C&D Farming..oh what a life!

[Duckfarmerpa1]

The pond at our old farm had turtles. they are good eating!

Lost a few baby ducks over time but, we cleared the out frequently. Plus my DSIL liked to fish but, not eat them. He populated the pond. LOL

My old farmer friend likes to eat the turtles...

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Little Lou.... Little Lou was one of the Saxony ducks that we got for free from NY with Stubs the goose. Right of the bat she, (I thought), Was super feisty! Little Lou was sooo much smaller than all the ducks but wouldn’t let anyone push him around. I thought Lou was a girl for the first 8 months of his life...he never made more than a peep....and never got full feathered. He never weighed more than a pound...probably still weighs 1 1/2 lbs? Just an itty bitty thing. The runt. But, at first...was soooo full of energy...always the leader...he was the cutest little guy. I just couldn’t get enough of his little peep...and the constant wondering of if he was a boy or a girl? And then Lou started slowing down...wasn’t hanging with the group. He wouldn’t show up at night to go in the pen and we’d have to take the golf cart to look for look for him. He would stay by the house. He just wasn’t himself. He started limping. This is when I realized that, he just wasn’t catching up, and needed some help. I started giving him B complex in treats...then, be a of the limping, I would have to keep him separate at night, with his sister, so he wouldn’t get hurt. He hated it...but it was in his best interest. I would feed him separately too, but it still didn’t help. A friend told me to feed him kitten food for the extra protein..so I did that. It seemed to help. But, it came to a point, the my Little Lou, who would rush over to see me and snuggle in my arms, was hopping as from me because he was resentful of all of what I was putting him through. I tried to love on him as much as could. He developed Bumblefoot...it’s when a duck or chicken gets a sore that gets infected and creates a a hard lump inside one of the areas of the foot. I had to soak him in Epsom salt water ohhh soo many times, because, as soon as we would get one gone, another would come. Chris couldn’t understand why I always fall in love with the underdog, because they all real my heart. Can’t help it. Little Lou would melt anyones heart with that scratchy little peep.. So we struggled with these issues for months...but then, in about November, all of a sudden..things changed...Lou got a voice! He also grew some feathers! Beautiful feathers...like a real Saxony drake! I couldn’t have been more proud! He was really feeling good. No limp...his weight was up...he was thriving. Everyone was in the barn now, and it was chaos, with 42 ducks...most of them drakes. I had, one of my favorite ducks...you’ll hear about him too...MyGuy...a Beautiful Muscovy. But very dominant. By this point I was caging drakes up...he was one of them...but, it was always a terrible even trying to get them in the cage at night. One morning I went out and Little Lou was limping. I thought...oh no, here we go again. I didn’t want to scare him and make too big of a deal...so I watched him and didn’t separate him yet. He was ok that day. The next day IT happened. I walked out of the barn to see MyGuy on top of Lou...trying to...penetrate him. I ran down...grabbed MyGuy by the neck and yanked him sooo hard..and basically flung him. When I picked up Little Lou it was clear he was hurt bad. I took him inside. Within a short time his knee joint began to swell like crazy....it was sooo hot. I didn’t know if it was sprained or worse. The irrational side of me wanted to rush him to the only avian vet...2 1/2 hrs away...clearly not an option. He was not a thoroughbred....I was on the internet for hours...days...Lou wasn’t eating. I found a way to tube feed him. I did that four times a day for weeks all of December. He made it. He’ll never be Right. But he’s alive. I pray he’s happy. On these warm days he’s been in the pond and loving it. He likes to lay in the hay on the other side by the the goats. We made him a nice corner in the duck barn penned off so he’s safe. he gets nice treats and is pretty pampered. He comes to me to get out of his pen each morning. He is my favorite duck. He is the sweetest Little Lou.

In the last picture...my pot belly pig...Portly, snuck into the barn with Busty and Lou..,

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Now comes the story of MyGuy. MyGuy was one of original eight ducklings. He had a black spot on his fluffy yellow body that made him stand out from the rest. Soon, his size did too. It was clear, we had thee drake Muscovies, and three drake Khaki Campbells out of 8 ducks. Darned straight run. MyGuy was the biggest from the start. But, being a Muscovy, he wasnt fast. He meandered. One day he got good sized gash on the side of his right leg. We cleaned it, and put blu cote on it. We also kept him separate from the others for it to heal....with a buddy. Durry this time, they were treated like royalty. Their own huge food dish and water, etc treats galore..and pampering. They had no desisire to go with the flock. For a month, MyGuy and ThisGuy, stayed right by the house. Never wanting to miss our attention. Which worked. They were so found of us that they would follow me around. All summer I had dog didpshes everywhere because, yes, there was a pond, near by, but my ducks were spoiled, and mom made sure there was water around every corner for them. we would go to the farm market..not ours, and buy watermelon, and cantaloupe. They would crack those babies up themselv...from the long end.....and climb in...it was hystErica! They grew to be very big. After the month..when we decided to allow them back with the group, they reluctantly went...but, we realized we overfed them by far. They were almost twice the size of the others! It soon was a problem..They used their weight, and their thought of start as golden boys as power....they pushed the others around. He was always such a gentle bird with me. Eating apples from my hands...I have sooo many selfies with him..silly, I know. But, now he was on a power trip. And it only got worse. It was almost breeding season for the males ...MyGuy was clearly a dominate male. He was mounting everything and hurting a lot of ducks. He hurt one of my pekins named Daisy, who had terrible arthritis. I worked with her for months, giving her supplements, doing PT, a better diet, but, in the end she kind of gave up, and she died. Her joints were too painful. Then after hurting Little Lou, I put him in isolation. He was in an 8’ x 10’ cage, underneath the semi trailer..(the barn). He was miserable, I hated to see him that way. I was told to put two hens in with him. I did for two days. Then...they were miserable. There really was only one option. I hated it. But, culling him was the best option. If I took him to auction the new people would cull him the moment they realize how bad he was...and, in my eyes, it’s not fair to pass on your problems to someone else. At least, This way, my friends could finally get to engoy a duck. So we butchered him and took him to Sunday dinner. Everyone seemed to like him. He was nine lbs, undressed weight. Big bird. I miss him a lot, and I really do, and will always love the times we shared, but he needed to go. When my ducks started laying eggs, I thought really hard about letting them hatch....these could be MyGuys babies...the last link,... but...the timing is just not right, so we brought the eggs in. We will have ducklings closer to Easter when I call sell some....MyGuy was a good guy

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[Baymule]

Elderberry syrup. Antiviral, antifungal, antioxidant, 2nd highest vit C known. Knocks down the flu & cold issues by not letting the virus/bacteria reproduce.

I pick wild here. Dehydrate, make juice, make syrup, freeze whole. Free meds. Gal, we can help you in more ways than you even know.

Natural has been around thousands of years. Still works. Garlic is another powerhouse. If you don't use it, learn.

X about a million. We pick elderberry too. The power line mowed down my favorite patch last summer-right before they ripened. So as soon as they poke their little leaves up, we are digging them up and bringing the plants to their new home where they will be very much appreciated.

 

[Baymule]

Do realize that muscovies breed like rats. They will hatch a clutch of 12 to 20 and raise them. So keeping a "few" drakes will result in a population explosion in short order. LOL

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

X about a million. We pick elderberry too. The power line mowed down my favorite patch last summer-right before they ripened. So as soon as they poke their little leaves up, we are digging them up and bringing the plants to their new home where they will be very much appreciated.

I think they they grow around here too...perhaps we can plant some by the blueberries this summer?

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

Do realize that muscovies breed like rats. They will hatch a clutch of 12 to 20 and raise them. So keeping a "few" drakes will result in a population explosion in short order. LOL

yes, I plan to only keep one black and white male. Then, I think I will keep just two male pekins that are my other favorites...Stan and Stevie. The rest will be hens. I’m trying to get rid of my goose...any takers?

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

So, today I’m feeling better..which is huge compared to what I was...so I’ll take that!! I got absolutely NO sleep last night...and, if anyone looks at my journal, I was typing last night at like 2:30 am. Insane. whats worse is, I take sleeping meds, , and took something else then...didn’t work and didn’t doze off till around 5...till 8. The goats are doing well. Got my kidding kit all moved to the barn. My son, who gave me the flu, actually has it now too. I couldn’t help but chuckle a tad...then I felt terrible about myself and told him I was sorry. Ugh. Do you ever hope for a quiet day? Does it ever happen? Even when I was sick...it didn’t actually happen. I suppose, when you have a farm...life is never quiet? What a Blessing.

 

[Baymule]

For the flu, you need home canned chicken broth with fresh garlic grated into it. Don't have any? You have chickens, we'll teach you how to can the broth and can the meat. Also, for flu you need Elderberry syrup. Good, you are planning on planting some! Elderberry pie is darn good to--and you don't have to have the flu to eat it! Glad you are feeling better!

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

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For the flu, you need home canned chicken broth with fresh garlic grated into it. Don't have any? You have chickens, we'll teach you how to can the broth and can the meat. Also, for flu you need Elderberry syrup. Good, you are planning on planting some! Elderberry pie is darn good to--and you don't have to have the flu to eat it! Glad you are feeling better!

ts still holding on...instead of chicken soup, I was craving chilli...it was turkey chili...but...big mistake. I’m back to smart foods today...