Goatgurl - life goes on at someday farm

[Devonviolet]

put 10 duck eggs under one of the dark Cornish hens today. she has been insisting on setting on a pink plastic egg no matter how many times i toss her off. ok, lets see if she has the patience to sit for 35 days a

Well, what do ya know? In the last two days, I put 11 duck eggs under a broody hen! Every Spring since we got her 2 years ago, she has gone broody. The first two, we didn't want more chicks. This year, I have been wanting mor ducks, and the ducks are too young to go broody. So, I thought I would give it a try. We have drakes for both our Pekins and Muscovies, so at least we stand a chance of getting some ducklings.

How long does it take for duck eggs to hatch? When we get a little closer, to that date, we will put the hen and her eggs in one of the back chicken runs, so they can be separated until the ducklings are ready to join the general population.

well today is day 4 of the "a red wasp stung me on my face" adventure. i can finally open and see out of my right eye again so that's all good. i am no longer drunk on Benadryl and sleeping 22 hours a day so that's good too. i didn't have a true anaphylactic reaction this time and i'm almost back to normal, well as normal as i ever am. life is good.

I'm so glad to hear that you are finally on the mend, from your red wasp sting! Wow!!! That was a bad one! I felt so bad, for you, with the whole right side of your face swollen up and your eye totally swollen shut!

Those red wasps are SO NASTY!!!! And very aggressive!!! For us, here in this part, of the world, they are a force to be reckoned with every Summer! You just never know when you walk out the door, if one will attack and sting ya. And it's never like a simple bee sting. It swells, hurts, itches and is totally miserable for 5 to 7 days. And then it leaves a little bump/scab, that lasts another two weeks!

 

[NH homesteader]

@Devonviolet duck eggs take 28 days, except muscovies I believe. They're 35. I've never had muscovies but I always found that interesting.

@goatgurl Ughh on the wasp sting. Glad you're ok now!

My husband had a broody hen hatch out duck eggs when he was a kid. All was well until the ducklings found the pond and mama hen nearly had a heart attack from shore, ran around squawking and carrying on!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

So sorry about the wasp sting! Years ago, and it was bad enough that I still remember, I sat on one and it got me right on the back of my leg. I was young and lithe waaaaay back then so was wearing short, shorts... Got me at the very top inside of my thigh and I tell ya it was a literal pain in my "top inside of my thigh"...for weeks! I can only imagine how bad it must have been on your face. Hope it resolves completely!

 

[Hens and Roos]

ouch, sorry to hear about the wasp sting

 

[samssimonsays]

Glad you are feeling better from the wasp sting! OUCH!

 

[Baymule]

I got hit by a yellowjacket last year, but it was on my finger. A wasp sting on your face! Ouch! Glad that you are all better now and on the mend.

 

[OneFineAcre]

I really like Marco. Nice looking pup.
Glad you are recovering from the wasp sting.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Those dang wasps sure are one creature I take pleasure in Killing. They were the cause of my foot getting so damaged for life. So glad there are no lasting effects for ya with that, too.
Something ya may not be aware of is, a Muscovey is not a duck.........it falls between a duck and a goose, but isn't a true duck. This is why they are different in many catagories, most just lump them in with the ducks, but they actually have their own classification. I'm not a stickler about facts, so I haven't posted it before, many consider them as such, so that is fine with me....

 

[NH homesteader]

They are the only duck that does not descend from the mallard... But I do consider them to be a duck. Doesn't matter to me though, I just like them. They are an invasive species however, and they have to be reported to authorities (at least here in NH), and I don't like reporting to authorities so I don't have any! Lol

 

[greybeard]

I had a pair of breeding age geese once..white ones with ruffled up feathers. I enjoyed them and let them have the run of the place and it worked well till they figured out where the feed came from--me. They just stayed up by the house, wouldn't waddle down to the pond any more and spent their days honking out by the back steps squirtin' poop every other step and generally making a mess in the dogs' drinking water container. Finally gave them away to a friend of mine that had a big chicken pen.

My brother once seined a little pond that the owner had kept dozens of ducks by for years. Was reportedly only 3' deep and the new owner was going to have it filled in. When they waded off into the pond, they sunk up past their belly buttons in old duck poop and that was the end of the seining project.
I'd love to have a flock of waterfowl on my pond, but between the occasional alligator and land based varmints, that would be a futile endeavor. Have to be content with the wood ducks that sometimes fly in there.