Alaskan's Journal

[Alaskan]

Youngest chicks were put with older chicks... and the integration would have been ok, IF I had 2 or maybe 3 heat lamps.


The olders have been off heat for several weeks... but the young ones are still on heat.

When I put them all together, in the area the older chicks have been in (my red coop) I added a heat lamp.

The older chicks decided the heat was NICE, and all theirs, and wouldn't let the younger chicks anywhere close to the heat.

I had an animal heating pad... I put that in, as a second heating spot. But it is just barely warm... kept the young ones alive, but not happy.

So... I have segregated the red coop. I put the door back on the brooder part. Youngest are in the brooder part, and olders get the rest of that coop. I am hoping that being able to see each other through the wire divider will help the older chicks not have such issues with the white chicks. The older chicks are all Partridge color. I have 4 white leghorns in the younger set, and that white is TOO different.

I left the younger with both heat lamp and heating pad, which was brilliant on my part.

We lost power for about an hour late last night... must have caused the heat lamp bulb to break...

Youngers were not happy this morning, but all fine.

 

[Alaskan]

And .... moving the geese today. Cloudy and rainy.

And WOW!!! The geese are GROWING!!! I need to get their pen made up this week....

 

[Alaskan]

Kids and bride-to-be resurrected the old orchard/duck pen, and put the geese in there. It looks pretty secure, not full Fort Knox, but really good.

The ducks that were in my little white tractor have been put into the much larger green tractor (which is where the geese were). We are hoping, that since they are muscovy, and have already shown that they like to hop on things, that they will figure out the ramp, and so get both the top coop part (elevated over the run, ramp access) and bottom part to use.

Still have the chicks segregated in the red coop.

2 more weeks to the wedding, and SO MANY appointments these next 2 weeks! Eye appointments for the 2 youngest, my yearly medical, another eye shot for me... car windshield appointment for me...

also... I totally dropped the ball on some of my actual work... need to get that done in the next 2 days....

And... I need to finalize and figure out how to print out wedding booklets... get priest and about to be marrieds to rehearse, discuss booklet... figure out the music....

Also... I am doing all the music for the wedding...

Thupt....


Oh... and the shipped muscovy eggs, IF any hatch... will hatch this week some time. I am never very hopeful with shipped eggs.

 

[Alaskan]

Nope... musvovy eggs are supposed to hatch NEXT week.

 

[Alaskan]

So... geese have already eaten the pen down to nothing. I think the pen is 16x24. But... 12 geese.

I REALLY want to let them out on the lawn... BUT they are still full on butter balls. I know everything would love to eat them.

So... yesterday I let the geese and ducks out (ducks are now in the green tractor) while drinking my morning coffee. They were thrilled.

Ducks still like the geese... the geese are no longer all that pleased about the ducks. I had to referee a bit. I was trying to let them do pecking order stuff, but not beat up/gang up.

I wanted to do it again today... but it is raining.

Pictures from yesterday.

 

[farmerjan]

When's the wedding???

 

[Baymule]

What are plans for the geese and ducks?

 

[Alaskan]

When's the wedding???

Sunday, the 28th

What are plans for the geese and ducks?

My plan ( insert maniacal laughter, because just how often do plans work out????) was/is to have enough of a flock, of both geese and ducks... that I can keep the best as breeding groups, and eat the rest.

However... I am worried that the ducks that I got straight run, are super heavy on males. I only bought 5 straight run ducks, and then a bunch of shipped eggs... the eggs, if any hatch... will hatch this coming week.

The geese I bought sexed, 4 males from McMurray, and 8 girls from Metzer. With the geese I keep vacilating as to how many I need to keep. I want a small group to overwinter... but I want a large flock in the summer with the thought that with a large enough group they will be less likely to be eaten by predators.

So.... highly unsure as to how many I will overwinter.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well with chickens, my roosters each have "their" hens & for most part, rarely fight -- although I see occasional attack to run off a roo who went after a hen that wasn't his.

Never raised geese. But if they tend to group, then I'd think 2 males & 6 female would be a good number to assure you'd have enough eggs early spring for incubation. Then a large summer flock & freezer fill in Fall 2025. Making 4 for 2024.

 

[Alaskan]

Well with chickens, my roosters each have "their" hens & for most part, rarely fight -- although I see occasional attack to run off a roo who went after a hen that wasn't his.

Never raised geese. But if they tend to group, then I'd think 2 males & 6 female would be a good number to assure you'd have enough eggs early spring for incubation. Then a large summer flock & freezer fill in Fall 2025. Making 4 for 2024.

Yeah... that sounds logical.

I am right now sitting outside with them, so they can graze and NOT eat any more expensive pellets.

They are still too small for me to let them graze without a body guard.

WHERE IS MY ELECTRIC NET??????