Ducks? Today??!!

   Talk about a shocker to the system. The post office called yesterday at noon and said we had some chicks come in and needed to pick them up. What??? Those weren't supposed to come until May 9th. We didn't feel we could just send the little buggers back, so we got their cage area ready. Looks like this...



There is a cage that a box sits on. The box has linoleum on the bottom for easy washing. Then we have cardboard on the corners to round them and another cardboard piece across the middle to keep them all on one half until they get bigger. The heat lamp hangs on a rope and can be lifted up and down to
adjust the heat. We keep it around 95 for the first few days and can tell if they are cold if they huddle and hot if they are in the corners trying to get away from the heat. Then the screen keeps the big girls and boys from climbing in and eating the food and terrorizing the babies. As the babies get larger and warmer we can open the back door with a screen door on it and let some fresh air in.

We've used this system for years and I like it alot. But, the reason I like it the best is because the little babies are in with the big kids. They listen to each other, begin to recognize voices, and start to get acquainted. The transition of putting the babies in with the larger chicks seems to go pretty easy later.

As you can see from this pic, the whole thing fits into one half of the chicken house. The large chicks still have their nice perches for at night and they put up with all the cheaping and the increased heat. There is a flip door on the side of the chicken house so we can keep the large door closed and the heat in. The big girls can come in and out during the day to put eggs in the boxes as part of our "egg program". (Most of them willingly participate in the program. Except Spike and she is a whole 'nother story!)
   The babies arrived in a cardboard box. And Tom, the postman, mentioned that there wasn't that many. Hm...I had ordered 30 chicks. I opened the box and saw little black billed heads...ducks! They were due May 16th!
   Our Cayuga ducks came early. OOOKAAY. I guess we could still use the same set up since the chicks wouldn't come until May. It would be too cold to set up the other area where we usually raise the ducklings and the turkey poults. We noticed two were already dead, but we took the rest home to get them warmed up.

This is the type of box we get our poultry in. We like to work with McMurry Hatchery in Iowa as they are so nice. When we got the babies home, we opened the box carefully and took them out one at a time. The ducks have little bands on their legs that are different colors according to their sex. We had ordered 10 female (ducks) and 2 male (drakes). The bands need to be removed before the ducklings get too large or the legs will be pinched by them.

We carefully removed the bands, and I dipped each bill into the water a couple of times, making sure that they got a good drink each time. This is pretty important for the poultry I think. It helps them find the water, hydrates them after a truly horrible experience, gives them some sustenance since they are just hatched, and calms them down some. We let them all be still for a while and soak up the heat and get their drinks. A small plate of food is available for them also.

I've noticed that the ducklings like to be shown the food. I dribble some onto the newspaper and they chase it like it is bugs. The newspaper keeps them from eating the pine wood shavings we use for bedding. I'll take the newspaper out after a couple of days a piece at a time, getting them used to the new stuff and making sure they aren't eating it.
  We did lose two more later and I got really worried. I called the hatchery and they said they thought the ducklings got too stressed during shipping and assured me we could work out a credit for them. Like I said...they are really nice. The rest of the babies did fine all through the night. I check them every four hours and adjust the light as needed for the first couple of nights. Unfortunately we don't have that automated. It gives me a chance to make sure they are doing okay.
   We usually order for delivery in May so the weather isn't too cold. I'm not sure if the mix up was mine or the hatchery, but the babies are here and doing fine. I did make sure the chicks were coming in May and that will give us plenty of time to get these raised up enough to move them out to another area by then.
   As for the breed, Cayuga ducks are a heritage breed. You can learn more about them at the American Livestock Breed Conservancy website - link at the bottom of the blog page. I love the black ones...they are soooo cute! What about the other two survivors? One is doing great, the other we are still concerned about.

Can you tell which is which? Wish them luck.

The First Day of Planting (outside)

   Wow, two days in one week! Surprise!! Sorry that I can't figure out how to get the new syrup label on here. I cut and pasted and tried different methods...I'll keep trying. It is in my Publisher program - any ideas you design artists? Once again - computer - 1, Kris - 0!
   Yesterday was a whirlwind. I didn't feel like working since it was a typical true blue Monday. The day started out like today, dreary and misty and colder. But, it brightened up later. There was the usual paperwork, errands to the post and the bank, and laundry. I was determined after all that to get my act together and see what could be accomplished. And, that's when spring happened all over again.
   For us, spring begins when syrup does. That is when we see the trees pushing up all that energy to create leaves, drip by drip. And, the birds begin to arrive and hats are a necessity. Then a whole month after all of that, we see spring all over again.
   Now the grass is greening up. I got the picnic tables out...I KNOW - 'they' are still predicting a light snow this weekend, but what do 'they' know. Another sign of spring was on my way to the syrup house to scrub a little on the evaporator. I saw some trilliums unfurling their leaves along the woods trail. That was really a nice surprise. I'll try to get more wildflower pics later when they are really going good.
   The ducks are leaving little piles of eggs in the corners of their house. I hate to take them out and am hoping one of them will set on the eggs and hatch them out. But, I also need to clean the duck house...really! I might just take the nest out and try to replace it again. Sometimes that works and sometimes they get finicky and don't want to use it. We have black Cayuga ducks and they lay dark charcoal colored eggs. Really pretty looking. When I wash the eggs the charcoal color comes off a little and the eggs end up looking spotted. Kinda gross looking, but it isn't poop stuck on them. I like the way they look before the washing.
   Yesterday we also cleaned out the pig stalls in the big barn. They were only used for a few weeks around the time of the blizzard so they didn't have a lot packed down. I pitch forked the nasty stuff (not too smelly) into a wheel barrow and took it out to a pile. Then Marty used the loader tractor to take it to the bigger pile down by the woods that we will turn into compost. I know that all you women are wondering why he got the easy job...brains! Mine. Yep...the wheel barrow has power stearing (me) and the tractor doesn't. And, he still had to scoop it some into the tractor bucket. My brain tells me I actually got the easier job. Besides, it was great exercise and I feel pretty good today. It enabled me to work off my three donuts from the morning.
   Cleaning the barn is a sign of spring for us. Now I just have the sheep stall to finish. They have their "bedroom" in the barn and watched me from the comfort of it. They also asked why I was being "baaad" and not clean theirs too. Maybe today I'll get to some of it. They are in it longer than the pigs so it will be packed down more and harder work. Have to beef up for it.
   Will worked on spraying an organic booster stuff on the wheat and then worked on fixing the sprayer. Another sign of the season...fixing equipment. The sprayer pump broke, the mower had a flat tire, and the loader tractor has an arm on the digger that needs welded today. Our neighbor says..."if you have equipment, you have maintenance". So true. Will is our mechanic and does a good job at all of that type of stuff.
   While Will tilled the new areas in the north field, Marty and I got out the Allis G tractor and the little push seeder and planted. (Sorry I don't have a picture of this method of planting. But I can't take the picture while on the tractor.) Marty drives. I sit on the front of this tiny tractor and hold the seeder in place. YES...this is NOT a good example of farm safety. He isn't going fast and I'm pretty wedged on there. It is WAY faster than walking the seeder and trying to hit a straight line between tire tracks. We got radishes, turnips, beets, and onions planted. The onions we just walked along and dropped onion sets in the row then covered them later. So...the first crops are planted in the field! Yippee!


This is the Allis G tractor.
 I sit on that little triangle on the front.




And this is the seeder that I hold in place.
Tricky and takes talent!