Follow Along While I Raise Endangered Breeds

[RossAcres]

Hello everyone! I have been slacking when it comes to posting on here. Life has just been ridiculously busy lately. I had to run a 5 day poultry show at the county fair. Now I'm back to a somewhat normal schedule again.
But now for exciting news! I have acquired 2 new duck breeds! The reason I have them is because a lady I know had a medical emergency and had to get rid of her whole flock. I took in what I had space for.
The first one is the Buff Duck (Orpington Duck). I saw the pictures and knew I had to have them. I got a blue head male and two buff females. They are beautiful and so much fun to watch. They are the biggest ducks I have ever owned, so this will come with a learning curve. They are listed under "watch" by the Livestock Conservancy. Watch means that there are less than 10,000 worldwide and less than 5,000 breeding birds in the US.

The second breed are Dutch Hookbills! They are extremely rare here in the US. They are listed as "critical" by the Livestock Conservancy. This means that there are fewer than 200 registered birds in the US and less than 500 globally. I'm not sure how I am supposed to register or let the Livestock Conservancy know how many I have, but I'll figure it out. I initially wasn't going to get them, but the person that was going to get them backed out. So now I have 8! It's a mixed flock but the male to female ratio is good for now. Two of the birds are babies, so I have them seperated for now.

Note: Hookbills come in three different hook types - Extreme, Moderate, and straight. These hookbills are slightly straight, so I will be breeding them to restore a moderate or extreme curve.

 

[RossAcres]

So I wanted to post this update seperate from the initial post.
I brought them to my property and realized that the fence I put up for them is not going to work. I realized this when I put the first Buff in the pen and she ran straight through the fence
I luckily was able to grab her and place her back in the transport crate. It was hot, so I had to keep them in my truck with the AC blasting. I was in a rush because I had to go pick up the rest of my birds from the fair. I scurried around fueled by anxiety, trying to figure out how I could keep them secured in the pen. I ended up using a baby gate to keep them in their coop. That way they could be outside, but couldn't go in their run. But the problem then became "how do I keep the hookbills in?" I couldn't figure anything out that would work, so I decided to bring them back to my house so they could be in the AC and I could go pick up the rest of my birds.
I ended up spending $200 I didn't have on new fencing. I know that's not a lot of money for most when it comes to fencing, but it is to me. Some of the cost was for things needed to build a fence, like a fence pounder thing, which I won't have to buy again. But it was a pain having an unexpected expense.
Today, after work, I will be building the new fence for the birds so that they can be where they are supposed to be. Luckily it is very mild here today, only in the low 80s. I'm hoping what I bought will work. I had the hookbills in a 30" tall wire play pen type thing all week at the fair and they never once got out. I bought 3' tall wire to make their run. Hopefully it keeps them in. I also have an electric fence around the perimeter for added safety.
The 3' fence will definitely work for the buffs, since they can't fly. They just waddle around all cute.
One other thing that I need to buy is a drill-operated water pump. I don't have any water at my property, so I have to haul a 140 gallon water bladder in the bed of my truck. I use a hose connected to the bladder to refill pools. But gravity can only do so much. Eventually the water level gets to a point where the water varely comes out. So once I get this drill pump, I should be able to refill pools faster.

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like a fun project, very pretty birds, I look forward to hearing your adventures with this!

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

Such wonderful birds!

 

[SilverBirds]

Very nice! I will be following (lurking) along!

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

Very nice! I will be following (lurking) along!

This is probably the most threatening way to tell someone you'll be following their post

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Definitely stalking this for the hookbills

 

[The Coop Crew]

Following along!

 

[N F C]

Beautiful ducks! Keep us posted on how they are doing for you.

 

[The Moonshiner]

This is probably the most threatening way to tell someone you'll be following their post

Really, doesn't seem threatening in the least.

Definitely stalking this for the hookbills

Now this one on the other hand.....