So...about the same age as mine (going on 3). Maybe they'll start laying again soon. We processed all our old chickens, and are eating duck eggs we froze last summer, and our new chickens should start laying in another month and a half, but I really miss the duck eggs.
I thought about that, but nothing when I stuck my hand in, or when the sheep drank from it.
And I've never seen any of them come even close to getting their feet stuck in the ramp mesh.
It's just weird, and it's been pretty much all winter, and if I put their food bowl near to it, they don't...
I have no answer on the coons, but I'm very interested in your dog desensitization program. We have a six month old puppy who completely ignored the ducks for the first several months we had her, but now is starting to think about chasing them. This is a "companion" dog. The LGD does a...
Last year, our duck's first year, they loved their tank. They swam and dunked in it all day long, deep into the winter (down to about 15F, in fact). We had a de-icer on it, and I had to put a board over the top to keep them from going in, but they still dunked their heads in it. But this...
My 8 Swedish hens did lay all winter their first year (except for two weeks when temps were below zero), but this year, they stopped the end of November and haven't laid an egg since. I'm hoping they start again sometime in the not terribly distant future.....
When it gets well below freezing, I shut the north window of the duck house, which is usually open for a cross-breeze. The front (south) side is completely open (covered with cattle panel and chicken wire), but they're out of the wind. Usually they have wood chips, but when it gets super-cold...
I can't wait! I have 15 hens who are all about 1 1/2 years old, and they seem to be close to finished molting. Lots of food going into those non-laying hens, and we miss the eggs! We've been getting 0, 1, or 2 eggs/day all through January so far. Last winter they only stopped for a couple...
I do a deep bedding too--add a thin layer of shavings a couple times a week. In the super frigid cold, though, I put old hay in there, to give them something to nestle into, though they do end up flattening it eventually (and yes, pooping on it).
I gave a lot of duck eggs to folks, who were amazed by them. And then word got around, and I had several people seek me out to buy them. (And then the ducks stopped laying....)