Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
You don't actually need a pond at all for ducks......a babybath, emptied daily is all they need....what you do need is fox-proof housing.Stobart Spotter said:
*Shirl's Poultry thread
- Thread starter Shirl
- Start date
Shouldn't Zandra be pink?Shirl said:
They are lovely. I adore chickens, ducks and geese. They are so funny and they mow the lawn (well, ducks and geese do) and provide you with breakfast as well. When I was 9 we had 4 chickens, 2 ducks and 2 geese. And 18 guinea pigs. And a dog and a cat. If/when I one day have a garden big enough I will certainly have chickens, ducks and geese again.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
I once 'babysat' a gander called White Honky...fearsome beast. Very good for keeping a lawn short (they graze) and would attack anyone that approached the premises.....
God I have just been thinking about getting a duck - I love having other living creatures around me but am fiercely allergic to anything furry - took a few trips to hospital to convince me that having 9 cats was not a good idea!! I've got canaries, but would LOVE a fat duck or chicken to waddle around.........and keep my grass cut!! I have a small pond too, although it is full of fish.....does anyone know enough about keeping ducks to advise me on whether it's a good idea or not? I live in town and don't have acres of farmland so I don't want to keep anything here that is going to go suffer from lack of space or anything........... 
Freedom 2 Ducks
Mrs M, why would anyone want to subject ducks to living with/in
a babybath, i love ducks & have since a child wished i could have a few myself, have a huge garden, albeit a dessert at the mo, but a babybath????? don't u think this is a bit cruel. IMHO they love to swim, eat, fly. tell me i am wrong..................................please
Mrs Magpie said:
Mrs M, why would anyone want to subject ducks to living with/in
a babybath, i love ducks & have since a child wished i could have a few myself, have a huge garden, albeit a dessert at the mo, but a babybath????? don't u think this is a bit cruel. IMHO they love to swim, eat, fly. tell me i am wrong..................................please
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
You are wrong, really. A pond gets contaminated quickly with duck shit unless it's huge and has a well balanced eco-system. Ducks need clean fresh water to drink and preen in. Hens like a dust bath to preen in. Ducks spend a lot of time in the water to a) evade predators and b) to feed. You are feeding them and protecting them from predators....voila! Happy ducks!
<rushes out to buy a baby bath and some ducks for Hamster Mansions> 
Funky_monks
Neo-Rustic
Wolfie said:haven't they grown!
Is that the sound of knives sharpening I hear?.................
WE HAVE AN EGG!!!! the only thing is though, it has no shell, just a thick sort of membrane holding it together. I'm very proud of it as it's our first but i would really prefer our eggs to have a shell. We feed Zandra and Vivienne on layers pellets, where have we gone wrong or is it just that this is the first attempt?
Funky_monks
Neo-Rustic
I don't think its much to worry about unless it starts to happen often. The first eggs chickens lay can often be slightly odd. If it dosent sort itself out soon, check that they are getting enough calcuim. You could try adding ground bits of seashells or eggshells in their feed. Which, by the way is a great way to get rid of eggshells, just wash em, grind em and feed em back to the chickens!
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
Shirl said:WE HAVE AN EGG!!!! the only thing is though, it has no shell, just a thick sort of membrane holding it together. I'm very proud of it as it's our first but i would really prefer our eggs to have a shell. We feed Zandra and Vivienne on layers pellets, where have we gone wrong or is it just that this is the first attempt?
Have you got some grit for them? I used to have a bowl of grit for my hens.
Funky_monks
Neo-Rustic
pinkmonkey said:
Grit is stored in the crop and used for breaking down food items and not for eggshell making as far as I know.
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
Is it? I didn't know, but my hens never had wobbly eggs either.Funky_monks said:
Funky_monks
Neo-Rustic
Shirl said:I read that grit was to aid digestion. As I feed layers pellets I would have thought they would have everything layers needed, otherwise why are they called that?
They generally do. But every hen is different. Like I said, I wouldnt worry till this has occured a few times in a row. Hens do lay shell-less eggs sometimes, especially when they are new layers. Also, when they get old, towards the end of their laying life they will start to lay misshapen eggs more frequently. This is a good indicator that its time to put them in the pot.
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Don't Panic!
a) You need to add ground oyster shell to their food....
b)The hot weather will have contributed to this...
c) It's very easily sorted....
hang on, I'll find a link
a) You need to add ground oyster shell to their food....
b)The hot weather will have contributed to this...
c) It's very easily sorted....
hang on, I'll find a link
Mrs Magpie
On a bit of break...
Well, this is OK and explains it quite well....forget about the feed they recommend, your hens get moved around in their pen and are able to scratch for all sorts....I always fed my hens grain (for lovely golden yolks) plus scraps and they were the freest range birds our vet had ever seen (maximum of 8 birds to just under an acre) so they got insects, seeds, chickweed etc etc. I always gave them Oyster shell too though.
http://msucares.com/poultry/feeds/poultry_thin_shells.html
http://msucares.com/poultry/feeds/poultry_thin_shells.html
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
Mrs Magpie said:
I used to feed my hens grain too. I had 8, and they had access to half an acre meadow (through a hole in our fence) where my mums mate kept her horse. So they were a bit spoilt really.
