Clover our female turkey has finally "gone broody" (that means she is a sitting on her eggs). It only took her FOREVER to pick a spot! The boys are lonely, wandering around aimlessly, chirping for clover. Every now and then you can hear them outside her nest cooing to her. Once again I'm amazed at how they communicate and care for one another. When they are not cooing or wandering aimlessly, they are following me around. If I stop fast, I have a new butt ornament.
Petunia our female Muscovy duck has been sitting for 24 days. She has only 9 more to go, Muscovy eggs take longer to hatch then regular duck eggs. During this very stressful time for Petunia I have supplemented her diet with special ducky treats. Every morning and evening I whip up a tomato, apple and grain omlet with herbs and greens to help keep her strength up. While a Muscovy hen is "brooding" her eggs, they only leave the nest once a day. During that very short trip off the nest they have to drink, eat and do a few other toiletries. It is very important to make sure the hens have a supply of food and water very close to them.
Petunia has taken this treat thing one step further, she now begs for them. If I'm not fast enough doing chores, she starts squeaking, tapping her beak on her food bowl edge. Then she will only eat her treat out of my fingers, squeaking in between bites as if to tell me how good it is. Muscovy ducks are not the type to be "hand fed", more like take your hand off and eat it.
Yes I do try to give Clover special treats also but I have to say, I don't think she gets the idea. Some birds are a little smarter than others.
Lucy our little tiny red Cochin Bantam has also finally gone broody. She is in a 5 gallon pail on the work bench in our barn. She picked out the spot all by herself, sneaking in the cat door on the backside of the barn. Lucy is a very serious egg sitter. She stares blankly into space not moving a muscle on her eggs but she even understands to eat the special treats.
Showing posts with label Nesting Issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nesting Issues. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Petunia and Clover nesting
Petunia has decided its time for ducklings. Petunia is a very pretty Muscovy girl with a squeaky little voice, lots of sass and determination. Last week I started collecting the largest duck eggs, leaving the smaller ones in her nesting box. Suddenly one morning there was a pile of downy fluff and more eggs in her nest. We waited a few more days then swapped out the smaller eggs with the large duck eggs while Petunia was not looking. Her nest was the softest, fluffy pillow you could ever imagine. When duck hens start going "broody" (want to hatch their eggs), they pluck out the soft down feathers on their underside to line the nest. Petunia is a pretty big and healthy girl with lots of underside, hence lots of down.
This event is so exciting for us; it is the first time we will experience ducks hatching their own baby's. As usual, every thing has to be perfect. I placed a pile of cracked corn at the entrance of her nesting box, along with a dish of feed along with chopped tomato and greens. Plus a fresh bowl of water in case princess is thirsty. We closed the duck pen door to keep let her keep her nesting privacy. If the door is left open the chickens party in there and a little orange dog (we will not mention the hellion's name) would run laps thru the pen at high doggie speeds. Petunia would squeak warnings which made it all the more fun for the orange urchin.
Meanwhile back at the barn, Clover is wandering around chirping like a crazed turkey hen. The two toms are doing their stuff, strutting, thumping and spreading their feathers, following Clovers every move, gobbling the whole time. This has been going on for ages it seems. Then one afternoon I notice the boys off playing, no Clover in sight. I wait an hour and the boys are still goofing off, no strutting, feathers flipping or annoyingly loud gobbles. What is going on now, this can't be good.
The search begins, I do one lap of the perimeter of the fenced in yard and field, with two stupid turkey's a dozen chickens and 3 dogs following me (Bailey was sleeping, he is 110 now). No sign of Clover anywhere. Now we have to check all the hidey spots we can think of. First is the upstairs of the barn, she loves to sneak up there. Then any odd spot under the pine tree's bushes and rocks (we have big rocks). Finally under the brush pile there is a little cave and a Clover within. She is hunkered down way back in this hole hiding. At the entrance to her hideaway the chickens are scratching up the ground, kicking eggs every which way. Clover had found the spot which she thought was perfect to lay her eggs. I took the turkey eggs away from the crazy chickens and waited for Clover to finish laying her current egg for collection.
That sneaky little girl was hiding them for a week or more from me in the brush pile. We have tried everything to entice her to lay eggs in or near the barn where it would be safe. The large wooden box, the garbage can or the 50 gallon drum were not good enough. She did show interest in the old dog house built into the front of the barn. That’s where I take the eggs, toss in lots of wood chips, decorate with muddy leaves and lot of dry grass and set them in there. The entrance is camouflaged with a wooden pallet, covered in grass, twigs and leaves. The chickens loved the new play area, Clover took one look inside, chirped and walked off, sigh. There is still hope, later she did go in and cover up her eggs then laid an egg in the old spot.
Darn, darn, darn, darn, now we disassemble the brush pile, taking away the hidey spot appeal. Behind the duck pen, Bruce builds a turkey condo with another 50 gallon barrel. He decorates the interior and exterior in early turkey, it looks great, the chickens love it. I go decorate the barrel in the barn the turkeys walk around the barrel, giving it the stink eye. The chickens of course love it .Now all we can do is wait and see.
Meanwhile back at the duck pen, there seems to have been a break in and out. We get home from work and Spangle is trapped in the duck pen, Petunia is out of the duck pen. They used the "secret hatch" that only Dimples had ever used. Obviously Dimple's little secret was not so secret. I go get Spangle out of the pen, Petunia goes back inside, hops on her nest and squeaks at me. I fill up her treat/food bowl, get princess fresh water and staple wire over the escape hatch. Now maybe there will be no chance of a chicken interrupting Petunia's delicate state. She now has the whole pen to herself or so I think, once again, we will have to wait and see.
The thrill is starting to dwindle a bit but the chickens are very excited with their new nesting areas.
This event is so exciting for us; it is the first time we will experience ducks hatching their own baby's. As usual, every thing has to be perfect. I placed a pile of cracked corn at the entrance of her nesting box, along with a dish of feed along with chopped tomato and greens. Plus a fresh bowl of water in case princess is thirsty. We closed the duck pen door to keep let her keep her nesting privacy. If the door is left open the chickens party in there and a little orange dog (we will not mention the hellion's name) would run laps thru the pen at high doggie speeds. Petunia would squeak warnings which made it all the more fun for the orange urchin.
Meanwhile back at the barn, Clover is wandering around chirping like a crazed turkey hen. The two toms are doing their stuff, strutting, thumping and spreading their feathers, following Clovers every move, gobbling the whole time. This has been going on for ages it seems. Then one afternoon I notice the boys off playing, no Clover in sight. I wait an hour and the boys are still goofing off, no strutting, feathers flipping or annoyingly loud gobbles. What is going on now, this can't be good.
The search begins, I do one lap of the perimeter of the fenced in yard and field, with two stupid turkey's a dozen chickens and 3 dogs following me (Bailey was sleeping, he is 110 now). No sign of Clover anywhere. Now we have to check all the hidey spots we can think of. First is the upstairs of the barn, she loves to sneak up there. Then any odd spot under the pine tree's bushes and rocks (we have big rocks). Finally under the brush pile there is a little cave and a Clover within. She is hunkered down way back in this hole hiding. At the entrance to her hideaway the chickens are scratching up the ground, kicking eggs every which way. Clover had found the spot which she thought was perfect to lay her eggs. I took the turkey eggs away from the crazy chickens and waited for Clover to finish laying her current egg for collection.
That sneaky little girl was hiding them for a week or more from me in the brush pile. We have tried everything to entice her to lay eggs in or near the barn where it would be safe. The large wooden box, the garbage can or the 50 gallon drum were not good enough. She did show interest in the old dog house built into the front of the barn. That’s where I take the eggs, toss in lots of wood chips, decorate with muddy leaves and lot of dry grass and set them in there. The entrance is camouflaged with a wooden pallet, covered in grass, twigs and leaves. The chickens loved the new play area, Clover took one look inside, chirped and walked off, sigh. There is still hope, later she did go in and cover up her eggs then laid an egg in the old spot.
Darn, darn, darn, darn, now we disassemble the brush pile, taking away the hidey spot appeal. Behind the duck pen, Bruce builds a turkey condo with another 50 gallon barrel. He decorates the interior and exterior in early turkey, it looks great, the chickens love it. I go decorate the barrel in the barn the turkeys walk around the barrel, giving it the stink eye. The chickens of course love it .Now all we can do is wait and see.
Meanwhile back at the duck pen, there seems to have been a break in and out. We get home from work and Spangle is trapped in the duck pen, Petunia is out of the duck pen. They used the "secret hatch" that only Dimples had ever used. Obviously Dimple's little secret was not so secret. I go get Spangle out of the pen, Petunia goes back inside, hops on her nest and squeaks at me. I fill up her treat/food bowl, get princess fresh water and staple wire over the escape hatch. Now maybe there will be no chance of a chicken interrupting Petunia's delicate state. She now has the whole pen to herself or so I think, once again, we will have to wait and see.
The thrill is starting to dwindle a bit but the chickens are very excited with their new nesting areas.
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