I went this morning and got the smoker and fuel from the feed store and she informed me that I need a license in the state of VA to raise mallards in captivity since they are a native bird. CRAP.
She says the fine is $100 per bird if I get caught.
We hit the chicken swap and they had American Guinea Hogs, a heritage breed of pig, they are supposed to finish out in 6 months and be less destructive as larger breeds. The finish weight is supposed to be up to 350 lbs. He wanted $100 each for a piglet. I asked if he sold bred females and he said yes....we'll see if hubby can be convinced. Maybe next year. We have lots of oaks on our property and they are supposed to finish beautifully on acorns. I would love to have a breeding pair.
They also had lots of rabbits for sale and I almost came home with some guinea chicks but Chad would kill me.
My stupid EE keeps trying to fly out of the chicken pasture.
I have had to rescue her from the dog 3 times already. I don't want to have to clip wings but I will if I have to.
The ducklings have gone through one gallon of water with electrolytes and I just gave them plain water this morning and turned the fan on low in the brooder but kept the lamp on.
We just got done working the bees (see my beekeeping post in Everything Else) and they seem to be doing well. The weaker hive is still weaker but plenty of activity and lots of brood....big larvae in there almost ready to become "bees" and lots of pollen. They are drawing out the adjoining frames finally and I think they just needed time to settle in. I didn't spot the queens but we used a smoker for the first time today....blech.
I got home from the swap and set up the tent and the kids are already wanting to play in it but it is still pretty hot out there, hotter than I thought it was gonna be today. I pulled some of the dead leaves of my bean plants and did some general garden cleanup and watered everyone. I also purchased some BOSS for everyone and gave everyone some as a treat. My Tally goat has horrible dandruff so I am hoping the BOSS might help with her dry skin. Everyone else is okay where that is concerned and they don't seem to have any creepy crawlies anywhere.
I made an iced goat-puccino from this morning's cold coffee and it was sooooo good. We are supposed to get a chance of showers off an on tomorrow and we have a family reunion after church tomorrow so it will be a busy morning. I still have lots of watermelon so I will chunk it up and take that as my "dish". Am I lazy or what?
Oh, and I forgot to post a pic, last week we had some unusual goings on. I found a big snapping turtle inside the garden fence and I got a really weird egg. Here's the pics!
And here's my first cheese....I didn't like it by itself...tasted like what I imagine goaty feet would taste like...
I did a head count and kept getting 19 or 20 so I definitely have all my ducks here so it may have been a wild one from somewhere....the kids keep saying it "came from the chicken pen" so I tend to believe them if the story doesn't vary after they've told it to me several times. We did release some mallards here last year and we had one that kept flying back into the chicken pasture to be with the indian runners so maybe she came back this year...her name was Quack.
Sometimes people at feed stores have been known to be full of baloney!
