Thursday, June 15, 2006
Babies babies everywhere!
We went to an animal swap meet earlier this month for a couple days. We sold Froot-Loop (our ferret) the first day which was very nice. I think he went to a good home, too. We also came home with over 100 birds: Guineas, chicks, ducklings and Muscovies.
I wanted to get some Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell ducklings, but no one there had any. So I had to settle with more Black & Blue Swedish and some Cayugas (I wanted some of these anyway) and a couple Crested. All the hatcheries around here sell ducklings for over $3 each . . . one wanted $3.45 each for the Indian Runners, Khakis, and Swedish and $3.65 each for the Cayugas, Crested and other 'exotic' ducklings. I got all my Swedish, Cayugas & Crested at the swap meet for $2 ea! And haven't lost one! (Yet, of course. When you're talking about little guys like this, anything unfortunate can happen.) Speaking of ducklings, we've got 2 duck hens sitting right now, and they should be hatching out soon!
I also got some Muscovy ducklings while we were there . . . 12 of them for $2 each, and 11 others for $1 each. I got a good mix of colors, too - black with white, blue with white, brown (cinnamon) with white and light brown (fawn) and white. It will be so fun to watch these little guys grow up!
Although I paid $2 for each of the guineas, I re-sold 8 of them for $3 each! So now the 16 I have left really only 'cost' me $1 each. That's one of the great things about going to the swap meets (and why they were called 'swap meets' in the first place!) . . . you can do this sort of thing! Along with the $1 Muskovy ducklings I also bought 3 'older' ducklings (Swedish) for $1 each and re-sold one of them for $3.
Of the over 100 birds I brought home, 80 of them were chicks. I got a couple kinds this year, and didn't pay more then 50 cents each for any of them! (They're over $2 each at the hatcheries.) I actually got 15 Silver Laced Wyandottes and 15 Dominiques for 12 cents each! That's a real WOW because both of these are considered 'exotic' breeds and are sold for $3 each (and up!) at hatcheries. The ones I got for 50 cents each are mostly Barred Rocks and Silver Laced Wyandottes, with a couple Cinnamon Queens, Sil-Go-Links and Aracaunas. Son 4 also got himself a chicken while we were there. It's a bantam pullet of some unknown breed and is probably close to full grown. (Bantams are what you'd call 'miniature' chickens.) I also bought a 2 yr. old hen (a Blue Cochin) from my sister. She said the hen likes to go broody, which is what I wanted and why I bought her. (Besides the fact I like Cochins a whole lot!) I don't like to incubate eggs unless I have to - I'd rather have a broody hen do it - they can raise the chicks, then too, which saves me having to do it. I do have a broody Barred Rock hen right now - when we got back this weekend, she was sitting on 6 eggs. (Ducks can be good setters and moms, too - but Guineas . . . that's another matter . . . they definately do better in the incubator.)
So far we've only lost 5 baby chicks. (Out of 80 that's quite good.) I really couldn't believe this little Silver Laced Wyandotte chick. I had it in the house for 3 days, and knew from the first that it wouldn't last. After the second day I found it laying belly-up in it's box with it's head in the water. I picked it up and it was still - dead, and not a surprise, I thought. So I wrapped it in toilet paper and put it in the trash. A couple hours later, the boys said they heard chirping noises from the trash . . . they took it out and it was NOT dead! So we put it back in the box and it managed to keep me up one more night with it's chirping before it died. It would've been great if we could've saved the little thing - call it 'Miracle' or something - but it's really no surprise it didn't make it. The only surprise was how long it stuck it out - it sure did have a will to live!!! Definately a case of 'the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak'!
The hens I have now are pretty much all Barred Rocks, and this is their second year, which means their egg production will be falling off from here on out. I really need to get some bands and a banding clamp at the feed store so I can band some legs of my birds. You know, maybe a different color for different years the birds were gotten/hatched. That way I'll always know how old any certain bird always is. (Also to mark the ones that go broody - I don't mind keeping them as they get older.) I also have some Aracauna types that are probably mostly around 4 yrs. old . . . they really need to go - I'm sure that at this point they lay so few eggs that they're probably not worth the feed they get!
My favorite chickens are (in no particular order) Silver Laced Wyandottes, Partridge Cochins and Light Brahmas. I really would have liked to get some Cochins or Light Brahmas this spring, but I didn't find any in my price range at the swap meet. -sigh- Oh well - there's always next year!
Next year I'd also like to get some 'different' chickens too - like some Cuckoo Marans or Welsummers . . . these two breeds lay wonderfully dark eggs. The Marans' eggs can get so dark they're called 'chocolate', and the Welsummer's eggs get dark like terra cotta. Wow! I'm really not sure which breed I'd go with. Unfortunately, the Cuckoo Marans look a lot like the Barred Rocks and Dominiques - but they are large and are considered a meat bird. Considering they're not prolific layers, maybe that should be the way to go. The Welsummer is a prettier bird, and is the kind that was on the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box - the 'classic' barnyard chicken. But with their large comb (freezes easier in a harsh winter) and their smaller size (than the Marans) they may not be what I should ideally get. Oh well, I've got a year to decide!
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Comments
Friday, June 16, 2006
Babies
Posted by mommyof5
I so want baby ducks!!!! We have aracanas buff orphingtons production reds and barred rock.... This is our first year getting eggs so we get plenty. I am interested in checking into the "chocolate" eggs sounds neat.... enjoy!!
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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Hi
Posted by missAnonymous
i added you as one of my friends but i don't know if you want to add me so yeah...
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Friday, January 19, 2007
birds
Posted by lilie
I am sorry about the chick.How many birds do you have?Do you have them for meat,eggs,or just pets?
I can not belive you bought your chicks soo cheap.The cheapest place we can buy our chicks is from a hatchery.And they are still cost alot!We have seven chickens,one dove,and one peacock I posted a picture of him on my blog.We did have five Malard ducks but all of them died but two but they flew away.I am going to buy some more this spring.
Lilie
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Friday, June 15, 2007
An intro hello
Posted by reelmomof4
I was clicking around and landed here. I really enjoyed reading your posts. I would love chickens and I have tons of questions about needs/care for them. How about ducks too. Do you have any books you recommend for reading to get me started. We do not have a pond, but would be willing to do some interesting things to keep ducks. Anyway, come on over some time and see me. Tammy
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Cute!
Posted by nabi
This is such a cute picture!!!
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Sunday, July 15, 2007
So cute!
Posted by flowersinourgarden
Those ducks are adorable! My parents raised chickens for a while(among other things) and when we went to visit, my girls LOVED to see the babies :)
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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Untitled Comment
Posted by stampalot
Oh I love your photo of the babies! My kids and I want to keep some chickens...maybe I can learn from your posts!
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Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wow
Posted by steffanie
Those are great prices, I am going to have to see if we have some kind of swap like that around here. We have 3 Rouens and chicks right now. I really want Welsummers, I ordered some but they didn't hatch I guess, maybe this fall.
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Untitled Comment
Posted by Dracula95
Hi! I like your blog! Wanna be friends? I hope you don't mind, but I added you to my friends list just so I don't forget your name.
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Saturday, March 21, 2009
Untitled Comment
Posted by LydiaNJoy
Soooo cute!<3
