A duck fell asleep, soundly, on a pile of straw, abandoning all cares. Normally the Khaki Campbell ducks are a little flighty and getting close enough for a good picture is not so easy. The geese are searching for nesting areas, so I made three for them today. There are four females and I will have to come up with a fourth nest in the area for her. As a reward for their freedom, the hens laid a dozen eggs today. Thank you my little chickens! The problem with free range chickens, though, is they lay the eggs in strange places, like the straw pile or the hay bales. There were two duck eggs too and soon, it looks like the geese will start to lay as well. The bunnies will visit the buck and there will be little bunnies...oh the fun of spring is wonderful on a warm day.
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If there is one thing that ducks love, it is water and with the warm temperatures, the snow is turning into puddles. The ducks love that! They are in their glory splashing and dunking and playing in the water, but today, they were able to get some mud at the bottom, so they were extra ecstatic. The big Rouen drake was out taking his ladies for a walk about. There were puddles everywhere to their absolute delight and of course, they sampled them all. The geese decided to venture further and went out to the driveway on the other side of the fence, but the snow has not turned into puddles there yet, so they ambled back. The goose sold as the male Saddleback Pomeranian is female and one of the females is a male. That was quit evident today, because geese love to mate in shallow water. The gander from last year did not want to share any of the ladies, though, and quickly turfed the newcomer out. The one that was supposed to be the gander is nesting, but she will have to relocate because where she wants to be is not a safe place out of the elements. In a few days, the barrel nests will be able to be moved and she will have a great place to lay her eggs and have little ones. It is so wonderful to enjoy the warm temperatures after that bitterly cold winter. Yup, spring has sprung. I absolutely LOVE the ducks! For hours on end, I can stand and watch them conversing with each other, scolding, picking, fighting, waddling and bathing. Bathing in winter is particularly interesting. I do not give them much water when it is cold, only a bucket in which they can dip their whole heads in to clear their eyes, which is mandatory, and a small, shallow pan, which was supposed to be for the chickens. The geese and ducks will go to the bucket and dip their heads in, flapping their wings as though they were in a shallow pool, and spread the water by throwing it onto their feathers. Of course, in these frigid temperatures, the water freezes instantly. This is not bad though. The ducks and geese will then spend an hour preening, that is spreading the oil from a gland through their feathers, which further waterproofs and weatherproofs them. They are well insulated and can lay on the ice and snow if they tuck their feet up into their feathers, which they do. The feet of the waterfowl are more sensitive to the cold, it seems, than the chickens, though neither like the very cold weather. The Fat Ewe Farm has some interesting rare breeds of ducks. Of 11 ducklings purchased in the summer, only one female Ancona remains. The Ancona is a black and white duck, somewhat flighty and crazy, but absolutely the best foraging duck on the farm. I would like to try a few Runner ducks, one of the breeds from which the Ancona was derived to compare their foraging abilities, but more so, I would like to find a mate for the Ancona duck and see if I can raise some of these amazing little critters. There are three Saxony ducks but no drake there either. The Saxony is a pretty buff coloured duck with buff and white eye stripes. They lay eggs well from early spring to very late fall and are larger than many duck breeds, so make a nice table duck. I am searching for a non related Saxony drake for the spring. The Rouen is coloured as the wild Mallard from which it is derived, though it is a very large duck. They lay a great deal of eggs and are good at feeding themselves if given the opportunity. There are three ducks and drake of the Rouen breed. Khaki Campbell ducks were my first experience with waterfowl and I really loved them. They are crazy skitterish and will fall all over themselves to get away from me, but when I am not moving towards them, they will also come and see what I have and run all over my feet. They detest being picked up and so far, I have not tamed a single one. The second year, a duck got injured and was secluded. She nested and hatched 8 babies, and that is rare for Khaki Campbells. Maybe the secret is to sequester them away so they desire to set the nest rather than run and play. The Campbells were bred to lay eggs, and that they do extremely well. There are some other ducks living at The Fat Ewe Farm, but they are crosses from the ducks here, mostly Rouen, Campbell crosses and only the females are here, about five of them. I would love to try the Dutch Hookbill, Blue Swedish, and Aylesbury, the finest table duck ever bred, along with some Runner ducks. That will be a project for the summer, to try to locate pairs of these. Oh yeah, there are also four Muscovy ducks. These are large flighted ducks from South America originally, well, not these particular ones, but the breed is. They do not quack or make noise, but rather make a funny sound like a person with harsh laryngitis. They do not like the cold and do not far as well as the ducks descended from the Mallards, which is basically the rest of the ducks. There are three ducks and one summer baby that appears to be male. Muscovy ducks are constantly broody even at the sake of their own health. Last summer one duck spent three months under buildings trying to hatch ducklings. Finally, I tore up the nest and threw the eggs away, which were long overdue and bad, and she was locked up with the rest of the ducks. Muscovies will hatch the eggs of any duck or chicken though, so they are very valuable that way, plus they are supposedly tasty with very dark meat, but I have not eaten one. Duck eggs are three times more nutritious than chicken eggs and when they are plentiful, I won't touch the chicken eggs. They just do not compare. The ducks are fed minimal grain in the summer and have the run of the farm yard to eat grass, which they a lot of, dandelions, their favourites and bugs, flies and even the odd young mouse of vole. I am looking into alternatives for not feeding grain to the birds at the Fat Ewe , but I am not sure yet how that will work. In the meantime, I love those duckies! They put a smile on my face every time. I love to watch the geese and ducks. Their love of water is the most fun, after their conversations. The female ducks are the talkers. They bob their heads and wag their tails and chatter to other ducks. The ducks have a winter routine. They move around in the morning looking for food and water. The water is frozen, so they eat some of the fresh snow. There is not much interesting to eat in winter, unless I bring in some kitchen scraps. They are particularly looking for something green, but in the interim, they do nibble on the grass in the hay. It is not quite like fresh new grass, but it is better than nothing. Their dirt pile is now frozen so they will have to rely on commercial grit and oyster shells. The geese, ducks, guineas and chickens all eat the shells, mostly for calcium, but also for some grit, which helps them grind and digest the grain. The highlight of their day is when the water arrives. They simply cannot wait to have a bath, but with only two tubs for a flock of geese, waiting is sometimes hard. Maybe there is room for two? Ah, yes, there is! Some days I have the luxury of sleeping late and not doing too much when I do wake up. Today was that sort of day. It was cold last night, minus 10, but the sun was shining this morning and the temperature quickly rose to 14. What a gorgeous day. I put plywood up on the lamb shelter to break the south east wind and enclosed a portion on that side as well. In winter, some of the most brutal winds come from the south east. The sheep do not go into their shelter much except when the wind is bitterly cold and when there is a blizzard. They hunker down in the snow and their wooly coats keep them warm and toasty. In the morning there is a depression in the snow where their bodies have melted the crystals enough to hollow out a portion. The lambs do not do this so much, unless they are by their mothers, but the mothers will be breeding in a month and the lambs are too young, so they will remain separated this year. Lambs and their mothers recognize each other two years after being apart and perhaps even longer. It is a delight to see them celebrate their reunion of love. After that, I hung solar lights on the porch, and tiny ones on the arch way I created with a livestock panel earlier in the day. When the climbing rose is mature it will cover that arch, I am hoping. In between, the dogs got some raw liver, which they gobbled down, or at least Mikey and Joe did. The older dogs were not hungry at that time and lazed in the sun after working all night. It was chicken catching day today because the roosters are scheduled to go to the processors tomorrow morning, but I could not bring myself to catch them. I called my neighbour Dale, a most wonderful man who actually practices what he preaches. He is a Mormon and is the pastor! I am glad to know him and his wonderful family and I know when in need, I can call for help. I try not to abuse that privilege, and would also assist him if he should ever ask. He brought his nephew along and the two men caught the roosters and put them in the large dog kennel for the night. It is in the smart car wagon because the transmission of the truck broke and I cannot afford to repair it at this time. I am grateful to have the smart car wagon for times like this for sure. Dale and his nephew also caught the last 7 chickens that were roosting in the tree and I stuffed them in the coop to be imprisoned for the next 5 days until they know to come home to it at night. I would hate to lose those hens, those wonderful broody hens that raised wonderful chicks this summer. They were hard to catch too! Now they are safe and warm. Snow is not forecast until late November, yay!, a switch from last year, thank goodness, and temperatures are to remain mild until then too. Yahoo! More chores were completed during the day, then the dishes were done when I came inside. I cooked Portabella mushrooms with kale for supper and then had a bowl of popcorn. The moon is stunning tonight, illuminating the sky and the Earth. Isn't life grand?
Straight out of the egg, still in the incubator, a Khaki Campbell duckling sits snuggled to the other eggs. Note his egg tooth at the tip of his bill.
The borrowed styrofoam incubator has an automatic egg turner and a fan, unlike my old Bower, which has neither. I followed the instructions, but to date, out of 30 eggs, only 4 have hatched so far, 3 Khaki Campbells and 1 Rouen. None of the Saxony eggs hatched and none of the Muscovy's, but I understand the Muscovy eggs take 5 days longer. It has been three days over the hatch date now and there are still plenty of eggs to hatch. I hear peeping in two of them, but nothing in the others. Several have turned blackish inside, likely indicating a totally dead and rotting egg. The smell in the incubator is anything but pleasant. I am going to remove the blackened eggs tonight, assuming they are duds, and hope that the two peeping eggs will hatch, as well as the Muscovy eggs. I am not thrilled to hatch eggs as many are. The little ones are very cute for sure and they have little birdie ways that are fun to watch too, though I would rather leave the hatching aspect to others who really enjoy it or the mother hens themselves. The electricity to run the incubator for 21 or 28 days , 24 hours a day, is considerable. Then the babies have to be put under a heat lamp in a brooder for 4 weeks, again an expensive proposition. The trouble is that Khaki Campbells seldom, or rarely, ever hatch their own eggs and Saxony and Rouen ducks are not known to do so much either, so if more ducklings are desired, hatching the eggs in an incubator is the only and usual way. This is the second generation hatch, which means that some of the eggs are fertilized by a brother or father. Next year, I plan to look for new drakes for the Campbells and Rouens so there are fresh genes. Many people have trouble hatching duck eggs, so I know I am not alone with the poor results. I washed the poop off the eggs, something that is controversial. Some say that the eggs should only be dry brushed and others are fine with washing the eggs. They were not sparkling clean by any means, but the big lumps were certainly washed off. Maybe washing the 'bloom' from the egg harms the chicks in some way. The bloom is the final covering the mother coats her eggs with to seal them while allowing the contents to breathe. The outside bacteria does not enter though, which is why unwashed eggs can sit on a counter at room temperature for a long time and not go bad, where as eggs that are washed and refrigerated do go stale rather quickly, since the washing has removed the 'bloom' which then allows bacteria and air to enter the egg. We shall see over the next 5 days how many of the remaining eggs hatch. I sold 3 of the ducklings today, the Campbells. The remaining Rouen is in with the 3 bantam cross chicks that hatched in the old Bower incubator a few days earlier. Until then...
The few days old Khaki Campbell duckling is separated from the newly hatched babies to protect them.
The first batch of eggs did not fare well, but the ones set a week later seem to be doing better. So far, one duckling and one gosling have hatched and 4 more duck eggs have pipped, that is the ducklings have penetrated the shell to create a breathing hole while they slowly peck their way out of their shells. No more of the goose eggs have pipped, but they usually take a few days extra. And to think, I was ready to give up and had already unplugged the incubator, when two of the little ones called to me. I listened carefully and sure enough, there were babies waiting, so I plugged the machine back in. One of the ducklings was very quiet, so I helped him open his shell. I think that might have been a mistake. They need the pecking and resting to absorb the last of the yolk. There was some blood in his shell and I am thinking yesterday when the two hatchlings were still in the incubator, they could have banged the eggs around and caused harm. He is not doing so well, but is still alive. I have learned a great deal about hatching. This was my first attempt. I have a very old incubator that does not measure humidity or temperature. There is a pan of water inside, however; the holes should have been taped over for the first while, until hatching starts. This raises the carbon dioxide levels and keeps the humidity inside, more like the conditions under the duck. Turning the eggs and wetting them down with a sprinkle of heavy misting is necessary too. I did keep a thermometer inside and the old incubator was excellent at maintaining the temperature, but I should have had it 100, not 98. They take two days longer to hatch when the temperature is 2 degrees cooler, or so the book says. When I first put the new hatchlings in with the few days old duckling, he tried to run at them and bite them. To protect them, I put a divider in the container, where they could communicate and get used to one another. After an hour, the divider was removed and they are snuggled together. The older duckling taught the babies to eat and drink. It was so cute. I cannot say that hatching is fun, but it is rewarding and heartbreaking at the same time. Some of the babies were fully developed and died in the shell. This can happen when the embryo is just not viable, or when the conditions are not quite right. I suspect better humidity control will prevent most problems, so after these babies hatch, I will set another load of eggs. Having learned 'how' now, I am sure to have better results with the second try. And they are adorable and quirky and so much fun to watch. The babies are on dirt from outside. When I set it up for them, there were a few ants crawling in the dirt, a spider, some straw and I picked some green grass tips, so it is more like nature than shavings. I have started them with duck and goose starter, commercial feed, against my better judgement, since it contains mostly genetically modified grains and chemical additives. I will offer them soaked chopped grains in a few days. They have already been eating their dirt to some extent and I will continue to pick grass for them. Last year, a Khaki Campbell raised 8 babies and from the day they were hatched, she had them outside foraging. Surprisingly, they are extremely hardy compared to chicks and could be out without warming for a long period of time. I do enjoy waterfowl very much and have just purchased a pair of Blue Swedish ducks. Soon it will be The Fat Duck Farm! Still wet from his hatch, the little Khaki Campbell duckling was the only one to make a hatch from 50 eggs set. Some are still due since they were set later, but he is a survivor for sure. I have a Bower incubator at least 30 if not 40 years old. It does maintain the temperature, but not the humidity and the eggs must be turned by hand three or more times daily. Eggs were placed in the incubator 33 days prior to the duckling's hatch date, then some a week later, and others even later. The duckling is 4 days overdue, and the only one to hatch. He is strong and survivor. Now that he is a day old, he does look like a pure Khaki Campell duckling. I feel very sorry for him, hatched artificially with no mother and now living in a Rubbermaid brooder, that is a Rubbermaid tote with a heat lamp and foil over half of the top, but he is all alone in this world. He huddles in a corner and panics when he hears any noises and scampers when he sees any movement. Is it right to artificially hatch these poor babies? When there are many in a hatch, they huddle together for company, but this little baby had no one. Last year, the Fat Ewe Farm, was fortunate enough to have a mother duck hatch 7 little ones of her own, which is rare for the Khaki Campbells. The instinct to set a brood has been forsaken in favour of egg laying. Khaki Campbells are far better egg layers than most chickens! On the 10th there are more duck and goose eggs due to hatch. They were collected when there was still frost on the ground though and it is dubious whether many will hatch or not, due to being extremely chilled. This is a lesson learned and the very first hatch on the farm. The lonely little duckling is the only one so far, poor little guy. But isn't he ever so cute? This is day 28 in the incubator, the day that some of the eggs should hatch. Something went wrong with about a dozen eggs. There were a few that were not fertile. These eggs were the first collected in the season and some were almost frozen. The ducks were mating, but not much. Obviously these eggs were fertile and developing, but for some reason, the development was arrested and the embryo quit growing and died. Through the shell, these eggs appeared blotchy and blackened in places. None of the other eggs looked that way. If the eggs are rotten, there is a smell that comes right through the shell and it is not a nice smell. One would not want one of those rotten eggs to explode in the incubator, so it is prudent to watch carefully what is happening. These eggs were not rotten. One had a very runny interior with a tiny embryo, and the other two had well developed embryos, but not so that one could actually see the duckling yet. The blackened interior was first visible a few days ago. This is my first attempt at hatching. There was a problem with my diligence. At three points, the tray that holds water in the incubator was dry. Ducks and geese need at least 50% humidity and a dry tray means dry eggs. Perhaps at one of those points, the development ceased for these eggs. There were a few eggs that have been removed because there is no sign of development, even though they appeared fertile. Still, there were over 50 eggs set, and the removal of a dozen leaves a large hatch possible. The goose eggs are so thick shelled it is nearly impossible to see inside, but duck eggs have transparent shells and it is interesting to watch the progress. Now, at hatch time, the only thing visible in the egg is an air space and the rest appears full. Of course it is. It is full of baby ducklings and goslings! So sorry the other eggs did not make it, but I will set another 50 eggs and try again, this time with utmost care to inspect the water tray every day. Fertility and frozen eggs will not be an issue at this point. The three duck breeds are separated too, so the ducklings will be true Khaki Campbells or White Campbells (one drake is white), Rouens or Saxonys. The only reason for incubating goose eggs is to sell the goslings or raise them until they are ready for the table. That part, this farmer has a hard time with, so maybe no more goslings? We shall see. By morning, I am hoping for some babies. The Sebastopol gosling might just get some company. The Khaki Campbell, Saxony and Rouen ducks are separated now for true mating. The Rouens are sharing a very large pen with the new Ameraucana chicks, the Saxonys are on their own, and there are two pens of Khaki Campbells, one with a pure white Campbell drake (hoping his colour will come through) and the other with a lovely usual Khaki drake. But the bachelors, these three drakes, are outside and hang around the Khaki pens, quacking away. It seems mean to separate them and deny them from being with their flock, but too many drakes are hard on the hens. There are 5 hens in one pen and 4 in the other, and one drake in each. By adding a second drake, since the ducks cannot get away when they are confined, the poor hens get the feathers on the back of their necks torn right off when the drakes mount them. Plus, the drakes begin to squabble with one another. Outside where they have the entire yard to play in, they usually get along quite well. A duck has the ability to reject sperm if she does not like the mate. Who knew? Hopefully, the ducks will like the drakes I put in with them. They also can retain sperm for up to three weeks, so for the eggs to be true to the breed, that time must elapse. In three weeks then, the Khakis, Saxonys and Rouens will be breeding true and the eggs should be pure. Every once in a while there is a throw back, which is why the pure white drake was hatched from standard Khaki parents. There are some duck and goose eggs in the incubator now with the first due to hatch on April 28 and the next a week later. There may be some true bred ducklings and some crosses. It will be impossible to tell when they are first hatched, but when their feathers are in, it will be much easier. In the meantime, the poor bachelor boys pine for their ladies outside, relegated to hanging around. They do have a place to go should they want to, but they are so flock bound, they basically have only gone round and round the pen trying to get in. Poor boys! |
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AuthorFluffy writes daily about the experiences on the farm and with the bed and breakfast patrons. Archives
October 2020
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