The journey into the abyss of no return

[Ridgetop]

My grandfather just had mallards and they laid pretty well. The prblem with ducks producing eggs is that they don;t lay every 24 hours like chickens. Their laying pattern is 26-28 hours and they have not been bred to produce for months on end like egg laying chickens.

 

[rachels.haven]

Golden 300's or white layers will probably work better for you. The problem is that ducks in general are dumb idiots when it comes to predators. Ours were best surrounded by ripping hot electric net, in with geese, and with an LGD on the other side of the fence...and herded in and locked up every night in a tight coop. They have no sense as I'm sure you know. They're beautiful and fun to watch though, kind of like fish.

 

[Weldman]

Golden 300's or white layers will probably work better for you. The problem is that ducks in general are dumb idiots when it comes to predators. Ours were best surrounded by ripping hot electric net, in with geese, and with an LGD on the other side of the fence...and herded in and locked up every night in a tight coop. They have no sense as I'm sure you know. They're beautiful and fun to watch though, kind of like fish.

These heard themselves in courtesy of the geese we have. Predator comes, the geese are shoving them in their home.
I got things prepped and ready here, Pooch is going to party like it's 1999 again tonight
Cross bones are current trap spots and that’s about 30 acre coverage between the perimeter.

 

[Weldman]

Piggies walked around, waddled in some mud and ate food is my journal entry for the bit.

 

[farmerjan]

How is the well doing? Is that where you are getting all your water now? How often do you have to haul it and how big of a place at the barn/house do you have to keep it?
Did you get any rain lately?

 

[Weldman]

How is the well doing? Is that where you are getting all your water now? How often do you have to haul it and how big of a place at the barn/house do you have to keep it?
Did you get any rain lately?

Doing damn well , yeah that's where all water is coming from with enough to share to a good neighbor far down the road. I collect about once every 2 or 3 months and that's only cause it's so warm. We have about 1500 gallons in the root cellar, another 1500 on the back of a ol semi, another 800 gallons for the pigs in IBC totes and doesn't include what I collected.
Nope no rain for over a month now, if anything just a sprinkle.

Y'all think sticking your arm up a cows is schitty, tire blew out on a cattle pot hauling trailer and it was just draining out since they were still in there. Had to fix the light housing below with the tire replaced.

 

[Baymule]

EEEEWWWW!

 

[farmerjan]

Yep, cow crap is "crappy"..... feel for you trying to get lights fixed like that with them still in there... At least empty you could take a hose and get the bulk of the wet stuff washed off....

So glad to hear that you can get all your own water there from your own property and not have to haul it from town or where ever you were getting it before. I am assuming you have a cistern in the root cellar so it will not freeze during your terrible cold in the winter time... and will use up the totes for the ducks before it freezes so as to not bust the totes. They do degrade in the sun and will get brittle and break or crack and split... Have had several over the years here that wind up splitting...

We are getting desperately needed rain... had a 1/2 inch in gauge earlier and still raining... it did not let up this evening early enough to see much, so will go to the calf barn in the morning...

 

[Weldman]

Yep, cow crap is "crappy"..... feel for you trying to get lights fixed like that with them still in there... At least empty you could take a hose and get the bulk of the wet stuff washed off....

So glad to hear that you can get all your own water there from your own property and not have to haul it from town or where ever you were getting it before. I am assuming you have a cistern in the root cellar so it will not freeze during your terrible cold in the winter time... and will use up the totes for the ducks before it freezes so as to not bust the totes. They do degrade in the sun and will get brittle and break or crack and split... Have had several over the years here that wind up splitting...

We are getting desperately needed rain... had a 1/2 inch in gauge earlier and still raining... it did not let up this evening early enough to see much, so will go to the calf barn in the morning...

We are getting our much needed rain today as for how much I won't know as it will rain for the next 24 hrs. Yes water in root cellar to prevent freezing, though despite heat tape still froze in the lines so that is something needs addressed. All water should be drained by the time temperatures are able to freeze such large quantities except for what is in the water cistern on the back of the semi will stay.
Good thing is most animals will eat snow for water, except when it drops to deadly temperatures. Then I'm out there busting up ice to get to water to water them since they are locked up in those temperatures.
Got a few IBC totes dry rotted here, they need to go, but keep the cages.

 

[Mini Horses]

I rarely get deep freeze here but, cold enough!! My lines in barn have heat tapes, covered with pipe insulation and normally not an issue. But we leave water dripping at DD house in bad cold. She's only one that needs the water to travel....otherwise, I'd cut it off at house to barn. But that then feeds to all lower fields & her house, underground.