Michigan

[bluelacedredhead]

We cleaned all of our own birds, but most of the people I knew when we had a farm just cut the breast meat out of a duck and discarded the rest. Cleaning waterfowl is much more labour intensive that cleaning a chicken. I know $5 a piece sounds like a lot to you, but to me, it sounds like a good deal

Our geese at all of my bee balm, the ducks ate all of the garlic and onions, the turkeys at the rhubarb leaves....It was annoying to say the least, but back in the city now, I'd trade squirrels and marauding starlings for a bee balm eating goose any day. I have bird netting over my entire garden to stop the birds from destroying my seedlings, only so the cutworms and pillbugs can get the rest, lol

 

[swampducks]

Hey there BLRH, hope you don't mind the abbreviation? I wave to you across the water.

My BIL hunts ducks and he usually just takes the breast meat out. Muscovies though have great thigh and leg meat, too. But you're probably right, maybe $5 a bird isn't a bad idea, I'm certainly not looking forward to it.

So tell me, do you have blue laced red wyandottes? I'm getting 4 next week with my next chick order. It's all they allowed. Hope I get a couple good looking ones.

 

[Dascountry]

So tell me, do you have blue laced red wyandottes? I'm getting 4 next week with my next chick order. It's all they allowed. Hope I get a couple good looking ones.

What a beautiful chicken. Multi colored for sure. How many chicks are you getting?


No frost here this morning. I did cover everything last night and took all the flower pots and baskets to my storage area so they wouldn't get hurt. Picked a bunch more of radishes today. They are so good this year. Not hot at all My Easter egg radishes are doing ok now. Alot though have went to just leaf production. I've been getting white, pink and a dark purple so far.

 

[swampducks]

Next Wednesday I should be getting

4 straight run BLRW
5 dominique pullets
3 buckeye pullets
12 straight run Dark Cornish

and they usually throw in an extra, probably be a dark cornish, all the others I was limited in how many I could get and I ordered back in January. Next time I'll have to order in December.

I'm planning on keeping a rooster and hatching my own eggs next time I need birds, don't mind crosses. I would have done it this year but a fox got my roo last summer and then I just got rid of all the birds since they stopped laying. Was much easier going through winter with only 5 guineas and 2 ducks. Missed the eggs though.

So I'll have 25 or 26 new chicks next week on top of my 21 guinea keets, 11 Blue Andalusians, 11 Golden Buffs, 11 Muscovy ducks and 5 adult guineas.

And by winter I need to be down to less than 20!

ARGH

 

[Dascountry]

This spring I started with 47 chicks and need to be down to 18 or 20 soon. Its going good cause I'm down to 27. Some them will be going into the freezer in a couple months. I already have 3 of the roosters in a separate spot. Just need to figure who else is a roo. I to want to keep at least one rooster and try to hatch my own eggs. You ever done that? I'm not doing the incubator just trying with mother hen. Never did it.

Its been raining all day long today. Great for the gardens and we sure did need it. But its so darn cold out. We didn't past 50 here today.

 

[swampducks]

50.5 is my high so far today and that's happening right now. Raining all day here, too. Introduced my 8 week old chickens to cracked corn today because it doesn't wash away like crumbles. They must have loved it because it's all gone, at least I can't see any in the dirt. Hey just hit 50.7 woohoo heat wave.

Yeah, I've incubated some chicken eggs in the past. Never had a broody, don't tend to get broody breeds. Got guineas setting right now but they've done it before and failed. They usually quit before 28 days hits. Got 3 of them sitting on the same nest, it's bizarre. Not sure what rooster of which breed I'll be keeping, only know it won't be a Golden Buff as they don't breed true. Blue Andalusian, Blue Lace Red Wyandotte, or a Dark Cornish.

We shall see.

 

[swampducks]

My chicks came at 5 pm! My local PO closes at 3. So when a PO van drove down my driveway I was a bit dumbstruck. She drove up from Saginaw with orders for me and 4 others. I guess that's the only reason they didn't wait to send them up in the morning mail truck.

Nursing a lethargic chick, don't know if he'll make it but the other 24 are doing great.

Plus on the gardening front DH helped me fence in the new veggie garden. It's still a bit damp from the mega quantities of rain last week. Hopefully, it isn't too wet a spot to plant. But since its for tomatoes and cukes and melons which all like a lot of water I'm hoping that will be ok.

 

[Dascountry]

I've been building gates for our veggie garden today. I only had the front of it fenced in so the dogs would know not to go in it. But the cows didn't care. The past two days they have wondered into it. DH went ahead and bob wired the other three sides. So I wanted two gates to be able to get into it. We let our two calves run loose during the day. We have a driveway gate and woods all around us so they stay close. But they found the strawberry patch and the garden. And they have big feet! Both are 6 months old. All is fenced now :rose


Swampducks seen the pictures of the chicks on BYC. I remember when mine were that small. Today I put a suet feeder in there coop with a slice of bread and a pork chop in it. It took awhile for them to get the nerve to go up to it. But once they found out what was in it they went crazy. It'll be something to keep them occupied once in awhile.

 

[swampducks]

Pork chops? Cooked or raw? I'm afraid I'd have eaten that pork chop. I don't give my dogs a whole pork chop never mind the chickens! lol

 

[Dascountry]

It was a leftover chop that was a bit tough Nobody wanted it.

I've been transplanting my irises today. :tools I know you're not suppose to until July - Sept, but mine needed to be put in their own bed. My other plants have been over crowding them and they hardly bloomed this year at all. Alot of root rot from the looks of it. Just in case if its a grub I'm gunna have to get some killer for them They needed to be divided anyways.

The veggie garden is looking good :rainbow-sun Now that the cows can' t roam around in it.