[Sca-cooks] Adventures with poultry and other sorrows...

[Saint Phlip]

On 4/22/07, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:
> Phlip said:
>
> <<< To try to keep them warm, I had, as I said, put them all in a
> box, but
> not only do they need to be warm, they need fed and watered, and if
> they're jammed in closely enough to keep warm, there's no room for
> food and water, so I put the goslings in their own box with food and
> water, and left the rest in the other box with food and water, at
> which point the ducklings decided to play in the water, and soon I had
> a box of soggy (very much a no no) birds. >>>
>
> So, ducks/ducklings aren't supposed to get wet? Or is this a problem
> because your chicks and ducklings were in the same box, therefor wet
> ducklings meaning wet chicks?
>
> Stefan

None of them are supposed to get wet when they're very young, because
it cools them off, and they haven't developed their own internal
temperature controls yet. Also, ducklings and goslings, like chickens,
start out with a very fine down- it's only later, when their real
feathers grow, that they become waterproof.. A week later, the first
batch of ducks and goslings are old enough to spend some time in the
water, so I've been gathering them all up and putting them in the
bathtub. They were pretty scared at first, but then they realized it
was fun and started ducking themselves and playing ;-)

Still hafta be careful, though, because they can still get chilled, so
I make sure the water isn't completely cold (about room temperature)
and am careful to move them back out to the heat lamp quickly, so they
can dry off. Letting them play in the tub, too, lets me clean out the
cage, and gives the little turkeys and chicks a chance to play a bit
without the big kids in the way. They still have the new goslings to
deal with of course, but they're not quite as huge.

And, all of the original batch have doubled, and more than doubled, in
size, so the ones that are 2 1/2 weeks old are significantly bigger
than the ones which are half a week old.

But, they'd better be growing, considering how much feed they're going
through ;-) For 10 goslings, 4 ducklings, 3 poults, and 5 chicks,
which between them MAY weigh 10 lbs, I'm going through about 3-4
gallons of water, and 1 1/2 gallon baggies of food per day (the gallon
baggies are a mix of sand, for grit, and their basic food ration).

It's funny when I feed- it's like dealing with little kids on
Christmas morning. several times a day ;-) They are quite enthusiastic
about their groceries ;-)

-- 
Saint Phlip

Heat it up
Hit it hard
Repent as necessary.

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