The Quack Shack

[Trimurtisan]

Oh my you are diving in the deep end!

Yeah... I'm not very good at just dipping my toe in the water, lol.

So I ended up ordering 6 Ancona (1m/3f/2unsexed), 1 black runner female, 8 fawn and white runners (1m/7f). They should be here on/around June 7th.

​

 

[Trimurtisan]

I was able to meet up with the gentleman who had the 3 pekin ducks to adopt. Unfortunately from our first email till meeting, 1 duck had been killed. I ended up with 1m/1f that are 8 weeks old.

Meeting the 2 older (12 weeks old) pekin went rather well. There has been a bit of establishing dominance, but nothing that looks harmful, mainly just pushing. Within 30 minutes they where all eating fron the same dish, spent all morning foraging together.

Right now they are all playing/bathing in the water.

Our new friends are on the right, with the female in the back. They seem to have been handled much more. When I put the tub in the truck with them, all the neighborhood kids calm running up and petting them and saying bye and they didn't freak out at all. They waddle away from me in general, but I can pick them both up together with no fight. They just take 3-4 steps, stop and wait.

It's been a good morning so far. I've got the sun, some ducks, a garden and good music.
Have a good day folks.

 

[quackiemama]

That is awesome!!!!

 

[Trimurtisan]

Well it's been a busy day here. When I wasn't getting distracted by cuteness, I was hustling in the heat.

One of the projects I've started was simply a duck waste compost pile. I'm keeping it separate from the rest as my other piles are cold compost. I'm impressed with how much bedding just 2 ducks go through. I've been using bokashi with it, and there is little to no smell from it, and it is HOT here. This is actually one of the things I'm most happy about having the ducks. The garden is going to love it!

So on day 2 the ducks popped a hole in the pool. No surprise, it's cheap, but I couldn't find a standard plastic pool. The plan is to dig a pond, but that won't happen for at least a couple of months. So I needed an affordable means for the ducks to swim.

**Upcycle Warning**​

On my way home yesterday, I see a bath tub on the road for trash pick up. I pulled over and asked if it held water and if I could have it. The guy chuckled at me and said good luck. (I don't have much money, but luck I do have) I thanked him, grabbed a dolly and walked it home. It was pretty rough looking...

At first my wife thought I had lost it, which is just any normal day here lol. "That thing is gross" and she was right. With a bit of elbow grease, and a lot of 24v cordless elbow grease, I was able to get it almost brand new looking. I thought about fixing the jacuzzi motor, and selling it for a minute.

This evening I dug a hole that's 5x3x1 to sink it. I still need to plug the drain and jet pipes, but this is the general look/idea.

The tub is 20" high from the ground, so i dug to 12" with the intent of mounding the ground up on one side. Our yard is slightly downhill, and I want the mound on the high side to divert any erosion/runoff around the tub. The depth and mound might change, but that's the direction I'm going with it.

Tomorrow's project is to make a couple watering troughs. We've had a 10' length of 6" pvc sitting here for about 5 years now...
Finally found a good way to use it.

I was thinking about making two 5' troughs vs one 10' piece. It's going to be for ~19 ducks in total when the babies grow up. Any thoughts on 1 vs 2 troughs?

I did a good amount of reading here today also. You guys/gals have some resourceful people. I've really enjoyed it here, already. Thanks!

 

[quackiemama]

That is awesome

 

[Trimurtisan]

That is awesome

Well thank you Quackiemama!

 

[Knighstar679]

Well it's been a busy day here. When I wasn't getting distracted by cuteness, I was hustling in the heat.

One of the projects I've started was simply a duck waste compost pile. I'm keeping it separate from the rest as my other piles are cold compost. I'm impressed with how much bedding just 2 ducks go through. I've been using bokashi with it, and there is little to no smell from it, and it is HOT here. This is actually one of the things I'm most happy about having the ducks. The garden is going to love it!

So on day 2 the ducks popped a hole in the pool. No surprise, it's cheap, but I couldn't find a standard plastic pool. The plan is to dig a pond, but that won't happen for at least a couple of months. So I needed an affordable means for the ducks to swim.

**Upcycle Warning**​

On my way home yesterday, I see a bath tub on the road for trash pick up. I pulled over and asked if it held water and if I could have it. The guy chuckled at me and said good luck. (I don't have much money, but luck I do have) I thanked him, grabbed a dolly and walked it home. It was pretty rough looking...
View attachment 1794642

At first my wife thought I had lost it, which is just any normal day here lol. "That thing is gross" and she was right. With a bit of elbow grease, and a lot of 24v cordless elbow grease, I was able to get it almost brand new looking. I thought about fixing the jacuzzi motor, and selling it for a minute.
View attachment 1794644 View attachment 1794645

This evening I dug a hole that's 5x3x1 to sink it. I still need to plug the drain and jet pipes, but this is the general look/idea.
View attachment 1794646 View attachment 1794651

The tub is 20" high from the ground, so i dug to 12" with the intent of mounding the ground up on one side. Our yard is slightly downhill, and I want the mound on the high side to divert any erosion/runoff around the tub. The depth and mound might change, but that's the direction I'm going with it.

Tomorrow's project is to make a couple watering troughs. We've had a 10' length of 6" pvc sitting here for about 5 years now...
Finally found a good way to use it.
View attachment 1794699

I was thinking about making two 5' troughs vs one 10' piece. It's going to be for ~19 ducks in total when the babies grow up. Any thoughts on 1 vs 2 troughs?

I did a good amount of reading here today also. You guys/gals have some resourceful people. I've really enjoyed it here, already. Thanks!

Typically two water sources is better than one. That way if you have them separated them there is less chances of a duck not being able to drink due to bullying.

 

[DuckyJuiceBox]

Good morning folks of BYC! My name is Trimurtisan, but to keep it easy, just call me Trim.

I did an introduction, but here's some more general information about myself and what's got me going quackers. I am a 36 year old father of eight, although only two of those happen to be human. We also have two cats, two dogs, and as of recently two ducks. I've always loved nature and gardening, but about six years ago I had a string of surgeries that left me with a much different disposition on life. During that time I would go multiple weeks without being able to consume food, had multiple adverse reactions leading to flatlining twice, and essentially being institutionalized from being in the hospital for extended periods of time. If anybody has any questions, feel free to ask, but long story short my physical and mental health today or the best it's been in my entire life. Also, due to my medical past, I no longer work a 9-5. I'm a very happy-to-be, stay home dad

So back to nature and gardening... A few years ago we bought our own house, and I was finally able to have my own garden. I started off with about 50 gallons of soil in 1 raised bed, last year it went to about 200 gallons worth of soil, this year I'm doing about 1/8 of an acre with ~400sqft of trellises. My oldest son (5yrs) also has his own garden and loves to help tend the plants.

For about 6 months I've been researching quail for egg production. I was 100% sure quail was what I wanted to do. It brought back memories of calling or to my neighbors bobwhites I was a kid. Yup, quail is going to change my life. Then I met a sweet old man who hand raised 2 Pekin ducks that he could no longer care for. I went to meet the ducks, and that's all it took. I love about any animal, but starting a homestead is my goal, so we now have ducks.

In all honesty, in a very short period of time in love with them. We have one Drake and one female, they are extremely bonded and will not leave each other site. I'm not 100% sure if they like me but they will eat out of my hand and get within 4-5 feet of me without freaking out. They also seem to prefer to forage near me vs farther away.

This had lead to a massive amount of research while sitting in the garden just watching them play/eat/swim/sleep. It's also led to a decision change of how we are going for our egg production. I can't kill an animal I love, and it's inevitable that I would fall in love with any ducks that I have so meat is out of the question. Integrated Pest Management, eggs, another source of compost, and just the general entertainment though, really make this seem like the correct route for our family to go.

It's time to take my son to school. It's his last day and he's excited to go. I'll stop in and leave some more details of the plan. It involves ordering 15 more babies this evening. I'l likely have some questions od advice also. I've been reading alot here, some pretty awesome people who love their animals.

Till later, take care.
Trim

If you still want to do quail @Jpat is doing quail and can give you pointers.

 

[Jpat]

If you still want to do quail @Jpat is doing quail and can give you pointers.

Quails are great. Chicken of the basement

Easiest birds to take care of

 

[DuckyJuiceBox]

Well... We are all duck lovers here so you can ask us anything.