CntryBoy777 - The Lazy A** Acres Adventures

Same here @NH homesteader. Rained for 3 days, really windy a lot of the leaves that were beautiful on the trees not so long ago have been blown off.

If these duck breeds don't work out for you, you might look into Muscovies. They are from South America and make a great farm duck. They don't lay as well as the Rouens or Campbells, but brood their own eggs and are great mothers.

I also heard that the muscovies meat, when ground up, is very similar to hamburger, even tasting a bit like beef. I don't know this, only repeating what I've heard. I've also heard that it makes very good sausage.

Muscovies are on my "one of these days" list. As in one of these days I'll be finished with the fencing, barn, sheep shed, tool shed, grasses of all kinds planted and growing......

Muscovies are an invasive species so the gov't wants to know if you have them. They keep tabs on you if you have them. At least here. They don't quack so if you like quiet ducks you'll like them!

Well, we are sure going to give these here a Chance...they are really Nice....and, Muscovies are a bit on the 'Ugly' side as far as we are concerned....out here in the 'Sticks' noise isn't a problem....LOL!!....and I had rather eat a Real duck than one that others say Tastes like beef....why eat something that Tastes like something else?....just give me the 'Real Deal'....ROTF!!!

Because the drakes can grow to 12-15 pounds and the ducks 6-8 pounds. Never ate a Muscovy, but that's a heavy duck!

They are huge! I think they're kinda cute.

They are the only breed of duck that didn't descend from the mallard. Kind of cool in that regard.

I like the apple yard ducks. They're beautiful. but not very big

Here is the almost Finished nest boxes...LOL!!....Ducks... ....and the 'Dotties'.........once there is some hay and Poop on it the Flaws won't even be Noticed!!....LOL!!!....tenatively have set the Roosts up like this.........the reason I said it was Almost finished is because I have decided to hinge the back panels to the duck nest...that way the eggs can be gathered from the same side...plus we have Plenty of gray rat snakes here...some in the 8'-10' range....they will clean a nest Out of every egg it can get....if one gets into the Back of the nest....I'd prefer to Not have to meet it 'Head First'....and since I am 6'2"....that Bending down gets to be a bit Difficult on some days....LOL!!....gonna put up some Poultry wire and hardware cloth....make the doors and be in Business!!

With regard to the roosts: 2x2s are a bit narrow for the chicken's feet. 2x4 on the flat or 3" round fence poles are better because while the sit on their feet, they also pt weight on their keel. Hard to do on a 1.5" wide surface. That said, I find my chickens seem to prefer 2 types of location:

• against a wall or HC covered opening
• the flat junction of a single 2x perpendicular (support) to the wall and the 2x4 on the flat (or doubled vertical 2x4)

I originally started with


But later added 2x4s on the flat between the wall from where I took the picture and the open end of the original setup and found some birds liked to sit against the wall on the 1.5" wide perpendicular and the junction of the new boards and the perpendicular.

If it makes any difference, the round fence rail gets less poop on it and can be rotated. If you go with flat roosts, make some sort of "hanger" on the wall ends to drop them into so you can pick them up and take them out for cleaning or flipping over.

What you see are 8' long and I have seen no sag. But then I have only 12 birds and a year ago made a 24" x 48" long open "shelf" for the broody buster on the wall to the right of where I took the picture from. It has one central perpendicular support and the 2 on the outside obviously. No broodies in the winter so I took the box off for even more roost space last winter when I had 16 (not that the 24' they already had wasn't enough) and they show a preference for that even though there is NO wall on either side. I doubled up on the "on edge" 2x4s so they would have more body support.