Planning 2017: Managing the Flocks

We have two separate flocks on the farm.  We have 6 laying hens and 10 ducks.  We have had both flocks for two years this coming spring.  We have added new ducks to the flock from hatching our own eggs.  The chicks are now past their priming laying and we will have to make some decisions.

We have both Buff Orpingtons and Australorps.  I really like both of the breeds and would like to keep them both around.  They have produced really well and seem to handle the cold very well.  I order the birds from a hatchery and had them delivered to my local feed store.  I will probably end up doing that again.  The only issue with that is having to brood the chicks.

We culled all of the roosters the first year.  We didn’t care for the noise of the roosters.  In hindsight, I wish I would have kept one around.  At least as a trial to see if he would have been loud by himself.  I had the chickens brood three broods of ducklings this spring.  This was so much easier than brooding them me.

I have thought about bringing in a rooster from another farm.  There is a sale this spring where I know I could get a mature rooster.  So we will have to decide what we would like to do.

The duck flock will be easier to manage.  We will cull out all but one or two drakes.  Then we can decide when and if we want to hatch more ducklings.  The other thing with ducks is they will stay productive for more years than a chicken.  We have a flock of Khaki Campbells that we originally bought from Metzer Farms.  I found the process of mail ordering birds to be pretty stressful.  This stress was all due to the post office and the shipping process.  Metzer’s was great to work with and would use them again for sure if we end up ordering ducks.

We have thought about adding guinea hen to the farm.  We have a pretty bad problem with ticks and they should help keep that under control.  We are a little concerned with the reputation of guineas of being loud and their pension to roam.  If the problems with the ticks get under our skin enough maybe will we take the plunge?

We have found the flocks to be enjoyable and really love the fresh eggs.  I think it is safe to say that we will continue to have them as part of the farm for the foreseeable future.