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
Love all those animals and you do a wonderful job of keeping them healthy--thanks!
enjoy, di
Sad for tthe abandonment of the 65 eggs . . .
Wonder why, “spooked” off the nest??
I agree . . . green as can be around Minerva land . . .