We lost 6 of the ducklings to heat related issues. They got shipped during our heat wave of near 100 degree temps and I have a feeling I either gave them too much water too quickly or the combination of heat/stress from being shipped caused them to die. The first was DOA and we lost one an hour for the next 5 hours after that. I modified the brooder so there was more air flow and gave them electrolytes and had no more dead loss after that.
Fast forward to my replacement shipment....lost one the same evening I got them...post office called my husband instead of me and I didn't get them until almost 10am. Then the next morning I found another one dead.
Then we moved the older ducklings to the chicken tractor and I lost one of the older ducks overnight. They had no heat lamp so I could have lost one to piling, but they weren't using the lamp in the brooder at all so I figured they would be okay. They are terribly scared of us, which is good since we plan on releasing them, but they tend to run and huddle in the corner of the tractor when I feed/water them. The babies are fine and don't seem to want to be under the lamp either. I don't know.
Well, today my husband milked the goat for me this morning for my birthday....forgot to turn off my alarm clock so I woke up early anyway but that's okay. He did my morning chores for me as well so I made some coffee and oatmeal and fed the kids. He canceled my hair appt and gave me a $40 gift card to Books A Million instead.
I got the grocery shopping done last night while he did dinner for the kids and went to TSC for dog food and layena. He went and got the trencher this morning and is digging the trench for the electric/water lines to the barn and garage.
My broody hen decided to switch nesting boxes last night so I picked her up and put her back on "her" nest. If she decides to stick with it I am gonna have to put her in the isolation pen so she'll stay put.
Hubby picked up a nice fencing tip the other day and tightened all our fences yesterday and they look great. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and go in between a square. Pinch the horizontal wire and twist 90 degrees. You end up with what looks like a stair step in the square but the kink tightens up the fence. Repeat this all the way down the vertical row and your fence will tighten right up without having to remove anything!
Here's a rough illustration of the fence before and after:
yeah, I don't know what I'll get yet...maybe something concerning cheese....I love books and I have been trying to go through my stash that I collected in college of "classics" and read or reread all my stuff. I just finished Slaughterhouse 5 and I'm thinking I'll do 1984 by George Orwell next. I have a lot of young adult lit too so I may reread a lot of those. They are usually quick and not terribly complicated but still good reads. I also want to read Stuart Little or Charlottes Web to the kids one chapter at a time at bedtime over the summer. I also have Through the Looking Glass: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that I'm thinking of reading too.