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Reviving the old-fashioned "can-do" spirit of self-reliance and resourcefulness, they have faced many challenges. With faith and determination, these once-ordinary city dwellers are boldly reclaiming their lives and land. continue

Ducks rss

October 25, 2009

For those of you who have been following our injured duckies saga – here’s an update.
She’s been doing well but still has a slightly crunched/crooked neck.  Within the first three weeks we saw a drastic (incredible) improvement giving her ligament/vitamin supplements, massage and water treatments.  But now there’s been sort of a standstill (not that [...]

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May 23, 2008

A fellow Pasadena blogger commented about using our duck eggs for the first time. It’s really neat to read other’s experience using fresh, homeraised eggs.
Read what she had to say (thanks Jill for the nod!)
A side note about our ducks, since folks are asking. We have Khaki Campbell (or just Campbell) [...]

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October 22, 2007

Q. I want chickens, I’ve seen that your family doesn’t buy a lot of stuff so I’m assuming you make chicken/duck feed some how. How do you do it?
A.  We feed the chickens primarily with greens from our garden; however to be healthy and lay eggs, they do need chicken food which contains grains.  For [...]

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September 10, 2007

Q. Thanks ! I had another quick question. You mentioned before that you feed them all soybeans. Can you buy them dried, soak them overnight and feed the animals or do you cook them as well?
A. Yep, they really love soybeans and it gives them that protein they need to
lay eggs. I buy dried soybeans [...]

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September 10, 2007

Q. I am looking a obtaining some Khaki Campbells like you, where can you buy them here in the LA area.
A. First, I know you are having car troubles as we are and I don’t know if
you’d ever go up San Jose way for a trip or anything, but there’s a well
known hatchery in [...]

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September 10, 2007

Q. We rescued a baby mallard duck, any tips? Thanks.
A. By the way, if you haven’t done it already, keep the
duckling under a heat lamp (a desktop lamp will do fine)
to keep him/her warm as it can get cold and sick without
its mother keeping it warm.
Also, since it doesn’t have its mother, the baby [...]

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September 9, 2007

Q. I’ve keep ducks for years and now the city wants them to be removed. Please help, I don’t want to lose my ducks. Do you have any suggestions?
A. It was upsetting to read of the troubles you are experiencing with the city
regarding your ducks. I know how much a part of [...]

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September 9, 2007

Q. Hi. Thanks for writing me back. Thankfully, that experience ended as abruptly as it began. I thought maybe if I put a bitter tasting substance on the feather ends it would deter them from nibbling further, so I put lemon juice on her wing and I never saw blood again. I [...]

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September 9, 2007

Q. My name is Adam. I live across the street from a river in NJ. I have been living here for four years. The birds I mainly see are Canadian Geese and Mallards. Well about two months ago I saw a family of six ducks. They are really cute and friendly. I looked them up [...]

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September 9, 2007

Q. Help! Duck family needs to be relocated.
A. I just spoke to you on the phone regarding the duck family that needs to be relocated. I’m sure they are so adorable!
There’s this wonderful place I know of that takes in wildlife for either relocation, rehabilitation, or for long-term care. I am not sure [...]

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September 9, 2007

Q. Phone call regarding foot infection with pet duck.
A. When I spoke to you (Rebeca) on the phone, I suspected the cause was a condition called “bumble-foot” which is common in waterfowl but I wasn’t entirely sure at that moment. My own duck, Dawn has a mild condition of this (an abscess) but didn’t [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. Keeping Animals in Town?
I’m really enjoying your website- it has been such an encouragement to me! We recently moved from a 5 acre farm in OK, complete with dairy goats, pigs, calf, chickens, and ducks to a urban neighborhood in CO. I was initially very frustrated to be so limited here, but I [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. WHY DO YOU KEEP DUCKS?

A. Being vegetarians we do not eat the ducks, only their eggs. We also don’t have a male duck so the eggs are not fertile. We keep ducks because we like animals, enjoy their company and personalities and find it satisfying to have a part in providing additional sustenance into [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. We just brought home two ducks approx. one week old. The feed store where we bought them had them under a heat light. We purchased one for the ducklings bed however it seems too hot. Their bed is in our home for now so do they even need a heat light?
Thanks,
Jenny
A. The ducklings may [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. Hey Jordanne…Paul & Rebeca here. Just had a question about Leda & Lola. They are shedding their feathers right now. Is that normal. One more so than the other. They just flap their wings and the feathers fly. They are also pulling them out. I was wondering if it is a summertime thing? They [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. We found a mallard duckling in our yard. We are thinking of keeping it as a pet. What do they eat?
A. Just to make sure … have you seen the mother about? Sometimes she hides her babies while she looks for food. If you are certain the duckling is abandoned [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. I am interested in raising ducklings. I found your website and thought you could give me some advice. Thank you! Dawn
A. Here’s some points on successfully raising ducklings:
HOUSING:
For a sufficient home you’ll need a box (preferably a roomy Rubbermaid) lined with paper towels or facial tissue, etc. Do not use newspapers as this will [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. There are some wild ducks that I would like to feed and take care of. What do they eat and what kind of nesting do they need?
A. Ducks love to eat quite a wide range of foods. Bread is a popular thing to feed ducks, but actually, it isn’t the BEST thing to [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. HELP! I just found a stranded baby duck. Could you please tell me how I can care for it. How can I tell if it’s a male or female? Thanks.
A. I hope the little baby is doing well and that this email will get to you in time to do some good.
(NOTE: You cannot [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. I was pleased to see you’ve added some goats to the project. How do you keep them out of the garden?
Also, how do you keep the ducks from flying away?
Daniel
A. To address your questions:
First, about ducks … Our ducks cannot fly more than a few inches off the ground even if they [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. Were the ducks raised from chicks together?
A. No, we raised the ducks a year after we raised the chickens. So the chickens were a year old when they were introduced to the ducks.
Q. How did you introduce them?
A. Well, we definitely didn’t want to introduce the ducks when they were [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. I’m writing with a poultry health question. One of my ducks seems to have broken a nail (talon?) today. She’s hobbling around a bit, which is how I first noticed the problem. It doesn’t seem to hurt her too much – when I tried poking the spot, she didn’t get too upset. There is [...]

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September 6, 2007

Q. My children very much want a duck for a pet. They are 6 and 8 and so far have only beta fish as pets which are very low maintenance. I’m wanting to get an idea about how high maintenance a duck is. This is our first attempt at hatching/raising a [...]

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September 4, 2007

Q. I have been reading up on raising chickens for eggs in a backyard (urban) setting and I came across an issue that is not answered well by the meat eating author: Since egg production of chickens drops off as they get older, what do you do with the older birds? We are vegetarian and [...]

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September 4, 2007

Q. I want chickens, I’ve seen that your family doesn’t buy a lot of stuff so I’m assuming you make chicken/duck feed some how. How do you do it?
A. We feed the chickens primarily with greens from our garden; however, to be healthy and lay eggs and because of our restricted space, they do [...]

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September 4, 2007

Q. What is the purpose of the goats, the turtle, the ducks, and Quinn (its a bird you have I just don’t know what it is called)? I saw that you feed them leftovers then compost their poop, but couldn’t you just compost the leftovers?
A. Our animals not only provide us with companionship, they are [...]

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September 4, 2007

“Getting Along” Q&A with Jordanne
Jordanne’s answer to a reader about chickens and ducks getting along. Jordanne continually amazes us and others she meets with her immense knowledge of animals. She’s not the type to let on how much she knows but she feels that she should share her knowledge because as she says “I wish [...]

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September 4, 2007

Q. Just wondering how you can tell that an egg is fertile? Does it look different from an unfertilized egg? I was also wondering how many eggs you can hatch in an incubator at one time and how long it takes them to hatch?
A. Regarding fertile eggs, you first need a male – duck or [...]

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Popular posts filed under »Ducks«

AMY UPDATE
→  2009-10-25 04:57:03 (3 Comments)   

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LOCATION
Pasadena, CA
(Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena 100 yards from 11 lane freeway)

PROPERTY SIZE
1/5 acre (66' x 132' / 8,712 sq.ft.)

GARDEN SIZE
~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')

GARDEN DIVERSITY
~ 400 different vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries

FOOD PRODUCTION
~ 6,000 lbs annually / 99% of our produce $75,000 savings

URBAN HOMESTEAD SUPPORTS
4 full-time resident adults, a menagerie of animals, volunteers, and many clients

ENERGY USAGE
$12 a month / 6.0 kwh day

WATER USAGE
$600 / 175,000 gallons a year

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12,410 kwh as of 5/12/10

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