Thoms Birds!

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Thomassio
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Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Hi all,

Ok, so I saw the other diaries here and thought it was a great idea. If others want to have a look then great but if not it will be a good way of me being able to document life at home for myself and also keep track of egg numbers!

Whilst I technically don't have any chickens at the moment, I do have 6 runner ducks and will be getting a few hens in 6 - 8 weeks. Here's our story so far. I may have missed a few bits and I apologise if this is either picture heavy or link heavy where my pictures haven't worked!

Walking around a big garden centre one day and my fiancée saw the Call ducks and mentioned that we should get some. That was it, that was all the encouragement I needed. I can be a little spontaneous at times, usually a little too much but in my mind I had been given the go-ahead and an area at the side of the house that was being wasted.

Whilst the OH was away at work, I started clearing and building as well as securing the garden..........

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A week later and I had bought what turned out to be a very poorly made chicken coop that was supposed to hold 6 LF hens. Ridiculous! But it served the first three girls we picked up the following week quite well. We have always wanted a dog but work makes this impossible for us and so ducks, requiring a little less attention seemed quite logical in my mind..............however try explaining that to my friends who think its a ridiculous idea to substitute a dog for ducks!!! Never mind, Sally, Cindy Lauper and Pickles were 4 weeks old when we got them, chocolate but with a few downy feathers left on the necks mostly. They made themselves quite at home, sometimes too much so, and enjoyed their summer!

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I won’t bore anyone with the details but we soon decided to add to our little flock and ended up with 6. We added a blue girl called Rosie, a little white girl called Maggie and we got them a boyfriend, Lex. Lex is beautiful, big and black although most people who see him on a sunny day say 'ooh, the green one is gorgeous' or 'I love the purple one'! He is very iridescent, in the sunshine he changes colour every time he moves. That's a lot for runner ducks! He is very loving and prot Before we could add them I needed to build a bigger and more substantial house. Luckily I have a massive amount of timber available to me at work and so in my garden I knocked up a crude but effective equivalent to a ducks bomb shelter! It weighs around 60KG and I had to slide it into position on timber rollers - a little how I imagine they built stone henge!
Here it is in the garden and then slid into place.

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On the 1st of Feb we had the first egg and had one each day for a week and then and then on the 8th we had two eggs and have had two each day since then. I'm pretty sure its only two girls laying so one day soon I'm hoping to find three and eventually even five on some days! They are big beauties, the first couple weighing 74 and 72 grams. In comparison to chicken eggs from the supermarket they are whoppers!
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Sorry for the mammoth post, only a little more to write and then I will be fairly up to date!

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boosmummy
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by boosmummy »

Their house is great!! I'd love a couple of runner ducks I would x
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sandy
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by sandy »

Hello )wav(
Well I shall for one will be reading your diary, I have a checkered history with runner ducks +f+ Yours look gorgeous, so glad you have five ladies for Lex as he will wea them out you know! I wont post in your diary my experiences but when you have time do take a look at other poultry section from mid 2012 upto last year for the sage of Lucky Ducky! Their accomodation is first rate, never seen a better palace, well done )t' Your piccies are fine so looking forward to reading your diary and viewing your fantastic little family
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Wow, thanks Sandy! I'm not sure if there is a limit as to the number of pictures I am allowed to post but I am very snap happy so hopefully someone will let me know if I'm breaking any rules.

Ok, so I mentioned that I plan on having a few hens in around 8 weeks. The reason I am waiting is because before march is up, we are getting married, selling house and moving house, I’m leaving my existing career all whilst currently still full time at work and college in the evenings ready to go to university in September! I’m feeling pretty busy! That said, by summer I should have a few very relaxed moths!
I also mentioned that I have a lot of access to timber at work and a lot of space so I thought I would put it to use and ‘knock up a quick’ chicken coop. It had to be flat packed, it had to be sturdy, it had to be inconspicuous as my boss might not approve of my ‘creative’ use of time and resources. Oh….and it had to be built in the dark using head torch power!
Here’s a few pictures as I went;

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It was also intended to house 4 hens and probably still will although its kind of grown into a monster as I didn’t plan it very well (at all).
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So I guess I failed miserably at the ‘inconspicuous’ hurdle. Taking a bright purple, 13’ square chicken coop home in pieces may have raised a few eyebrows but to be honest, im more concerned about how jealous the ducks will be in comparison!

When I eventually get moved, I will put up a couple of pictures of the finished coop erected and roofed and in position…..hopefully with 4 hens in although I am hugely indecisive on those but I will post a question for some persuasive arguments in the right place!
Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Be warned…..more picture heavy postings.
So far I have only really taled about the area for the ducks and their house so I thought I would introduce the flock a little better, especially as we had such a beautiful (and VERY unexpected) day down in South Devon.
This is Lex, in the sunlight you can see quite what I meant about him being suck stunning colours for a ‘black’ drake. He looks after his five lady friends very well, is quite protective and also very enthusiastic when it comes to mating.
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This is Rosie, our blue girl and she ate from my hand for the first time today. Infact the last few days is the first time any of them have. Runners are naturally very skittish and nervous so its taken a long time to get them so comfortable with us but they are quite happy pottering around at our feet now, until we make a sudden movement and then they are instantly on edge!
Her white ‘eyelashes’ were the real reason my OH chose her!
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This is Cindy Lauper. Clearly not camera shy. In fact she is the cheekiest of the lot. Quite defiant when it comes to us but also the first and most confident to waddle over to us to say hello and beg for some afternoon treats. On the far left of the picture is Maggie, the noisy miniature duck. She makes an amazing racket for a small girl and runs in a hysterical, all-over-the-place manner,next to her is the ‘mother’ of the flock, Sally. Sally is the oldest although not by much, she is very elegant – most of the time – nd before Lex, was definitely the boss and protector of the group. On the right of the picture is Pickles, kind of the invisible girl. She is also gorgeous, slightly smaller than her two chocolates sisters , always in the middle of the group and tends not to draw much attention to herself.

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This is Lex doing what he does best, and this is Sally forgetting she is a prim and proper ‘lady’!
This is also Maggie interfering bless her. Maggie has never to this day got in the trough for a wash. She loves the other girls splashing her as she stands next to it but NEVER in it but always chooses to wash from a muddy puddle or by dunking her head in a bucket. I really have no idea why she won’t get in!?
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Heres the last two; this is Pickles ‘Not’ drawing attention to herself, I love this shot. Finally a family portrait of the little flock!
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Today was the first day in 8 days where we only had one egg. I’m still sure we only have two laying so that makes todays number 24 from 2 since the start of Feb.
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jemberelli
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by jemberelli »

Fabulous photos! I look forward to reading more about your flock and impending chickens & housemove! Good luck with it all )t'
No girls at the moment but look forward to getting more in the future. Proud mummy to Hector, a Bedlington Terrier x Jack Russell
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lancashire lass
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by lancashire lass »

aw, I love the ducks Thom )t' (oooh, can I make room for ducks in my garden ....?)

And I understand the ducks instead of a dog - up until a few years ago I used to be able to go home during my lunch break to let the dog out and spend a bit of time with her, but then I lost my job and the new one was too far away for a lunch break trip. She coped well as she was getting on, but I hated it and after she passed away, vowed I'd never get another dog while I still worked. Hence, I now have chickens LOL

Thomassio wrote:So I guess I failed miserably at the ‘inconspicuous’ hurdle. Taking a bright purple, 13’ square chicken coop home in pieces may have raised a few eyebrows


{rofwl} It's a good sized one and I like it. I couldn't see, but have you got any ventilation holes?
Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks Jemberelli!

LL, yours was the first diary I looked at and decided it was a great idea. I hope you will be able to offer some advice on a flock of mixed hybrids when I post it.....possibly tonight.
You must have room for ducks somewhere! They lay very well, in theory anyway, about 280 per year but I will be able to tell you from experience next winter I guess.

The ventilation currently will be the flap on the front, right hand side on hinges. I will weld mesh behind it so it can be left open overnight. I'm also going with the corrugated plastic roofing so that should leave a lot of ventilation at roof level. I'm hoping that will allow the air to circulate well enough but not let in much draft. If it's not enough I'm open to just drilling an area of small holes at top and bottom for more circulation. Also, as I will probably get in trouble if I get any more than 4 or 5, I think they will have a good amount of space compared to if I went by the guidelines on a cheap/cheerful coop.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by lancashire lass »

Thomassio wrote:I hope you will be able to offer some advice on a flock of mixed hybrids when I post it.....possibly tonight.


LOL somehow I doubt I have the experience to give advice - everyone that has had Bluebelles have said they are docile and friendly ... mine aptly named Scary, is a mean bully. I found the Amber lays big brown eggs (they are definitely the biggest out of the 4 hens) but has a quiet unassuming personality except she is rather noisy when laying and lets everyone know (mind, those eggs are big) If I decided to get more hybrid hens, I might go for more Ambers. The Gold Ranger/Warren/Isa is the typical egg laying brown hen - yet my girl is a lot more interactive than the others but I did spend a lot more time with her at the beginning. The Black Star is the smallest of the flock and lays the smallest egg, and for a while she was the top hen but more matriarchal with just the odd reminding hard peck if one of the others got between her and her food. I think the guidelines of different hybrid hen descriptions are very general, as each one has their own personality and with a pecking order, there are winners and losers
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KarenE
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Post by KarenE »

Oh get ex batts! They are the friendliest creatures, and they tame really well. You don't really want eggs - not really.. so get ex batts! :-D

It looks a lovely set up, and the purple coop is great. When I get old, I shall wear purple...

I would love ducks but I'm not sure I could cope with yet more poo. Can't wait to hear when you get your girls
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Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Thanks for the help, it's appreciated. The truth is I will probably change my mind three or four times before I get them and when I do I will settle on my first choice anyway (that was light Sussex!)

I really don't plan on updating this thread everyday, but it seems like yesterday's full day of fun in the sun must have done the girls the world of good. We skipped the three egg stage and went straight to four. Four eggs this morning from 5 young ladies. I'm pretty sure Maggie, the small weirdo layer too......Much to the delight of my OH. Much smaller egg in the bottom left of the picture, much slimmer than the other, rounder ones too.

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Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Also, today I was wondering about egg cleaning and if it's something others do or not. I know generally it's better to avoid it if possible to stop the dirt getting through the porous shell. Just wondering really.
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sandy
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Post by sandy »

Dont clean you eggs until you are going to use them, you are right about the shells. I know you have a fantastic set up but you will be able to keep any chickens especially exbats well away from any water? Luckily Lex has his ladies, when neighbour had runner duck and hens the hens suffered terribly. Oh dont worry about the amount of piccies you load, just keep them coming )t'
The Pink Ladies..Audrey,Ingrid-Bergman,Madeleline,Norma-Jean,Dora,Janice,Jo,Robyn,Chrissy and Joyce
The Peds…Mork,Mindy,Bell,Saphire &
Vorky ,Blueped,Ginger,Ninger &Linky

Sunny Clucker was ere July 12-21 2012
Sunny Clucker was ere July 6 2016 to Sept 9th 2017
Sunny Clucker is here , rehomed Aug 18th 2018/
Thomassio
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Thomassio »

Hi Sandy, thanks.
The black 'bird-bath' horse feed tray will be I. The ducks run, completely seperate from the hens but in the summer, I would have got the paddling pool out for the ducks. Hadn't thought about it with the hens really so thanks. Is it likely to be a problem? A friend has ducks and chickens free ranging together with a pond (much bigger area than I will have) and has no problems so I assumed it would be ok.
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Chookaholic
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Re: Thoms Birds!

Post by Chookaholic »

i LOVE this diary

You have done a grand job on your duck house and keep the pics coming theyre fabulous

You have also re awoken my desire for ducks.... can I ask you? are they messy? everyone I asks says theyre messy but then so are 13 chickens :-D

great diary i look forward to reading more and i love their names !

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