Torsten Posted August 25, 2007 Are there any animal farmers here? Hobby or professional? I've always been interested in animal farming and have had various critters in my care over the years, but just recently I am gettign pretty serious about it again. My main interest has been mostly rare breeds ie 'heirloom' animals, but I also like the idea of closing the nutrient cycle, so we are now getting into some more conventional farming. Anyone here farming ducks? We intend to go into organic duck egg production this season. I also swore to myself never to get another goat, but I've just bought 6 of them for weed control. Some sheep are on the way, cattle numbers are increasing steadily, and no hobby farm would be complete without an alpaca so I am picking up a couple next week [as duck protectors]. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xShiva.spacetechnology Posted August 25, 2007 (edited) Hey T, sounds like an awesome list of animals you've got there. indian runners (ducks) in my personal opinion seem to make great pets, looks beautiful, and lay eggs non stop pretty much..i had a few last year, then had togive them away ecause they were becoming too friendly and loved gardening. one actually madehis way back almost 100km to use after giving him away. Also cant go wrong with a few chooks or peacocks ;) Edited August 25, 2007 by xshivaspacetechnologyx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 25, 2007 the main priority of what we do is still plants, so any animal has to either be easily controlled or do no damage. This means the only chickens we keep are silkies [flightless and low impact] for example. For ducks we have about 30 muscovies which we keep as foster mums for the eggs laid by the 200 or so Indian runner ducklings we will be getting in spring. We are fencing off about 3 acres of grass with electric netting so they have plenty to roam. The alpacas will protect them from clever foxes. The original idea was to breed geese, but after getting #4 I knew that that was my honk limit. We've got various weed problems on this property and we figure goats will be good to take care of them as they love the flowers. I am hesitant about goats and will start small because I've had my fair share of problems with them before [like them eating my neighbours entire crop of wacky baccy]. I am also getting into a couple of small cattle breeds and will probably build up a small stud here in the next few years. I figure small cattle do a lot less damage and can be let into tree plantations after a year or two when the trees are out of their reach. When we moved onto our property we thought we'd just get rid of all the cattle and let rainforest regenerate. Instead we have dramatically increased the weed burden in some areas. We now know which areas are suited for rainforest regeneration and which are best maintained as grazing land for a few more years, so that's what we are going to aim for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MORG Posted August 25, 2007 Aaahh Torsten, you're a lucky, lucky man to be getting alpacas. I love those animals and have a dream to own some one day. I'm missing something though. How exactly will alpacas prevent foxes taking your ducks? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 25, 2007 Aaahh Torsten, you're a lucky, lucky man to be getting alpacas. I love those animals and have a dream to own some one day. I am gettign the hippy ones. They have dreadlocks. I'm missing something though. How exactly will alpacas prevent foxes taking your ducks? Alpacas are obsessed with foxes. if they find a fox hole they will stop eating for days and will stand guard until the fox is forced out from hunger. The alpaca then tramples him to death. They will also chase foxes in the paddock and are always alert and on the look out for them. Alpacas are used as guardian protectors for lambs and other animals too. Many farmers will use wethers for this purpose, but I am lucky to have found a breeding pair quite cheap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted August 29, 2007 honk limit heheh. quails are strictly flesh-eating. sounds like a useful trait. more useful even than foxicide, perhaps. good on you for trying to get heirloom breeds. most of those are bound to be more hardy/useful than commercial breeds, unless the animals are for commercial production. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devance Posted August 30, 2007 Chile peppers can't effect the taste buds on birds or ducksas I understand. So for other varments like elephants, camels, rats , and mice would be good. Birds travel all over the place which is the reason the capsican is not a problem. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=...cks&spell=1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Duck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
