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Muscovy
Jan 24, 2017 8:43:23 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Jan 24, 2017 8:43:23 GMT -6
It has been warm and rainy here for quite a while, which has allowed the duckling with the frozn foot to recover. She is almost back to normal, walking around without a limp.
It is supposed to stay warm for the next few days, then resume winter weather. I'll watch this duckling closely and hope I can save it from further harm.
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Muscovy
Jan 24, 2017 9:11:34 GMT -6
Post by dexterfarm on Jan 24, 2017 9:11:34 GMT -6
a couple of mine lost most if not all of their feet. You would never know it they still move pretty quick. One of them with no feet has decided my house is his home. He hangs out there all day at least on the weekends when I am home. I was doing wood working in the garage this weekend and when I would go back and forth he would follow me. Most nights he has been going back across the road to the duck coop but there was a couple of nights he stayed at my house and I had to take him over. They will have to stay in tomorrow it is suppose to start raining and falling temps all day. I will be glad to see the ground freeze again. It has been a muddy mess this last week.
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Muscovy
Jan 24, 2017 22:47:21 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Jan 24, 2017 22:47:21 GMT -6
Ditto the muddy mess!
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Muscovy
Jan 29, 2017 19:45:47 GMT -6
Post by wvdexters on Jan 29, 2017 19:45:47 GMT -6
Yes Ditto on the Mud! but the cooler temps are moving back in now and are helping alot. I am sorry to hear about your ducklings. Hopefully they will recover and do well.
The little chicks we raised here are doing well. The hens turned out all black with a hint of green to the feathers, very pretty. Thankfully the new pup has grown and ignores them now. My little dog Millie has to be on a leash around them though. We started getting eggs 2 weeks ago,and I'm going to get spoiled again. Really missed the fresh eggs those few months.
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Muscovy
Jan 30, 2017 8:53:18 GMT -6
Post by dexterfarm on Jan 30, 2017 8:53:18 GMT -6
My roosters are getting very active. Probably a couple of weeks before I get eggs. Then it will just start to get a couple a day. They dont really hit production until spring. Most people dont realize the shelf life on fresh(unwashed) eggs. They will keep 6 months in the fridge. We stockpile in the fall to get us though the winter.
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Muscovy
Jan 30, 2017 21:21:05 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Jan 30, 2017 21:21:05 GMT -6
We float our eggs to guage whether to use them or feed them to the chickens.
In a bowl deep enough to cover an egg with a 1/2" of water, we set an egg on the bottom.
If it stays horizontal on the bottom, it is fresh.
If it stays on the bottom, but stands up, it is older and is just perfect for hard boiling.
If it floats to the top of the water, it is too old to eat. These go to the chickens.
This is all based upon how much air is in the shell. Fresh eggs have none, so they sink. Older eggs have some air that have seeped through the shell, so they stand on the bottom. The ones that have the most air have the most air in them. It takes a long time for this much air to get through the shell, so these are pretty old.
The ones with enough air in the shell to make them stand on the bottom are for hard-boiling. The air in the shell makes the shell separate from the egg under heat. They are easy to shell.
For a while, I marked the date on every egg with a pencil as I brought it in the house. The float test was consistent in telling the age of the eggs, so I quit marking them. Now I keep a wide-mouth coffee cup nearby to float each egg before I use it. Works like a charm.
I never put my eggs in the refrigerator. I leave them unwashed in a basket on the counter. I usually pitch them after 16 days. We eat 'em or give them away almost as fast as we get them
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Muscovy
Feb 1, 2017 10:37:58 GMT -6
Post by wvdexters on Feb 1, 2017 10:37:58 GMT -6
We float our eggs too. Very few ever last long enough to get close to the floating stage (They taste too good). But when they do, they go to the Dutchess.
It's fun to watch a dog eat an egg. They all have their special way to go about it. Some are crunchers, shell and all - and make a mess, face and all. LOL Some are so meticulous, and neat about it. Our old dog Liz, used to take so much time and chip a tiny hole in the end and suck the egg out of the shell. It was so funny, she never made the slightest mess.
We were wondering when these girls would start. We hatched them out pretty late in the season last yr. By age Jan was about right, but with these short days we weren't sure how it was going to work out.
Have you all priced good eggs at the market?
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Muscovy
Feb 2, 2017 10:12:45 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Feb 2, 2017 10:12:45 GMT -6
The duckling whose feet froze had recovered to the point that he was ranging afield with the other ducks. I was very pleased.
Last night, he failed to show up to be locked up for the night. My guess is that he was the slowest to run back to safety when a predator came.
Nature is harsh in its selection methods.
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Post by dexterfarm on Feb 2, 2017 16:33:43 GMT -6
Kerrie, I sell a lot of eggs. I sell for 3.50 but its really not enough barely above the break even point.
gene your luck is going about like mine found one of them that had no feet dead in the coop. The other one with no feet started slowing down so I put him down before he died. the other 2 that only lost portions of toes are doing fine and keeping up with the others.
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Muscovy
Feb 4, 2017 15:51:18 GMT -6
Post by wvdexters on Feb 4, 2017 15:51:18 GMT -6
Gene I was happy in the beginning of your post - and looking for the like button.
Then I read the rest. Sorry to hear you lost the little guy. Nature is harsh, and we are always rooting for the little ones.
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Muscovy
Feb 4, 2017 16:00:32 GMT -6
Post by wvdexters on Feb 4, 2017 16:00:32 GMT -6
Sorry to hear about your ducklings too Mike.
Those months we were waiting for the new hens to start laying I had to buy eggs at the market. I was shocked at the prices. The "cheap" eggs were just that and awful. The "good" eggs tasted better and at least had some color to them, but were still a long way off from having your own in the back yard.
We did find a local woman selling farm eggs, but the quality was really poor. Talk about floaters. After a couple tries (in case one carton was a mistake) 1/2 were beyond eating, and we stopped getting them.
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Muscovy
Feb 13, 2017 16:12:10 GMT -6
Post by dexterfarm on Feb 13, 2017 16:12:10 GMT -6
first spring egg from the Doms yesterday.
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Muscovy
Feb 13, 2017 20:03:11 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Feb 13, 2017 20:03:11 GMT -6
I spotted a brown Muscovy hen sitting on the ground today. She wasn't moving to feed, so I picked her up to see what was wrong. She only has two toes on one foot and has no webbing between any of her toes. I guess she's a frost-bite victim.
I didn't know she was hurt.
I've been getting plenty of eggs. After givig away as many as the neighbors will take, I put 36 into the incubator to possibly hatch some ducklings in time for Easter.
They make for some handy income. I get $8 per 3 day old.
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Muscovy
Feb 14, 2017 14:10:40 GMT -6
Post by dexterfarm on Feb 14, 2017 14:10:40 GMT -6
gene, is she not able to get around good. I fave 2 that have missing toes and you would never know it. I couldn't catch them if I wanted to.
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Muscovy
Feb 14, 2017 16:15:03 GMT -6
Post by genebo on Feb 14, 2017 16:15:03 GMT -6
It has been a long time since the hard freeze and I had not noticed this hen before. Now I think the webbing between her toes is rotting. She may have some infection that is bothering her.
She seems to be able to do whatever is necessary, such as run from me, but lays around more than any of the other ducks do. I figure she is hurting.
Tonight I will catch her and spray her feet with disinfectant spray. See if that helps.
Today I had a different problem on my mind. I was burning the burn pile and dumped a bucket full of bread wrappers onto the fire. Cujo grabbed a wrapper and began eating it. I chased him around the pile until I finally caught him and pulled the wrapper out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Hannahbelle grabbed one, too. I couldn't get my hands on it before it completely disappeared!
That scares me.
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