Ducks, fireworks, fowl news, holiday plans

Late night Mama and I looked on Craigslist to see if there were ducks available nearby. That was a successful search, in fact, we made several contacts very close by and now have to decide between buying adult ducks, nearly adult ducks or adding to our collection of ducking chicks. If we decide to get ducks that are already laying, or those several months old, I will have to finish the enclosure this weekend for sure. If we get the more chicks, I will have a few more days to get all the work done. Either way, I am good to keep going on the final phase of construction of the enclosure. But with the increased urgency, I will have to buy more materials to have the pen ready within the next couple days. That is not a hinderance, it is simply an expensive hurdle.

Day three updates

Personally, I am leaning toward getting the nearly grown ducks. That would give us time to acclimate them to us and the farm before they start laying. Being several months old will also allow us to tell the sex of the birds so we can meet our goal of having six hens and two drakes. Mama has even been able to track down the variety of ducks she wants to have based on posts about their laying prowess and their gently nature. She is looking specifically at the Campbell duck breed for the above reasons, and we may have a line on several ready for purchase that are multiple weeks old. That would probably be the best way for us to get started. Meanwhile, Wick and Waddle are doing very well but they will not be ready to live in the duck enclosure for another several weeks. Besides, Mama will need more time with them to calm them down if that is even possible.

As for the peafowl, I believe Mama and I have tentatively decided to forego getting the larger birds for now. When, or if we decide to get the birds in the future, we have several contacts locally to buy the birds but for now, the cost of building an enclosure is too high for us to justify – unless I can find some used materials to collect for that purpose. We talked yesterday with the gentleman just down the road from us and they are willing to sell the pair of peafowl – a hen and a peacock now 16 years old – for a giveaway price, but we are nowhere near ready for that. Mama and I could also buy hatchlings as early as next week, but it is too much of an unknown as to what we would end up with since we cannot sex the chicks until they are six months old or older. So, we wait.

Last night, after all the chickens had gone to roost, Mama and I looked over several of the hens that seemed the worst infected by the mites. To our delight, they looked much better. We will wait several weeks and redo the treatments to limit the mite growth in our little flock, but for now, we seem to have made some good headway. I know the hens are relieved to have the infestation abated. Now, if we can just keep up with the required treatments and hinder another infestation, we will feel like we have succeeded.

Either Saturday or Monday, I will begin robbing the hives. I have everything set up and cleaned in order to be able to extract the honey should I still be able to remove the frames I found in my earlier inspections. It almost seems a futile effort to make the required mess to get only a few pints of honey, but I have to start somewhere. When I am in the hives, will also set up syrup feeders in each hive to feed the bees during this dearth. Additionally, I bought some pollen substitute to allow the hives to feed the brood they will not be able to raise with our supplementation. It will take at least weekly feedings to get through the next several months, but if it helps the hives to thrive instead of barely survive, I will get stronger hives going into the winter versus leaving them to fend for themselves. It may seem to be too forward looking to be planning for the winter already, but what we do now will directly impact the outcome of the hives into the winter and spring of next year. Far more work, but hopefully a better outcome.

Mama has reserved a spot for us to watch the fireworks tonight. Not really, it is an open invitation to us. We have a good friend at church that lives in a neighborhood located just East of the town of Decatur and a little above the town proper. From where her condo is situated, we can have a perfect view of the fireworks. So, every year we are able, we join her on her front lawn, chat, sip cold tea and watch the colorful explosions in the sky. Our friend, our host for the fireworks display, Betty, is 83 years old this year, but we expect to spend such evenings with her for years to come – should the Lord tarry His coming.

For the 4^th we are planning a cookout. It will be a small affair. Just us three, but it would be a shame not to carry on our simple traditions. Steaks and chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, baked beans. Maybe Grandma, Grandpa and Norman will be with us that afternoon.

That remains to be seen.