Tag Archives: ducks

Duck – Duck – Goose Feb 2018

Last month we hatched five Pekin ducks and one Embden gosling.  The baby goose had splayed legs, which we tied together at the knees.  That seems to correct the problem in about 5 days.  She is fine now.

The 6 friends went to live in the Pigeon Coop in the Blue Hen Henyard.  In about two weeks they had outgrown the Coop and went to live outside, still in the Henyard.  The ducks feathered out first and the the goose is feathering out now after about 6 weeks.

Ducks and geese do best when allowed to free range. They travel around together in a pack, and are quite fun to watch roam the farm.  Geese make great watchdogs, and will let you know when anything is about.

They should be returned to the safety of a penned yard in the evening to protect against possum and other predators.  They can be easily trained to return to the pen with a little supplemental grain.  We give them high protein Chick Starter (16%) because of their large bone structure.

In the Hatchery this month we had three more geese hatch. They are so cute when first born. They won’t be small for long.   Contact us at Bent Pine Farm if you would like a goose for your yard…or if you would like to just come for a visit!

Email  or Text  727-481-2012

Happy Homesteading,

T.

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Duck Pond – Second Rebuild Aug 2017

The duck pond has been filling in for a couple of years now. When the depth got to about 4″ (even the call ducks were only ankle deep!) we decided to rebuild it again. The water had been leaking off to the low South side periodically. It was impractical to try to keep grass or other plants growing on the bankings, as the ducks found everything very tasty.

Drained the pond and dug out the muck. The “duck-muck” was a good addition to the old strawberry beds, which now are planted with cow peas. Right now there are two rows of concrete blocks with the water height up to the second row. It’s still a work in progress.

The geese are not laying right now so they are socializing nicely with the ducks. The geese, who had been restricted from visiting the pond area are enjoying the new pond. It’s still a work in progress and needs to be a bit deeper. We will put fencing up at each end of the cement blocks so that we can plant behind the blocks.

Happy Homesteading,
T.