Imprinting is a process that helps ducks and geese identify themselves. They will consider the first being they see as their mother, then the others as their siblings. If they are hatched from an incubator, and handled by humans, they will think they are humans, and will not mate with other geese. They will also seek human company.
IMPRINTING
To avoid this, I limited eye contact with the gosling, who is still in the brooder, on his third day now.
This morning while I was feeding the goats, the mother hen got out of the nest. I took advantage of this to take one of the eggs from the incubator and set it into the nest. There are now 5 eggs in the nest, and three in the incubator. I also ran a power cord from the barn to the geese shed. The next time the hen gets out, I will try to set a second brooder there, then I will set the gosling in there for a day or two, so that the hen will get used to his chirping. After that, I can try to set him in the nest, in hope she will recognize him.
The next weeks should be interesting as far as the geese.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
First Gosling
Our first live gosling hatched today. Sadly, a second gosling died at hatching. Out of the 5 first eggs, two eggs were bad, two were dead at hatching, and one only survived. So far the gosling is still alive tonight, has dried up, and it now eating and drinking.
I understand better why the two others died. I had to help this gosling to hatch, and realize that the egg shell is way too dry. The incubator doesn't have enough moisture in it. I also need to get a goose egg turner, which will make the incubation process a lot easier.
Here is a pic of our gosling, about 12 hours after hatching:
The next hatch is due 5 to 6 days from now.
I understand better why the two others died. I had to help this gosling to hatch, and realize that the egg shell is way too dry. The incubator doesn't have enough moisture in it. I also need to get a goose egg turner, which will make the incubation process a lot easier.
Here is a pic of our gosling, about 12 hours after hatching:
The next hatch is due 5 to 6 days from now.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Ziggy the Buck
Ziggy our buck has a whole 2 acre pasture for himself. The problem is that he is lonely. We have to separate him from the milking doe, to avoid tainting her milk, and the kids are too young, he could hurt them. So he is lonely and complaining every time he sees someone.
Yesterday, I spotted a plastic bag on the pasture, which doesn't look very good, so I went in, first time in at least two weeks. Ziggy is fed through the fence, so he has minimum interaction with anyone.
He let me him, no problem, and then I walked to where the plastic bag was, always keeping an eye on Ziggy, because he has challenged me a few times. Nothing really bad, I just walked away to leave him alone those few times. But yesterday was different, as soon as I tried to walk back, he would stand in front of me, show me he wanted to play or fight, although I don't think he meant any ill. Foam was coming out of his mouth, and he was jumping and turning around in front of me, head up, then head down, showing his horns. I was quite scared at that point. He would not let me pass him.
The only thing I thought of doing, although I knew it was not good as far as training (it would reinforce his bad behavior) was to grab his horns and twist his neck to drive us next to the gate, then push him to the fence to shock him, and hope that would startle him enough to give me time to open the gate and leave. It took me a good 10 minutes to push him back the 100FT or so to the fence. He resisted to touch the fence, but eventually touch it good two times, and run away 10 feet from me. I ran and jumped the gate (not part of the initial plan...). I looked back, he looked disappointed that the game was over, which is why I think now he did not mean any ill, although yesterday, I was not sure at all of his intents.
I was exhausted, and promised myself to buy a cow prod and shock him good to show him who is the boss. These were my thoughts coming back to the house.
After a day reflecting, I am trying to come up with the best response. He is a beautiful buck, and I want to keep him, but not with this behavior, at least not with humans. So here is the plan:
1. Get a cattle prod. I hope to never use it, but I will if I have to (risk of injury for example). The prod will be locked so that nobody will play with it (I have seen kids playing with forcing their dog to walk through their invisible fence just because it was fun to shock the dog...).
2. Always have the prod on me, visible to Ziggy, when I have to deal with him. Put red tape on it or whatever will make it noticeable. Use deterrence as much as possible, rather than punishment.
3. Never go into the buck pen alone. This is the last time I deal with Ziggy on my own.
4. Use a spray bottle against Ziggy, and see if that works. If it does, this will be the main training tool. If not, unfortunately, the prod will, and the training won't be good. Here is an example of how well that simple trick can work: BackYardHerds post.
5. Train Ziggy to make him understand humans are not challengers to his dominance. Does anyone know how to do that?
6. Give him a companion. That will be our wether kid, he is 4 months old only, and still too young, he could get hurt. A companion will help Ziggy stay a social buck.
7. Interact with Ziggy as often as his behavior allows. Probably leave him alone with the wether during rut though...
If you have experience to share, please leave a comment. Thanks for visiting the blog.
Andre.
Yesterday, I spotted a plastic bag on the pasture, which doesn't look very good, so I went in, first time in at least two weeks. Ziggy is fed through the fence, so he has minimum interaction with anyone.
He let me him, no problem, and then I walked to where the plastic bag was, always keeping an eye on Ziggy, because he has challenged me a few times. Nothing really bad, I just walked away to leave him alone those few times. But yesterday was different, as soon as I tried to walk back, he would stand in front of me, show me he wanted to play or fight, although I don't think he meant any ill. Foam was coming out of his mouth, and he was jumping and turning around in front of me, head up, then head down, showing his horns. I was quite scared at that point. He would not let me pass him.
The only thing I thought of doing, although I knew it was not good as far as training (it would reinforce his bad behavior) was to grab his horns and twist his neck to drive us next to the gate, then push him to the fence to shock him, and hope that would startle him enough to give me time to open the gate and leave. It took me a good 10 minutes to push him back the 100FT or so to the fence. He resisted to touch the fence, but eventually touch it good two times, and run away 10 feet from me. I ran and jumped the gate (not part of the initial plan...). I looked back, he looked disappointed that the game was over, which is why I think now he did not mean any ill, although yesterday, I was not sure at all of his intents.
I was exhausted, and promised myself to buy a cow prod and shock him good to show him who is the boss. These were my thoughts coming back to the house.
After a day reflecting, I am trying to come up with the best response. He is a beautiful buck, and I want to keep him, but not with this behavior, at least not with humans. So here is the plan:
1. Get a cattle prod. I hope to never use it, but I will if I have to (risk of injury for example). The prod will be locked so that nobody will play with it (I have seen kids playing with forcing their dog to walk through their invisible fence just because it was fun to shock the dog...).
2. Always have the prod on me, visible to Ziggy, when I have to deal with him. Put red tape on it or whatever will make it noticeable. Use deterrence as much as possible, rather than punishment.
3. Never go into the buck pen alone. This is the last time I deal with Ziggy on my own.
4. Use a spray bottle against Ziggy, and see if that works. If it does, this will be the main training tool. If not, unfortunately, the prod will, and the training won't be good. Here is an example of how well that simple trick can work: BackYardHerds post.
5. Train Ziggy to make him understand humans are not challengers to his dominance. Does anyone know how to do that?
6. Give him a companion. That will be our wether kid, he is 4 months old only, and still too young, he could get hurt. A companion will help Ziggy stay a social buck.
7. Interact with Ziggy as often as his behavior allows. Probably leave him alone with the wether during rut though...
If you have experience to share, please leave a comment. Thanks for visiting the blog.
Andre.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
First Goose Egg
Yesterday, the geese took over the goat shed. The goose hen choose a spot to nest, her companion standing next to her, while the lone male was guarding the goat shed. The pic below shows the loan male guarding.
Needless to say, they were fiercely defending the area. I brought them some feed, and got attacked. So I suspected the hen had laid already, and hoped that she would brood her eggs.
This morning, I noticed the three geese were out, and staid out for a while. The nest appeared abandoned, so I went in there, and found three eggs, one been a chicken egg, one a broken goose, and the third one an apparently good goose egg. Here is a pic, the obscurity of the goat shed forced long exposure, which made the pic a little blurry. The broken egg was removed before the pic was taken.
Because the nest is abandoned, we setup our incubator. Hopefully the goose egg will fit inside the egg turner.
On the first pic above, the new Kestrel nest box is also visible.
Needless to say, they were fiercely defending the area. I brought them some feed, and got attacked. So I suspected the hen had laid already, and hoped that she would brood her eggs.
This morning, I noticed the three geese were out, and staid out for a while. The nest appeared abandoned, so I went in there, and found three eggs, one been a chicken egg, one a broken goose, and the third one an apparently good goose egg. Here is a pic, the obscurity of the goat shed forced long exposure, which made the pic a little blurry. The broken egg was removed before the pic was taken.
Because the nest is abandoned, we setup our incubator. Hopefully the goose egg will fit inside the egg turner.
On the first pic above, the new Kestrel nest box is also visible.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
About the Geese
We have three geese, of unknown gender until a few days ago. A visitor stopped by to ask us about our geese. Since he seemed to know about geese, we asked him to sex them for us: we have a mated pair, and a lone gander. He also said that the hen is ready to lay. That immediatly got my attention.
The geese have been a pain for quite a while, mostly because they keep stealing the feed from our layer. But recently, they have stepped us their disturbance to our hens by taking over the hen house. Two of the 3 geese (the mated pair) kept getting in there. I had to get them out and was not happy at all about the mess they put in there. Now I understand they were simply looking for a place to lay.
I setup an unused dog house, which got their interest for a day or so, but they didn't seem to like it much, so I made them a bigger shelter with two pallets and a tarp.
They seem to like it better than the dog house (the Dogloo on the left), and the three of them can fit in, while only two could fit in the doghouse.
I approached to get a better shot, but they were getting defensive, so I didn't insist. This is the closest shot I could get:
I also had to feed them grains, since the snow is covering the grass. They are very hungry.
We used to talk about have a goose dinner one of those days, due to their behavior toward our hens (or even toward us sometimes, they are very defensive). Now that I know they are mated and ready to lay, I love my geese.
As always, it is just a matter of mutual understanding...
The geese have been a pain for quite a while, mostly because they keep stealing the feed from our layer. But recently, they have stepped us their disturbance to our hens by taking over the hen house. Two of the 3 geese (the mated pair) kept getting in there. I had to get them out and was not happy at all about the mess they put in there. Now I understand they were simply looking for a place to lay.
I setup an unused dog house, which got their interest for a day or so, but they didn't seem to like it much, so I made them a bigger shelter with two pallets and a tarp.
They seem to like it better than the dog house (the Dogloo on the left), and the three of them can fit in, while only two could fit in the doghouse.
I approached to get a better shot, but they were getting defensive, so I didn't insist. This is the closest shot I could get:
I also had to feed them grains, since the snow is covering the grass. They are very hungry.
We used to talk about have a goose dinner one of those days, due to their behavior toward our hens (or even toward us sometimes, they are very defensive). Now that I know they are mated and ready to lay, I love my geese.
As always, it is just a matter of mutual understanding...
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Attracting Raptors
We have a predator problem in our farm. The first big predation problem we got was the coyotes that took our chickens last year. We lost about 8 chickens, a duck and a goose until I was able to secure the electric fence. No other kill has happened in more than 6 months. I think working on the fence is the best way to control the coyotes.
Since I started a small chicken hatchery, I have also lost more than 10 chicks to rats. Today, the cat got attacked and bitten.
When I was mowing this summer, I saw field mice running in front of the mower. The cats would catch a few, but that was only making a small dent in the population of mice. Once we will grow more crops, they will become a serious problem, so they need to be controlled now.
According to an Ontario survey, 90% of chicken farms have rodent problems.
A single breeding pair of rats or mice, along with their offspring, can potentially produce 20 million new rodents within three years.
Read more: Agricultural Control for Mice & Rats | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6163655_agricultural-control-mice-rats.html#ixzz19wfzfwkF
The previous owner of the property used poisons, which I really want to avoid. if everything else fails, then I will, but I want to try other more natural methods first.
The field mice can be controlled by American Kestrels, which are the smallest known Raptors living in our area, and second smallest in the World. They feed on mice, but also on insects such as grasshoppers, or amphibians. They can be attracted to our area by setting nest boxes at appropriate locations. There are good informations on the net on how to build and where to set a Kestrel nest box. The top South East corner of our horse sheds look like good spots.
Our land often has a Westward morning breeze, and an Eastward evening breeze. These regular winds are excellent for the Kestrel, which needs a headwind to do his spectacular hoovering flight when hunting for mice.
Rats are not easily controlled by common predators such as cats. They are simply too big and vicious for them. I knew of only one cat that could take on a rat and kill it, it was a feral cat that would also take on dogs such as German Shepherds (the whole neighbourhood knew her, humans ... and dogs!). For that wild cat to kill a rat, it would take 3-4 hours of a very vicious fight, with a lot of hissing and screaming. Usually, my parents' shed was where the fight would occur, and they could hear the rat screaming from inside their house. Knowing what that cat was capable of, I know that our current cat is not going to face those rats, as her injuries show. To control the rat population, I am again going to use their most efficient natural predator, and that is the Owl. An Owl is nocturnal, like rats. She has sharp ears and eyes, and can fly completely silently. An Owl is built to hunt rats, and is extremely efficient at it. If I can attract an Owl around here, the many lakes and ponds will provide plenty of rats to feed her. There are also good informations on the net on Owl nest boxes, so I will try that too.
Kestrels and Owls are cool birds that differ from the common birds we are used to see. Watching the Kestrel hoovering gives welcome diversity from crows eating my chicken feed. As far as the Owl, I hope I will be able to attract them, ear their song and maybe even see one silently flying in the night. Knowing an Owl family is hunting will certainly help the goats and chickens (and myself!) sleep better, and significantly increase the yield of our hatchery.
As efficient as they can be, these predators are not going to exterminate their prey. To them, that would mean suicide. The goal is to achieve a balance between predator and prey. Without predators, our barn would get overrun by rats, and our crops devoured by mice.
Time to study nest boxes, and locate the right spots to set the boxes...
Since I started a small chicken hatchery, I have also lost more than 10 chicks to rats. Today, the cat got attacked and bitten.
When I was mowing this summer, I saw field mice running in front of the mower. The cats would catch a few, but that was only making a small dent in the population of mice. Once we will grow more crops, they will become a serious problem, so they need to be controlled now.
According to an Ontario survey, 90% of chicken farms have rodent problems.
A single breeding pair of rats or mice, along with their offspring, can potentially produce 20 million new rodents within three years.
Read more: Agricultural Control for Mice & Rats | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6163655_agricultural-control-mice-rats.html#ixzz19wfzfwkF
The previous owner of the property used poisons, which I really want to avoid. if everything else fails, then I will, but I want to try other more natural methods first.
The field mice can be controlled by American Kestrels, which are the smallest known Raptors living in our area, and second smallest in the World. They feed on mice, but also on insects such as grasshoppers, or amphibians. They can be attracted to our area by setting nest boxes at appropriate locations. There are good informations on the net on how to build and where to set a Kestrel nest box. The top South East corner of our horse sheds look like good spots.
Our land often has a Westward morning breeze, and an Eastward evening breeze. These regular winds are excellent for the Kestrel, which needs a headwind to do his spectacular hoovering flight when hunting for mice.
Rats are not easily controlled by common predators such as cats. They are simply too big and vicious for them. I knew of only one cat that could take on a rat and kill it, it was a feral cat that would also take on dogs such as German Shepherds (the whole neighbourhood knew her, humans ... and dogs!). For that wild cat to kill a rat, it would take 3-4 hours of a very vicious fight, with a lot of hissing and screaming. Usually, my parents' shed was where the fight would occur, and they could hear the rat screaming from inside their house. Knowing what that cat was capable of, I know that our current cat is not going to face those rats, as her injuries show. To control the rat population, I am again going to use their most efficient natural predator, and that is the Owl. An Owl is nocturnal, like rats. She has sharp ears and eyes, and can fly completely silently. An Owl is built to hunt rats, and is extremely efficient at it. If I can attract an Owl around here, the many lakes and ponds will provide plenty of rats to feed her. There are also good informations on the net on Owl nest boxes, so I will try that too.
Kestrels and Owls are cool birds that differ from the common birds we are used to see. Watching the Kestrel hoovering gives welcome diversity from crows eating my chicken feed. As far as the Owl, I hope I will be able to attract them, ear their song and maybe even see one silently flying in the night. Knowing an Owl family is hunting will certainly help the goats and chickens (and myself!) sleep better, and significantly increase the yield of our hatchery.
As efficient as they can be, these predators are not going to exterminate their prey. To them, that would mean suicide. The goal is to achieve a balance between predator and prey. Without predators, our barn would get overrun by rats, and our crops devoured by mice.
Time to study nest boxes, and locate the right spots to set the boxes...
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Milking our goat
We have been milking our goat twice a day for a week now, and her milk production is slowly increasing. We got 1 1/4 litre this morning. She is also getting more cooperative, getting on her own on the milking stand I built for her. Milking is still a little laborious for me, I obviously need to build some muscles in my hands.
The milking stand greatly improved the operation. It is built from recycled wood from our old deck. This is a good way to increase carbon sequestration.
Here is the milking stand:
At the first use I realizes that getting of the stand was not easy for the goat, since she had to back off, so I made one of the rails articulated.
To keep Poppy happy, I added a feed box where she gets her daily ration of goat chow:
Milking the goat has increased the labour needed every morning, so I will have to get up a little earlier now. If everything works well, Poppy will get milk for the next 10 months, then will be left to rest for 2 months before she kids again. The milk is delicious. Since we spend about $500 a year on milk, this should provide some savings.
The milking stand greatly improved the operation. It is built from recycled wood from our old deck. This is a good way to increase carbon sequestration.
Here is the milking stand:
At the first use I realizes that getting of the stand was not easy for the goat, since she had to back off, so I made one of the rails articulated.
To keep Poppy happy, I added a feed box where she gets her daily ration of goat chow:
Milking the goat has increased the labour needed every morning, so I will have to get up a little earlier now. If everything works well, Poppy will get milk for the next 10 months, then will be left to rest for 2 months before she kids again. The milk is delicious. Since we spend about $500 a year on milk, this should provide some savings.
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