#Project52 – Framed
I may have used affiliate links for some of the items in this post. Using an affiliate link to purchase an item won't cost you any more money, but I may receive payment if you click on a link and make a purchase. For more information, visit the disclosures page.
My husband and I are getting ducks! They will be the first of the livestock that will make it out here to the farm. We’ll also have cows, and maybe some honey bees. The ducks aren’t coming right away; it will be a bit before the breed we are wanting is ready for shipment from the hatchery, which is all the way in Iowa. We are planning to use the hatchery our old neighbor uses, because he always has so much success with their chickens. They actually get shipped via US Mail, and the local post office calls to have you pick them up when they arrive.
I’m trying to talk my husband into Rouens, which look like large Flying Mallards, but we will probably get Gold Star Hybrids (as pictured above from the hatchery website). They are crossbred to have larger eggs, a higher fertility rate, and calmer temperament.
Matt started working on setting posts for the duck house a couple weeks ago. But with rain, and other commitments, it’s been slow going. We (mostly my husband) finished setting the posts last weekend. It might not look like much yet, but my husband says that was the hard part.
We’ll get the lumber as soon as he gets his truck back, and finish getting the house built in the next couple weeks. After that, there will be some basic wiring for lights, and heat during the winter. We can’t have our little ducks freezing, or trying to drink ice. Plus, when they’re small, they will need a heat lamp anyway.
Do you have any livestock at your house?
In a 63 sq metre apartment, the only “livestock” we have is ants in the summertime! I would like to get a guinea pig, but the expense of a decent cage is incredible–nearly a week’s housekeeping money!
Do please get honeybees if you possibly can. The world needs more of them. If I weren’t allergic to bee stings myself, I’d be campaigning to get a hive installed on the roof of our building. As it is, whenever a bee flies past me I always speak to it.
I have heard that ducks are good for vegetable gardens, eating slugs and other harmful critters. I don’t remember if it is ducks or geese that eat weeds and leave the vegetables alone.
We are hoping that the ducks will be helpful for the garden. And I actually am allergic to bee stings, but I’ve only every had bad skin reactions. Since the reactions never seem to affect my breathing, I think we will be safe to get them. But that might lean use toward something more like a mason bee, which is a good pollinator, but doesn’t produce much honey. That way we wouldn’t need to do honey collection, and only have to mess with the hives to check on the health of the bees. Plus, mason bees are stingless. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/12807180169218038/