Since the start of Covid and social distancing, we have obviously been spending much more time on the farm. This has given us the opportunity to record many of our day to day tasks, and we’ve started sharing them on our YouTube channel. Some of our recent videos have been peeks into what it’s like with as many birds as we have.
We currently have about 60 ducklings in a tractor, growing big and strong before they head out on pasture. This is what it looked like when we first moved them out of their brooder and onto grass.
A few days later, we gave them a “pool” for the first time. When ducklings are covered in their baby “feathers” they are NOT waterproof! They can easily become waterlogged and possibly drown. In the wild, momma ducks preen them with her own oil to allow them to float. For this reason, we don’t allow our tiny baby ducks to have access to any containers of water that they can climb into, unless we are supervising them directly.
You can see how much larger they are in the second video! Within a couple weeks, we will be moving them into a pen surrounded by Electronet, and they will have access to two or three swimming pools. This group will grow up on pasture, eating locally grown grain from our local mill, and some will be processed for meat. We may keep some of the females to add to our egg laying flock, but we are still undecided on that at this time. Until then, we will enjoy watching them grow.
This post was sponsored by our Patreon supporter Giles. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy!
Frontière Farm House 