trystinn | Farm Report

Salt (white speckled cochin pullet) and Onyx (black cochin hen) are still brooding, I'm so desperate for them to have chicks though I'm horrified to think I have nowhere to put chicks until we get those pens separated in the East Wing.

We've let Nera's ducklings out of the pen so they can run about the yard and free range their food for a bit. I'm hoping there will be swimming, as its warm enough and they should be big enough to handle the pool.

One of the tiny bantam mottled chicks is definitely a cockerel and completely full of himself. He likes to come up behind you and peck your ankle. Given that all 4 of the chicks love to follow people around, you rarely expect a sneak attack while you're vainly trying not to step on one. Someone is tired of his behavior, because he's missing most of the feathers on his back. He's also been attacking poor Flash, which makes me wonder how long an aggressive cockerel is in this world. We've been calling him Conan, since he's such a little braggart. *grin*

The two Blue Swede adolescent ducklings are growing up. I locked them out of the coop last night, which seems to have helped them make friends with the duck flock. They've been hanging out with the adult Blue Swedes. I'm a bit concerned about what appears to be a drake feather developing on one, though they still look and act female. So we'll keep an eye out for that. I've several customers lined up who want good sized ducks for roasting.

Within 24 hours, I'd received two calls from women asking me to rescue their drakes. *snort* No way, no how. One lost her favorite duck and doesn't "have the heart to keep the other two", which I sympathize with but there's no future for them - she doesn't even know what breed they are, which likely means the odds of having parasites or infestations are good as she's not knowledgeable. The other wanted me to take five ducks because she's not "really into them" anymore. Then she asked "you don't kill them ... and EAT them, do you?" Why yes, yes we do. I suggested to both women they put them up on Craigslist, the response to which was "can I guarantee that the ducks won't be eaten by the new owners?" Nope, once you sell or give away birds, your involvement ends and they can do whatever you want. *eye roll*

The thing is, I can likely sell adult ducks to my customers who want dinner. But I haven't the space to quarantine them. I'm not bringing in strange birds, especially with so many ducklings about. And frankly, I'm too busy at the moment.