I just got off the phone with Ideal. I added one pair (male + female) white Chinese geese to my chick order!!!
Now can these babies be in the same brooder with my chicks or will they need separate quarters during the first few weeks? What do they eat for starters? I know about grass later on.
MollyD
I did it!
hey congrats!
they may be ok with the chicks....they tend to be messier because they need more water in order to eat
they also don't need as much heat for as long as the chicks do.....that helps me a lot this year as all of my ducklings and goslings should be out on the porch before my chicks get here
i honestly can't remember if i got chicks the same time i got my geese....can't find the order info either
it would seem like i could remember last year!
any way, they eat the non-medicated poultry feed.....my understanding is that they eat so much more than the chicks do that they would possibly o.d. on the medicated food
hope my ramblings help a little
the more you interact with them the more fun they are
i do remember the second batch i got last year i was much quicker to give a big bowl of water for baths....talk about adorable!
larlienda thank you. I've been reading this afternoon and getting more and more confused since most things are written for the commercial operations.
This is the first time in my whole life with geese. I've had chickens before so I feel pretty comfortable even if I need my memory jogged on some things but geese are virgin territory.
Do you know at what age they can get that bowl of water to bath in? Is it once they're feathers come in (after downy stage) or earlier?
I've got unmedicated chick feed here already. They can eat that? I should probably get another bag then. I got only what I thought my chicks would eat up before moving to grown up food.
What can they eat besides grass?
I've got a plastic carrier (for a large dog) that I'm going to convert for them. I'm planning on building a 1 panel hoophouse and placing the carrier in there. It has ventilation holes near the top. Should these be covered up or left open for summer and covered in the fall?? I'm going to enclose an area for them with the hoophouse in it and then when I'm outside they can come out and graze. The area will be a good size since I'm putting a wading pool in there for them too.
I'm venturing into a lot of stuff I've never done before here. I'm looking for two bred Nubian or Nubian-Boer crossed does (goats) too. We talked about it and decided to go ahead and take the plunge!
MollyD
I wait until my ducklings are fully feathered before I let them take a swim. Not sure if it's necessary to wait or not. And we always keep the feed away from the waterers due to their love of making a mess w/ it! As far as the feed, we've either fed non-medicated chick or agway carries a duck (waterfowl) feed.
We've had Nubians and they are wonderful milkers although abit more talkative than other breeds we've had. Molly you are going to have so much fun with your goats! Please post pics when you get them.
Thanks Sandy. I was hoping to find some locally. It's been a bit hard though. I located one goat owner/seller but discovered his heard from 'recovering' from CL. Looked it up and he couldn't give me those goats! That CL is nasty and highly contagious to goats and humans! I'm still trying to locate a clean herd. I keep finding Boer's but I don't think they're as appealing as Nubians or Toggenbergs. I'm also not attracted to the body shape of the Boers. Just not my cup of tea.
I've got to make notes of what everybody will need. I can't wait for Hanzel and Gretel to get here ^_^ That's what I'm naming the geese.
MollyD
Just to throw another breed for you to consider! I have a huge weakness for Oberhaasli they are the sweetest, gentlest goats! Ok, I'll let you pick what you want! pout pout!! lol!
You have to be very careful on who you buy from. I had one fellow try to sell me a couple of does who's udders were so pendulous they were just about stepping on them. You want nice conformity and definitely a clean herd.
Sue ☺
yes, Sue, those are beautiful and sweet, Ober's i heard them called.
Molly, REALLY excited for you. [i realize you are taling geese and my only experience so far is ducks, just bear with me a sec if i confuse words] your geese will grow much faster and may {WILL] tromp the chicks. plus will overheat easily with all that down. plan on separating them as soon as possible. they will re-integrate easily.
also, get a tupperware or other container, for their water. real tall and narrow where they can't go for a swim, and keep it near the food. they need water to wash down their meals, and they cool themselves by dunking their heads.
as far as a bath, a mother duck takes them at about four weeks of age.
i bougth turkey starter crumble, non medicated, and mixed it 1/2 & 1/2 with chick starter. they benfeit from higher protein.
we got four pekin ducks when we got bantam chicks. they went out to the hen house at three weeks of age, though with a heat lamp on cool days and nights. they didn't even stay near the lamp, it was for my peace of mind i guess. soon they learned the routine, out in the AM, in at night. just had to help herd them a little. they are so padded with down, they spent much of their time in the shade! even on cold days, and they are WHITE!
they sorta hang togehter and everyone gets along.
our white chinese is sitting on a pile of eggs, and i expect a hatch next week! some will be half embden LOL
can't wait for your new babies arrival, all of them!
tf
Hi Sue,
I emailed the person listed for Western NY to see if they could help me locate a clean source and also a vet in my area. Haven't been able to find one who works with farm animals yet but there have to be some since we're surrounded by farms!
I have to admit I've been reading about castrations and I don't know if I would have the nerves to do that!
Tf I jotted down the feed you mentioned. We have a woodshed which I'm wondering if we can't rig something up with a heat lamp for all the babies and keep them out there. If the weather holds (we were up to 74 today) it should be possible. I thought the chicks could be in one part, geese in the other. Heat lamp over the chicks next to the partition from the geese so the geese can get warm if they need to but most of the heat is focused on the chicks.
How does that sound?
MollyD
you are starting htem in the house, though, right? even here, they need high temps, ready for 70 degrees by six weeks [chicks], waterfowl about 4 weeks.
i printed out something from guineafowl.com all about caring for waterfowl. if i find it, can i fax it to you, so i don't have to type the whole thing. need to save my arms for cleaning!
to separate the ducks when i moved them to the henhouse, i just used a discarded plastic baby gate and some milk crates. whenever the hens wanted in they just flew over it LOL, and the ducks learned to move it. but it lasted a while... and they could see each other through it.
i like your woodshed partition idea. in your case they could cuddle together near the heat lamp up against the divider. ask for some on freecycle...
We use a band for castrating. After the 'boys' have dropped, you use a tool called a band castrator here's a pic and description from jeffers: http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=2&mscssid=3398DJQQXAF58NQ7K0CALHMKLEKRDADB
You simply slip the band onto the tool squeeze the handles and slip the band above the 'boys' then slide the band off. It's bloodless and they don't pay much attention to it. We also use this tool for docking tails on sheep.
If that bothers you, you may not care for burning off the horns on the little ones. If you decide to go w/ the oberhasli, they are usually polled(no horns) I can't think at the moment of other breeds that are naturally polled.
Sue do you know it's name? When I click on the link (great site btw) I get an error. I did a manual search for castration equipment and they had several that sounded like what you described.
Tf I'm dmailing you.
MollyD
IA-M1 Jeffers® Band Castrating Tool
The first part I believe is the item number.
Sue :-)
Thanks Sue! It's very inexpensive too. So you buy the tool and the bands. And then you do this to those poor baby boys (can you tell I'm cringing here?). One place said to do this at birth and another said a few weeks after. Which do you do? I do understand the reasons for this but wow is this a hard one to do.
MollyD
I do it when you can feel both testicles. Check often! Some people do it before they drop, the reasoning is that the heat from the body will cause sterility. But how can you be sure? I'd just prefer to make sure there is no chance! I know it sounds like it hurts but the most reaction I've ever seen from the bucklings is sticking their head back there to see what's up! It simply stop the blood flow and they slowly shrivel up and fall off. It definitely beats having uncastrated males running around smelling up the place!! Plus you can sell them as pets if you'd rather not sell them for meat(although we castrate those as well).
Sue
Lots of people around here raise boer goats for
meat and showing. They don't make good mama's,
and will walk off from newborn kids. I have a pygmy
cross that followed me to town one day, and came home
pregnant by a boer. So, now I have this huge, fat, crossed
with a boer and 2 other things goat that is not very friendly at
all. She may fetch a good price at market, though.
truest she's probably very edible ^_^
Sue I read the meat is better tasting from whethers than bucks. Plus I don't want them breeding unless I've planned it. Read they can start making babies at 12 weeks! Yikes! They sound like Tribbles (remember them on the original Star Trek?)
MollyD
The trouble with Tribbles is one of my favorite episodes!!!
That's why I got the 'jumbo' coturnix quail. They start
laying at 6-7 weeks. wow. They will be here tomorrow!
I have 3, but one is a cross (breeder made a boo boo)
and the other two are not jumbo. I figure it takes the same
energy to brood little quail as it does jumbo.
Can't make up my mind about the boer cross goat. Okay,
I just thought about how much she'll bring per pound, and
my mind is made up. Off to market! I need to start paying
for some of this new bird enterprise. DH will be happy.
and a happy DH = a happy woman! ;-)
MollyD
Big grin here, Molly! ;o)
^_^
MollyD
Hey Molly! Been out of town! Yes I love Trouble with Tribbles-especially when Capt. Kirk opens the overhead bin and gets covered! The last one that drops down on his head-too funny. You could actually send out for a free tribble -my brother and I each got one! Ok enough of that! (not too geeky?!)
I've also heard that the meat is better. I wouldn't know from personal experience as I couldn't get myself to actually eat one!! They always had too much of a personality for me! Whenever one of the wethers were sold I would have to go into the house and let my DH handle the deal. Funny I guess since I don't have that problem with any of the other farm animals.
Sue ☺
Dude! My dad is a trekky, and I remember that episode. It's one of my faves from the original series! It always reminded me of the movie Gremlins for some reason.
This message was edited Apr 11, 2008 9:06 PM
Patch that is so painful! Gremlins indeed! If anything Gremlins should remind you of Tribbles since the Tribbles were on TV about 20 years or more before the Gremilins movie was ever made. Hmph ;-) Your Dad must be from my generation. We'd sit and watch each Star Trek episode and howl if anyone interrupted us! No vcrs or any way to record episodes then and if you missed something it could be a year or more before they ran it again! Now if you miss something who cares, they'll probably show it over again in an hour.
Sue that tells me they've got a lot of personality. I always had a hard time selling my tiels. A few were easier than others though ^_^ There are always naughty kids. LOL
MollyD
Molly, I think we are in the same generation boat! Saturday mornings were the only time you could watch cartoons-I saw Bugs Bunny before they edited him!!
Yes! Lots and Lots of personality! But even the naughty ones can grab your heart!
Sue☺
I might be a bit older than you Sue. I can remember having cartoons after school weekdays, Saturdays till 1pm and then Sunday mornings shows where they read the Sunday funnies to us ! I almost feel sorry for kids today because there are hardly any cartoons on tv and what little there is looks so boring.
I've been strolling down memory lane this week! LOL My son was asking me questions about the phone company and phones. I was telling him about the days when Ma Bell reigned supreme. If you didn't have Ma Bell you just didn't have a phone! You got your phone from them in any choice of color as long as your choice was black LOL. If you were rich enough you could get a fancy phone but that took big bucks.
MollyD
Remember if you were in a hurry and your finger slipped off the dial? You'd have to hang up and start all over again! Well, I remember Rin-Tin-Tin after school and Captain Kangeroo before school!
LOL yep I remember those! I even ran into phones where you told the operator the number you wanted and they dialed it for you!
Remember the Lone Ranger, Annie Oakley, The Cisco Kid and so many others!! Annie Oakley was my hero ^_^ I wanted to be just like her and ride a horse the way she could LOL
MollyD
Hi Ho Silver and Away! Hey can you imagine the kids today having to type on a regular ol' typewriter! Don't make a mistake and no abbreviations!lol! I must say that I wouldn't change the time in which I grew up. Everyone played outside-you made up the sound your toys made-not by pushing some electronic button! Ok getting nostalgic!!
There were a lot of good things about those days. A lot more trust in the world. You didn't walk around feeling scared all the time. There are some good things now too like computers and the internet. You feel more in touch with people who live far away from you. You hear things a lot faster too. I can remember all the hoopla on the news the first time they were able to do a broadcast with a live feed from Paris! LOL
MollyD
Absolutely, I love computers and we wouldn't have DG if not for the internet! My cousin just got back from serving 15 months in Iraq and it was wonderful to be able to send him pictures and letters via the internet. When he was able to send something to us, everyone would gather around the computer to read it!
I know what you mean about the trust issue. About a month ago I was driving into the next town and there was a man jogging. Well, just before I got to him the skies opened up and it came down so hard you could barely see. So I slowed down and asked him if he wanted a ride(now I haven't done this in over 20 years!). He smiled and declined. Boy did I get it when I told my DH about it. He's right of course but I don't like turning my back on people!
That was an awfully dangerous thing to do even 20 years ago!!! Glad the fellow turned your offer down. At least he was harmless but what if ???
Your DH was right on this one!! It's hard to not extend a helping hand but sometimes the hand that reaches back can pull you under! Be careful out there!
MollyD
I agree. It was very spontaneous and foolish. Promise it won't happen again!
About 15 years ago my DH and I was traveling down Rt 95 and began exiting on a ramp when we saw a fellow about 22 laying on the ground along side his motorcycle. Now several cars just drove past him leaving him lying there! We pulled over and luckily his injuries weren't lifethreatening. His wrist was obviously broken and his ribs were tender. My DH loaded up his bike into the back of our truck and we brought him to the nearest gas station/garage. We tried to take him to the hospital but he said he was calling someone to take him. He couldn't stop thanking us. It makes me sad when I think about how many people drove by him lying there.
Well while that was still risky it wasn't anywhere near as risky as you being by yourself! So many people get in trouble trying to help a stranger. Me I would have called for help for him but I wouldn't have risked bringing him into my car. You never know when it's a sham and they've got someone waiting to jump in too. Help yes but always with prudence. Takes care of both you and the person you want to help.
I grew up in NYC and can remember many cases of people stopping to help people they thought were in trouble only to find themselves being attacked, robbed, etc. You learn real fast to be careful.
Wish it wasn't that way :-( Would be nice if we could extend a hand out to strangers without any danger at all.
MollyD
That would be a wonderful world!
Sue
I must be older than most of you. I can remember when they read the funnies over the radio. We didn't have TV then! We did, however, have the Lone Ranger, Fibber Magee and Molly, the Mummers Cave, and a few others. All radio programs where you had to use your imagination to picture the characters in your mind.
We lived in the city and the milkman delivered milk by horse and wagon. Then, we grew "victory gardens" and had ration stamps for all kinds of food. Of course this was during the second world war.
And yes, it was a much more innocent time.
Granny when I grew up radio was just beginning to take second place to tv. The milkman still delivered milk with a horse and wagon around 4:30am. Loved to pull that cardboard tab so I could lick the cream off it! LOL Got more than one spanking for that! Use to have an ice truck that came with a block of ice for the fridge (wasn't electric). 50 cents and it lasted all week. It was my job to bring the money down to the iceman.
Wagons would go buy yelling fish or bananas or vegetables on different days. Bananas btw were 5 cents a pound! We usually bought 25 cents worth.
I now collect those old time radio programs ^_^ Have many on my computer and burn them to CD's for listening to.
MollyD
Molly, that makes you not much younger than me. I also remember the iceman. He would give us kids chips from the big blocks in the back of the wagon. I don't remember if we had a fish monger, but we did go to the local grocer for most of the stuff we didn't grow ourselves. Living in the city, we also had a junkman who had a horse and wagon. He would sell stuff off his wagon as he went through the alleys.
What they call "recycling" nowadays was the way we used to get rid of our papers and metal and glass. It was put out on different days and picked up then.
I am beginning to think that with the prices of food going through the roof, more and more people are going to start raising their own food again. It might be a good idea for that to happen.
LOL well we're adding a veg garden this year. I'm going to have to really put a good solid 7' fence all around it if I hope to get anything out of it! Even have to fence it over the top!
MollyD
Molly, try using orange snow fence on the outside of your garden. For some reason it has kept the critters out of our garden since we started using it. One of our gardens is in a place where deer travel every day. They left the veggies completely alone with the fence up.
A couple of years ago, where I have my strawberries, in one of my fridge beds, they ate the leaves off just like it was a salad bar. We didn't have the orange around that area. So, deducing that the orange fencing kept deer away from stuff, I put it around my mulberry tree and they haven't touched it since. (they had eaten most of the shoots off the year before.) I have noticed others starting to use it the same way and they are getting the same results, so it must work. I guess.
GG
♠^_^♠
It isn't just the deer here Granny. Add rabbits, birds, raccoons and dogs. I have to keep all of them out of the garden. Add the goats, geese and chickens if they get loose!!!
MollyD