We’re building “Duck Inn”, the duck house. The plan is detailed here in Tim’s videos:
Ducklings First Time Outside & In Water
The ducklings went outside today, at just about a week and a half old. We wheeled them out in a wheelbarrow, and put them in a small pen we put up made with snow fence. They did quite well in the water for their first time; after all, they’re ducks! Even though we’ve read some warnings about putting them in the water so young, it was a warm day, we had the water warming up all day, and we didn’t leave them in very long. They were just fine! Here are some videos.
Duckling Brooder – Part 4
This is the last segment of our duckling brooder. This time the little guys get a treat!
Duckling Brooder – Part 3
This video shows the ducklings in their brooder with fresh food and water.
Duckling Brooder – Part 2
Here is Part 2 of our Duckling Brooder segments. This one shows the brooder where it is in our basement, and how we have it set up. The ducklings are in this video, too!
Duckling Brooder – Part 1
We made a series of videos showing our duckling brooder, how we made it, how we clean it. Here is Part 1. Keep checking for more…
DUCKLINGS DAY SEVEN
The ducklings are doing well, on day seven. Here is a current photo, with “Whitey” front and center as usual. The big guy does always seem to be the most bold, and I don’t think it’s just because he’s the only one we can pick out. I’ve thought about giving them colored bands, just so we can keep track of who’s who, but maybe it’s just as well that we don’t single any out, since one day some will be dinner and all…
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| Ducklings Day Seven |
Duckling Feed
We are fortunate to live in an area that is plentiful with livestock and feed shops. As we researched options for duck feed, and particularly organic feed, we discovered that the most affordable organic feed available to us is produced right here in Fort Collins at Ranch-Way Feeds. We can buy it right at the mill, where we’ve already been buying horse feed for several years. They don’t make waterfowl blends, but we’re combining their turkey starter with chick starter and some oatmeal and a little grit for our ducks’ starter feed.** That combination was recommended in Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks, by Holderread, so hopefully that will do the trick. I suppose we’ll mess around with different combinations as they grow, and do the best we can. We want to keep them organically fed.
**One part turkey starter, one part chick starter, ½ part oatmeal, with some grit sprinkled on top.
The Ducks Are Here!
Our ducks arrived at the post office this morning, so Tim went to pick them up soon after. Our order was for 10 Welsh Harlequin ducklings, and along with the 10 we received one White Appleyard as a “bonus”. One of the 10 arrived dead, but with the bonus, we still have 10 total.
They are very cute, of course! We put them into the brooder that was all ready for them, and it’s amazing how quickly they wander around exploring. Right away we gave them water to drink with a little honey in it and some chopped up greens. After a bit we gave them their food, and one by one they figured out what was there and began to eat. Within no time at all they were jumping over each other and over the food trough to get to the other side. The one White Appleyard is the largest and boldest of all. He will be pure white, so I’m already calling him (or her) “Whitey”. Of the others, we think there are 4 females and 5 males, based on the bill color. With this breed, you can tell the sex by their bill color within the first couple of days after hatching, with 75% accuracy. Apparently, the ducks with a lighter bill color are females. We have no idea what sex Whitey is, but hopefully we’ll have at least 4-5 females out of the bunch for egg production.
Planting Season
Well, it’s been a difficult planting season! After all my planning, it seemed like everything went kaput the last few weeks. The week I’d intended to plant (starting May 15, our “average last frost date”) turned cold and rainy. I knew that there was questionable weather coming, but due to our plans for a trip I needed to get things into the ground. Also, the things that were “hardening off” in the cold frame were getting too big for the cold frame, and at one time a couple of things were damaged when the cold frame fell on them during watering. I was tired of them being in the cold frame, so I went ahead and planted.
Planting the tomatoes and peppers went pretty well. Within a couple of days after planting it was quite windy and rainy, and they sure got beat up. A couple of the tomatoes snapped in half right where they had been tied up.
Squash and cucumbers went in the ground also, but got beat around in the wind a bit as well, not looking very happy. I lost the cucumbers and some squash. At least it is early enough to replant and they should be fine. I also have seen a lot of cucumber beetles, so have begun to spray for those with spinosad.
Now we’ve returned from vacation, and with so many plans to work in the garden immediately, I came home very sick, and won’t be able to get out to the garden. It will just have to wait.
I think most plants will survive, but they sure aren’t in the best condition. The peppers were damaged by hail, and many leaves were left dangling or in bad shape. The tomatoes are small and thin, but still alive. The cucumber seeds I planted after the first ones died did not come up. The squash that was still alive and in fairly good condition before I left have been chewed up, presumably by the cucumber beetles that are still everywhere. There are weeds everywhere as well. Hopefully soon I’ll feel well enough to get back to work!
This week many gardeners in the Fort Collins area were plagued with a large amount of marble-sized hail and lost a lot of their crops. Fortunately, the hail here wasn’t as bad and my plants aren’t much worse than they were already. I guess all the locals are now pretty much in the same boat!