Duck dreams!

A few days ago my daughter ask me what was the biggest breed of duck.We went to the Internet of course and found out that the Aylesbury duck is considered one of the largest breeds along with the Pekin. I found the information from The American Livestock Breed Conservancy,http://albc-usa.org/ This website lists heritage breeds for farm animals that are critical,threatened or on watch status.One of the best things you can do for your farm is decide to raise heritage breeds,call the ALBC , find a breeder and give them a call.Help save these breeds from disappearing!

This is what we found about the Aylesbury duck.  "In the Vale of Aylesbury, forty miles north of London, Buckinhamshire 'duckers' were renowned by 1800 for the production of England's finest white-skinned market ducklings.Ó (Holderread, 68) Aylesbury ducks were held in high esteem not only for their for their white skin and unusual pink bill, but also for their large size, ability to produce eggs in the winter months, fast growth, light bone, and high percentage of mild-flavored meat. (Holderread, 68) This duck breed was one of the first to arrive in United States from Europe. Ayelsburys were exhibited in 1849 at the inaugural poultry show in Boston, Massachusetts and were included in the first publication of American Standard of Perfection published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association. The Aylesbury duck is a superior meat breed with pure white plumage, white skin, (a unique attribute since most ducks have yellow skin) orange feet and legs, dark grayish blue eyes and an unusually long, straight pinkish-white bill. It has a long body, horizontal carriage, and a characteristically straight, deep keel that nearly reaches the ground. The Aylesbury is described as "slow moving, and exceptionally tame.There is a critical need for more conservation breeders of Aylesbury ducks. Their large size, white skin and white plumage make them an excellent market bird and a great addition to any small farmstead or backyard producer's flock.

 When I called the ALBC I was told that there was only one breeder of these ducks in the US.I think they consider a breeding flock one that has 50 birds or more.I was given the name of Frank Reese of the Good Shepard Ranch in Kansas, .http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com/index.html. Mr Reese spent some time talking to me and gave me a lot of information on Aylesbury ducks and poultry in general. I learned that if you want a breed true to standard then buy from a breeder that is raising heritage birds,not from a hatchery as those birds have strayed from the breed standard. Mr. Reese's advice was to join the American Poultry Association,http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/ and if you are serious about raising heritage birds then also subscribe to The Poultry  Press,http://www.poultrypress.com/.Going to the state fair and checking out the poultry is also a good idea. We talked about feed and what should go into it. Mr. Reese blends his own feed for the ducks,chickens,turkeys and geese that he raises. Duck feed should be high in fiber and fat(fish meal is good for the fat).Contacting a commercial bakery and getting their stale remains is great for the birds also as it has vitamins already added to it.I found out that if you have chickens picking on each other then give them tomatoes with salt and the picking would stop(good to know)
 Mr. Reese said the best books on waterfowl to read were the black and white version of The Standards of Perfection,anything by Dr. Marsden(haven't found much info on him yet) Oscar Grow who wrote Modern Waterfowl Management and Dave  Holderreed,http://holderreadfarm.com/ .

 I asked Mr. Reese if he brought new birds in to strengthen his flock or just eggs to hatch. He only brings in eggs to hatch as he has to much to lose if a new bird brought in has a disease or something.One diseased bird can wipe out an entire flock (scary thought),He vaccinates the chicks right after they hatch to prevent this from happening.
 I was told that there was another breeder of Aylesbury ducks in the US and he was actually here in Arkansas. Mr. P. Allen Smith is also a breeder and had bought his large flock from Mr. Reese.I was very excited to hear this! I had just found Mr. Smith on facebook and it seems that everyone I talked to knew who he was.Evidently he is a celebrity,http://www.pallensmith.com/. I am in contact with his farm and hopefully by spring I will be a beginning breeder of Heritage Aylesbury ducks!
 When we started this farm journey I figured we might have a couple of ducks along with the chickens,never dreaming I would fall in love with these funny little birds. We have 3 Muscovy's, 1 Black Swedish and 6 Pekins at the moment,I really need to build a pond!
 
These are our ducks,
 

                      Do you raise ducks or are you thinking about it? What breed tugs at your heart?


Blessed Be!
one innocent question can set your feet on a different path!

Predators

   Day before yesterday I went out to feed and check on our animals like I do every morning,as I got to the ckicks in the grow out pen I noticed one little banty not moving and I realized that something had grabbed her sometime during the night and killed her.I found out two others were missing,one of them being my smallest silkie.I was so mad! I thought they were safe in this pen,that nothing could get into it,never thought of something could pull them out.I suspect a opossum but it could have been a skunk. This was the first time we have had to deal with a predator here on our farm and I am looking for ways to stop them from getting my birds again.

 In our area the main predators are dogs,cats,opossums,raccoons,skunks,hawks,snakes,fox,coyotes, and the occasional wolf or bobcat.I found some great information on predators on Fresh Eggs Daily,she has great articles on chickens and ducks.http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/search/label/predators.
 At the moment I have our chicks,baby turkeys and ducklings in the little shed we are turning into a hen house.I will move them to the old hen house when we are done with this one as they are not quite big enough to go in with the big girls.I think I need to be done with babies for awhile! Hopefully by next spring when we get more I will have better brooder boxes and grow out pens for them.
  Losing animals is part of farm life but it is a little harder when you thought you had done everything you could to keep them safe and something still gets to them,:(



  Blessed Be,

Spring has sprung and Babies abound!

   Well things are trucking along here on the farm. We have had chicks and bunnies born here in the last month! Two sister hens were setting at the same time on about 20 eggs.It was funny to watch them take eggs from each others nests and switch nests often. The problem was they would also take eggs the other hens had laid and add them to the nests. Out of all those eggs they only hatched 2 a piece before walking off the nests.I didn't have an incubator to put the rest in so we lost them all. I made the suggestion to the girls and their friend that they should autopsy the remaining eggs,to my surprise they did! Several were duds,several were not far enough along to hatch anytime soon,and about 4(including 2 duck eggs) had just needed a few more days. The two hens tried to coparent the chicks that had hatched but kept fussing at each other,we found one dead one morning so we took the remaining chicks and put them in a brooder cage.I felt bad for the hens but I really wanted these chicks to survive.Lesson learned is that as soon as you are sure a hen is broody get her in a separate place from the other hens so there will be no other eggs added to the nests.

Our baby bunnies were born around the end of April and Dovie is a really good momma. She had 5,4 black and 1 brown,they sure are fat little bunnies! Zoe thinks we either have 2 girls and 3 boys or the other way around,need to wait a couple of more weeks to be sure.We plan on borrowing a friends Jersey Woolly male to breed Dovie to next,We will then have Jersey Woolly Lops,lol

 The big chicks are doing fine. We took the 6 biggest ones last night and slipped them into the flock,they seem to be doing fine so far. We are down to 3 1/2 silkies. 1 died I think because it was just to small,and one was sat on by Angel who is twice as big as the other chicks her age.The 1/2 comes from one that was supposed to be purebred but is a mix of some kind.

Mixed Silkie,looks like a raven with a Top hat!

Hi!

Blue Splash Silkie

White Silkie

With the addition of all the chicks we will have outgrown our hen house so I plan on remodeling a shed for a bigger hen house.Friends are coming over next week to help with that.I can't wait to get everyone into their new home with an easier feeding and watering system.




Blessed Be!

Raising Miniature Livestock

   When we dreamed about raising our own animals for food I always wanted miniatures. Miniature cows,pigs,goats,sheep and donkeys. Research had shown they would be easier for me and the girls to handle,take up less space and wouldn't require as much grain. We are still deciding on exactly which breed of each we will end up with. As of now we have 1 ranling(painted desert) 1 nubian buckling,2 min. rabbits,an assortment of chickens,2 pekin ducks and as of yesterday 1 pot belly pig.
As I was looking up pot bellied pigs last night I was surprised at the lack of information on raising them for meat. There was a ton of websites extolling their virtues as pets but very few about the meat they could provide a family.I finally found a good website about them and was surprised to see a page about the hate mail they had received. I was even more surprised to find out that several farmers had gone underground or stopped raising these pigs altogether because of the harassment they received from individuals or groups who consider them only as pets.
    Here is a little background info on these pigs from Raising Miniature Livestock.
In 1985,Canadian zoo director Keith Connell traveled to Vietnam and brought back 18 pigs of  the one breed,planning to breed and sell them to other zoos in North America.In 1986 he sold some to American pet breeders and the potbellied craze took off.Pretty soon everyone was raising and selling these pigs as pets thinking they wouldn't get much bigger then when they bought them.Yes, potbellied pigs are smaller than the standard domestic pigs but they can reach up to 200 lbs or more. Here people were house training these little pigs but pretty soon didn't want a 150-200 lb pig in their house. Worse,owners quickly discovered that pigs are smart,strong willed and they live their lives from a pigs point of view.Behaviors like rooting(all the linoleum from the kitchen floor),chewing(interior walls) and nipping to establish a place in the herd(which comprised the humans in their household) upset pig owners very much! Owners who worked through problems with their house pigs loved them,they ones who didn't begin giving them away.Pig sanctuaries sprang up across the country and humane groups became inundated with unwanted pigs,yet promoters breeding more piglets because there were still interested new buyers.
  In Vietnam and Thailand these pigs are raised for meat as are other animals we in America only raise in pet status.We plan on raising potbellied pigs along with American Guinea hogs as livestock to provide meat for our family and friends.
The American Guinea hog  is not a guinea pig nor is it a potbelly pig. The Guinea hog is small, weighing 150-250 pounds and standing about 17 inches as an adult. They are black and often hairy with upright ears, and a curly tail. These hogs are long and lean. They have the appearance of a small bacon hog, although they are classified as a lard hog.  The background of the guinea hog is mysterious. There is some discussion of them having a West African origin with Essex blood mixed in as well. Guinea hogs are unique to America. In the late 1800's to early 1900's, they were a popular breed. These are considered a rare heritage breed and farmers are working on bringing them back into popularity for small homesteads.(http://rudugastsideal.com/)

                                          
   It will be interesting to see what we eventually end up with on our farm and what the journey holds along the way.



 Blessed Be.