turkeys and chickens

[Wifezilla]

i have it in my head that ducks should be butchered at 4 months...

While they can be big enough at 4 months, they fill out a lot more 5-6 months. Butchering ducks has a lot to do with timing. You want to catch them when they aren't developing those pin feathers that are hard to get plucked out.

From what I have read, your pin feather free windows are at 7, 12.5 and 18 weeks.

Now as for ducks with your other critters, it totally depends. I think climate should be your guide. If you are in a dry area, a ducks mess is easier to manage. I have actually been thinking about getting a few chickens to add to my flock of ducks so they can stir up the bedding in the run

Ducks are messy, but everything dries out pretty fast around here so no biggie.

If I lived in a humid area with lots of rain....oh heck no. We had a couple of weeks last year where it rained non stop. The ducks loved it but WOW. What a mess in the run. Any chickens would have been miserable.

As for disease, not sure. I know more about not putting ducks with quail because you might get the quail sick. Actually you aren't supposed to raise quail with chickens either and I think it is cocci. Chickens can live with it but the quail have no immunity and die horribly.

 

[BirchHatchery]

well guineas sound like they be a ball to have around were would be the best place to get them older or get keets? most hatcherys sell them but you have to get like 30 at a time my other problem is getting them older i heard it very hard to tell male from female i dont want to get ripped off but buying older ones and having all males or all females any other information on them would be nice also ??if i keep them penned up and then let them run would they come bak in the pen every night or start to go wild and roost in trees do they stay around the barn close like chickens do? i also herd if get older ones they need to be penned up for a long and able to see outside and be retrained that this is their new home how long would i have to leave them penned up for them to learn their new home?

 

[savingdogs]

We decided not to get guineas because of the noise, but we were going to order them here:
http://www.jmhatchery.com/hens/french-guinea-keets/prod_1.html

We ordered muscovy from them last year and were highly satisfied. We really liked dealing with these people. If I were buying keets I'd buy them there. Minimum order is 15.

 

[Libertyhomestead]

We don't seem to have a problem with blackhead here and keep our Beltsville White turkeys and chickens together.

We haven't needed to treat for cocci, but I keep a bottle of Sulmet on hand. I feel more comfortable medicating the water rather than the food. I also keep a bottle of fish-zole just in case I see signs of blackhead. I'm a big believer in keeping things natural, but I keep a well stocked first aid shelf just in case.

We got our eggs from from a breeder that keeps the production traits intact. Beltsvilles were once a popular commercial production breed back before BBW and they have a great meat type body. Ours are around 5 months and if they weren't breeders we could take them now. Heritage take 6-8 months average.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

well guineas sound like they be a ball to have around

** yep!


were would be the best place to get ....
** check craigslist - folks who hatch them will let you have just a few at a time. i got Bob and Roy at the livestock auction


i heard it very hard to tell male from female
** practically impossible to tell

any other information on them would be nice also ??
** there is a great section on BYC just for guinease

if i keep them penned up and then let them run would they come bak in the pen every night or start to go wild and roost in trees
*** train them to come in early or they will fly up as high as they can to roost. they are easy prey for owls, coons, and foxes. we are just consistent about what time to go in (based on daylight) and we only feed them in their coop. i drive ours with a stick and me and the dogs walking behind.

do they stay around the barn close like chickens do?
** ours stick close ....and we can hear them if they leave. i've chased them all over the neighbor's yard getting them back in. they like wide open areas.

i also herd if get older ones they need to be penned up for a long and able to see outside and be retrained that this is their new home how long would i have to leave them penned up
** i've heard differnet - weeks or months depending on who you talk to. we kept ours penned up over the winter (we got them late in the fall). another "trick" is to let just a few out at a time - they all stick together so they wont go far

 

[BirchHatchery]

sounds good to me i think i will look on craiglist or free ad paper and try to find a small flock of older ones maybe 10-20 and keep them penned up the rest of this winter untile spring that should be long enuff for them to learn to stay home. can they eat regular chicken feed?

Also i thought of puting all them in the 8x8 pen and puting 2 in the chicken house as i dont let my chickens run they stay in the barn all the time i figured if i put 2 in the chicken house maybe the others wouldn;t run as far from home then worth a try? Thanks for everyone time have a merry christmas

 

[BirchHatchery]

anyone no were i can get guineas at from a hatchery the earleist time?

 

[BirchHatchery]

im gettin 10-15 guineas that wer hatched this past july

 

[freemotion]

May you hang onto your sanity!

 

[BirchHatchery]

ill have my sanity