The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Yes we do have a rubber mat on the bottom so lifting everything out should be fine.

Very glad to see such little ducklings doing well in a natural environment. Hopefully the weather here really will turn warmer again and we'll be able to do the same. We had a period of 25-30 C in mid April and right now we're just hoping to avoid below-freezing overnight (with mixed results).

20° (68F) is a sufficient temperature for duxling when it is dry and sunny outside. As said, i had more issues with panting ducklings than with shivering ones. Just observe them, when they are running around, exploring everything its perfect. When they are huddling , even piling up together to sleep that's fine. They will tell you loudly when they feel cold and they will start to pant when it is too warm.

 

[Supercow]

20° (68F) is a sufficient temperature for duxling when it is dry and sunny outside. As said, i had more issues with panting ducklings than with shivering ones. Just observe them, when they are running around, exploring everything its perfect. When they are huddling , even piling up together to sleep that's fine. They will tell you loudly when they feel cold and they will start to pant when it is too warm.

OK, this is great info, thank you!

We do have a wood-and-mesh box somewhere, hopefully in a usable state, that our late guinea pig used to graze in. This would be perfect.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My new compost sifter turns out to be of great use. Here it is in use, mounted on my wheelbarrow:

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And here is the finished product, dux-improved potting soil:

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One small improvement will be attaching furring-strips to the straight sides of the chute to improve the grip.

 

[Supercow]

Ducks looking on in shock out of focus as hedgehogs raid their food -

 

[Supercow]

My new compost sifter turns out to be of great use. Here it is in use, mounted on my wheelbarrow:

​

And here is the finished product, dux-improved potting soil:

​

One small improvement will be attaching furring-strips to the straight sides of the chute to improve the grip.

This is great looking soil...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

This is great looking soil...

This is seriously the best soil i have ever used in my whole life. The mixture of straw, wood-chips and duck-poop, garnished with some kitchen scraps makes such a good soil. It holds moisture but does not clump or become soggy. And when drying out again it does not turn into concrete but becomes crumbly again.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Ducks looking on in shock out of focus as hedgehogs raid their food -

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Same faces here, when a momma opossum comes out of the woods and raids their treat-bowl!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducks looking on in shock out of focus as hedgehogs raid their food -

View attachment 3810566

You have wild hedgehogs and people here buy them.

 

[Supercow]

You have wild hedgehogs and people here buy them.

Well, that's a bittersweet story... Yes, there are wild hedgehogs around. But we also imported some from another location.

We used to live on the outskirts of a city where there is a wooded hill nearby but also lots of roads and concrete. Our particular house was basically surrounded by cars permanently. Nevertheless one day we woke up to find a momma hedgehog with 6 young in our (very) small garden.

Since at that time we were already quite far in developing the property we live at today, we naturally decided that taking them to the countryside was the best and safest way to proceed.

Once here, instead of enjoying the orchards and meadows, the hedgehogs proceeded to find the one and only road in the neighborhood (probably because of warmth?) and almost the entire family was run over in a single night.

But one or two survived. This was I think about 7 years ago. And today we seem to have a happy colony of city-countryside mixed marriage hedgehogs.

 

[Supercow]

I can hear peeping from the incubator now, and it doesn't sound like just one duckling either. Small soft sounds like a mouse would make. Day 27.