+1 Farm Status

I waddled one step closer to farm status Today with the purchase of 3 ducklings.  I had been kicking the idea around for quite awhile now and Today finally just drove over and picked some up.  I like the idea of being out in the yard working in a bed, harvesting, whatever and having animals around me.  Rumor has it ducks aren't as destructive as chickens, don't scratch as much.  They also allegedly attach to people more easily and are more pet-like.

I don't know the gender of them, apparently it's not easy to sex ducklings like you can chickens.  There is a 60% chance I'll end up with males which at first was a negative as I had hoped to have a couple duck eggs each day but after learning that duck eggs are too rich for frying and scrambling I didn't care as much.

Start with a clear space

I'm going to setup a run for them against the West wall and will post progress as I work on that.  I didn't want to purchase a cage or pen for these ducks, I'd much rather throw something together from scraps and extra materials.  The design I went with is very simply so I won't mind trashing it when I'm all done.

For now they are living in the potting shed, warm and cozy.  They will spend another month or so indoors until they are too large to be prey for hawks.  I'll also try to pick them up each day and make them used to me so we're all buddies.  Chui needs to get used to them as well which I'm told is accomplished through daily interaction.

Add stolen cardboard from work to insulate from the floor

Create small frame from scrap wood to contain the
shavings (somewhat) and also provide a base for the wire
mesh walls.

Bend some 4"x1" construction mesh to tightly fit within
the inside of the frame.  Careful, this junk is sharp!
I also trimmed it down in height to 2' so I can easily
reach them

Newspaper to facilitate easy removal of the wood shavings
It's not an accident that the paper fits like that, a little
forethought can make repetitious tasks easier to deal with

Sawdust for the poops (which are plentiful!) laid on top of
the newsprint.  When the sawdust is soiled I will roll it all
up and throw in the compost pile

Water - interesting... turns out it's not a good idea to give
them a big ol' bowl of water because they will play with it,
poop in it and general soil it so fast that you need to change
it every hour.  Instead the water dispenser is placed in a
house plant dish to capture the splashing.

Add ducks and you are all done