The Week's End Wrap-Up

Life is just ducky in duck world...
I wish it were so in people world.


Our little white muscovy gal has adjusted to her new home.
I think it's safe to say she is enjoying the companionship of like-minded ducks!


Last evening while changing the water in their pool,
I stopped to really watch and examine this group of quackers.


It seems we have 3 male runner ducks and 2 females.
Males have a little curly feather on their tale and females "quack".
I would have preferred more females, as runner ducks are wonderful egg layers.


As for the muscovy ducks... I'm not yet sure of the distribution of males to females.
Males are significantly larger than females.


A couple of them are enormous,
a couple are moderately sized and a couple are small.
Time will tell.


Muscovy ducks are heavy-footed ducks and remind me more of geese than ducks.
They are also much quieter than the runners. 


I am happy to report that our 5 wild (rescued and farm-raised) mallards
are still alive and well.
They spend their days with the other pond ducks, like one big happy family.
Hopefully, they will stay and call the pond home.


Remember that last guinea who was sitting on the nest next to the greenhouse?
Well, she abandoned her nest.


I cleaned out the eggs so that they wouldn't rot,
and counted 65 in her nest.
SIXTY FIVE!
Wowzers!

From time to time I get questions regarding our Sammie.


You might remember he tore his second ACL earlier this summer.
He's doing just fine... barely limping, unless he is tired.
He's slowing down a little with age,
but even so... every once in a while he still takes off on an adventure.
Sammie loves his adventures.
And he can still give Chester a run for his money!

And last...
after years of trying to keep our horses from getting fat,
I believe we have finally found the answer.


As you can see... they all look great right now.
Grazing muzzles have been their saving grace.
They spend 10 hours out at pasture nightly with their Greenguard muzzles on...
they get plenty to eat (as is evidenced by the manure waiting for me each morning)...
but not nearly as much to eat as they would get without the muzzles.


This has allowed them to have cool, bug-less nights out grazing... 
instead of having to graze in the heat of the day and for only a couple hours.

The donkeys, on the other hand, only spend a couple hours out grazing on grass...
with muzzles as well. 
Grass is way too rich for donkeys, who normally live in arid climates with scrubby vegetation.

They get feeders of soaked hay (soaked for several hours to remove the sugars)
in the evening.
This routine has really made a difference in their weight.
Very slowly, they are shedding the extra pounds that had accumulated over the past few years.


One thing that farm life has taught me...
there is so much to learn.
Every year we get just a little smarter!
And...
we'd all be a little thinner if we'd just wear grazing muzzles!

Lastly... although the garden looks lush and verdant...
it is overgrown with weeds.
I'll have to talk to Minerva... I don't believe she has been pulling her weight 
in the weeding department.
All of the rain has rotted the tomatoes.
It's a very sad end-of-summer harvest time.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that the sun returns to dry things up a little.


Have a great weekend!
Our weekend will be a busy one...
an ArtsFest, a wedding, farm breakfast with friends, and babysitting are just a few of the things
that will keep up busy this weekend.
We'll be back Monday to share our adventures.

Comments

Look at the solid green carpet of grass--now that is a work of art!!!
Love all those animals and you do a wonderful job of keeping them healthy--thanks!
enjoy, di
This N That said…
Great Quacker pics!! Too bad about the nest..That's a lot of eggs..too bad they were wasted. Your garden looks wonderful..the grass was a nice addition..The equines look very fit..I could use one of those muzzles. Sounds like a fun filled weekend..Enjoy!!
Dee J. Hartman said…
No grass is greener than at Bee Haven Acres...No animal anywhere gets better care...Thought tomatoes are rotting, extra pounds are forgotten and everyone's healthy, No troubles to bare!
Lynne said…
Liking all the ducks, quackers, mallards, big, little . . .
Sad for tthe abandonment of the 65 eggs . . .
Wonder why, “spooked” off the nest??

I agree . . . green as can be around Minerva land . . .
Unknown said…
I just discovered your blog today and subscribed. Looking forward to keeping up with your farm. Thank you for writing!
Nick said…
Oops, I didn't realize my comment ↟↟↟ would publish as "Unknown." Nick here. Thanks again for your blog!
Your garden looks lovely! Mine is also an absolute jungle of weeds and it's doubtful I'm going to have many tomatoes to fill the freezer with sauce this year! Worst tomato harvest yet, with all this rain.