Another duck update

ducks going on their own

Our creek flooded and turned the duck pasture into a big lake.


We thought they were gone for good when they decided to stop sleeping in the coop.


They showed up a few days later, but still wouldn’t go in the coop.


Today I was able to lure them back to the front door of the coop with some feed. The plan is to keep luring them back with the hope that they’ll decide to sleep in the coop tonight.

We miss our duck eggs.

Win a free EZ Miser and free ebooks for everybody

Chicken freebiesSpring is chicken season, and to celebrate, I’ve got some free and cheap goodies for our readers to enjoy. First, Pasture Basics is free on Amazon today. The book is full of everything I’ve learned about rotational chicken pasturing over the last few years and should help prevent the smelly, brown chicken runs I often see on others’ farms.

 

The second book, Thrifty Chicken Breeds, is marked down to 99 cents today. This companion ebook picks up where Pasture Basics leaves off and helps you choose the right type of chicken to put on your new pasture.

 

Clean and happy ducks

Snowy ducks
“Ducks don’t like change…any sudden change can stop a duck’s production…sudden food change, really anything! Even something like not getting as much water as they are used to. If you don’t have a bucket in your coop they can dunk their heads in, that would be stressful to them also… That’s where chickens have an advantage.. much more resilient to changes.” — angie silvera

 


After reading Angie’s comment on Mark’s lament about our ducks’ lack of eggs, I immediately filled up a bucket with water to treat our flock. Angie was totally right — our waterfowl had been cooped up indoors with no way to clean their feathers for weeks, and if they felt as dingy as they looked, chances were they needed the pick-me-up.


But our flock had other things on their minds. Like the raging snow-melt-filled creek that was finally sufficient to tempt them out across the snow. Clean and happy, our ducks finally gave us the first egg in weeks. Here’s hoping they soon return to the four eggs a day we’d been enjoying pre-snow!