Fois and Gras were acting funny this week -- they were sitting a lot, and very wobbly on their feet.
Turns out they were simply overeating. Guineas do well with "free-choice", goslings do not. They were stuffing themselves, and I was feeding them like they knew better.
Now that I feed them a measured amount every day, they are running around and interact much better. They have Brittish accents, by the way.
On the guinea front, YT has been booted to near bottom. I saw Buckwheat and Psitsa beating the crap out of him today -- feathers pulled, a bit of blood... But, it took two of them to take on the one, so it's not so bad. And, he's not the bottom -- that honour is with Mambo.
2005/04/30
2005/04/24
666 mail messages
I had 666 new messages in my mailbox, I kid you not.
And, unfortunately, moments before, Lily the pekin died. She seems to have swallowed too big a piece of greens and choked. I usually cut them into little pieces, but for some reason I just tossed whole pieces into the water. Bad parenting.
The 6 moscovies are now outside. It's a week early to send them out, but due to a bit of fighting and biting amongst themselves, it seemed best to give them more space. We've named one of the black ones Hannibal after this incident.
Two of the moscovies appear to be female, based on their smaller size. The male moscovy is quite large compared to the female when full grown. Now is when their differences begin showing.
There is a nice little fence around the duck yard to keep them from wandering; predictably, the guineas are a bit confused by it. It doesn't occur to them to fly over the three foot fence -- they run back and forth trying to get inside. I built a few steps/structures that might help give them a clue.
And, unfortunately, moments before, Lily the pekin died. She seems to have swallowed too big a piece of greens and choked. I usually cut them into little pieces, but for some reason I just tossed whole pieces into the water. Bad parenting.
The 6 moscovies are now outside. It's a week early to send them out, but due to a bit of fighting and biting amongst themselves, it seemed best to give them more space. We've named one of the black ones Hannibal after this incident.
Two of the moscovies appear to be female, based on their smaller size. The male moscovy is quite large compared to the female when full grown. Now is when their differences begin showing.
There is a nice little fence around the duck yard to keep them from wandering; predictably, the guineas are a bit confused by it. It doesn't occur to them to fly over the three foot fence -- they run back and forth trying to get inside. I built a few steps/structures that might help give them a clue.
2005/04/17
losses and gains
Lost another jumbo last week, a male again. No evidence of any kind that I could find that explains it. No pile of feathers, no body, nothing.
To balance out the loss, there was some gain. First is two female Embden Geese named Fois and Gras.
Second is a single male African Gander named Pate.
Due to a mixup with the order, John Metzer of Metzer Farms where I purchased these birds threw in a female Pekin Duck named Lily.
John Metzer made no money on my purchase because I had a $25 gift certificate donated by John himself to the Guinea Fowl Breeder's Association where I won the certificate in a drawing. You bet I'll be making all my future purchases from Metzer Farms. Great businessman, and nice guy to boot.
To balance out the loss, there was some gain. First is two female Embden Geese named Fois and Gras.
Second is a single male African Gander named Pate.
Due to a mixup with the order, John Metzer of Metzer Farms where I purchased these birds threw in a female Pekin Duck named Lily.
John Metzer made no money on my purchase because I had a $25 gift certificate donated by John himself to the Guinea Fowl Breeder's Association where I won the certificate in a drawing. You bet I'll be making all my future purchases from Metzer Farms. Great businessman, and nice guy to boot.
2005/04/03
I couldn't help myself
These are Muscovy ducks, at one week of age. Got them today.
And yesterday I picked up a Rouen (another type of duck) whose owner is moving (presumably where she can't keep the duck).
A bit of duck drama ensued when the Pekin (now named Princess Snowball) and Rouen ("Frenchy"?) met. But a day later and they are almost sleeping up against each other.
When picking up the Muscovys today, Kerrie and I had a bit of a scare and laugh. We stopped briefly at Robert's place, leaving the ducks in a box in the car. We came back out and there were only two in the box! Apparently Muscovys are good climbers (they normally nest in trees, so this is a useful skill).
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