Monday, May 7, 2012

no eggs yet

  On Saturday I learned that my coop would be delivered! (I got tired of waiting for me to finish  my never ending chicken coop) So I looked to see what chickens were available on ksl- a pretty much daily activity for me. There weren't any that I was interested in that day, but.....

There were 3 female Khaki Campbells available in my town for a reasonable price (these are a sought afer breed so they are usualy pricey). The listing was from two days previous, but I  decided to see if they were still available anyways. They were. So on a whim I went with my roommate and picked them up. Three females, one month old. They were scared and noisy that first day. They are fully feathered on chest and bellies, but the tops of their heads and backs still have baby fuzz.  Went to the closest IFA store and got some emergency supplies and the ducks are still alive 3 days later so things are going well!

 I have learned that they love spinach, especially in their water bowl.If they escape their pen, I can get them back by putting stuff in their water bowl.  They like to swim in their water bowl. They like oatmeal, but not polenta. They like green letuce better then red. They like the tenderer leaves of dandilions better then old ones. They like to eat dandilion seeds (fortunately my yard is full of those). They LOVE bugs. Fortunately they have gotten less noisy as time goes by, with only letting out one or two honks in the morning when they let themselves out of their box ( at 6:30 am!) or if the cats come around. They are really fun to watch, and make cute little whistling noises.
As they aren't yet full grown, I'm going to wait a couple weeks to get chickens (I'm planning on getting full grown, already laying hens) so the ducks are settled in and the chickens won't beat them up.  So until then no eggs. I'll start getting duck eggs in August when they are about 20 weeks old.... I'm very excited.

I've also decided to build a duck hut as they don't like going in the little box at night, hopefully this project won't get bogged down! I plan on painting it red to match the chicken coop and making it a simple box shape....

Did I mention how cute and fun my ducklings are? I'm going to have a hard time naming them....

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

A chicken coop and ducks ... Sounds like heaven to me!

I'm so envious of you!

I'm a wannabe farmer/zoo keeper/mountain man/forest ranger ... lol

Anyway, it sounds like you're having a lot of fun with your growing menagerie. :)

Gage said...

I've got the perfect names: Duck 1, Duck 2, Duck 3. or Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Now you just have to train them to fertilize your flowers.

Jamie Pearson said...

Kades going to love them when we come. he might be jealous that he cant play in the cool though.

Smart Helm said...

So awesome.. I'm glad they aren't so noisy so you don't have to return them :)

Bethanie said...

You got them! Are you going to have room for both ducks and chicks? And what do duck eggs taste like?

txparkinsons said...

i can't believe it... you did it! yea!

elinor, marianne, margaret

WARNERS said...

Wow Emily! So ambitions! You should ask your nieces and nephews help you name them - kids always come up with the best names. Maybe you could post pictures of each of them and take suggestions!

There's always Mack, Nack, Ouack Pack, and Quack (from Make Way for Ducklings).

I'm excited to see your farm!

helmhq said...

I was sure I commented on your blog, but now I don't see it. I don't think computers like me!

Can't wait to see them in person. Thanks for the skype. They are cute and sound Springish.