I'm def with Clay, getting rid of the non-productive birds. It's not good economics to be feeding and maintaining creatures of any kind that are "not earning their keep," in my Dads words on his farm. Did you try Chinese style Duck as in Peking Duck ??? Not sure if it requires a specific breed of Duck but hotdamn it's very tasty. We only ever raised ducks for their eggs ( make thee best sponge type cakes etc). Duck, like possum , rabbit, etc is an acquired taste I feel. Hope your new ones are a better fit for your homestead set up , so as not to waste more money feeding etc with no returns. Farming is def a fine line in balancing finances, requiring a good clear business head. Thanks again for the no nonsense approach you and Clay bring to farming /homesteading. Love and prayers from Ipswich Queensland Australia 🇦🇺🤗💞🙏✌️👍👏🇺🇲
I understand that the ducks , like your other animals, have to “pull their own weight” on your homestead. So your future plans for them make sense. I’ll miss the Swedish ducks when they’re gone, though. They are so beautiful in the snow (like a black and white movie!). And I’ve really enjoyed their antics. I know you’ll be sure they end up in a good home. And I look forward to seeing the new breed of ducklings when you get them. Thanks for this update.
Sorry these duck aren't working out...they have been very entertaining to watch and I totally understand that you and Clay are not in the business of raising "pet" ducks. So, good luck with the group🤞🤞🤞
Thank you for your video! I was considering buying swedish blue ducks for eggs and meat. But I already have a good breed that is cheap and easy to find where I live. I also have khaki Campbell ( produce a good amount of eggs, haven't tried their meat yet ) and Cayuga ( still no eggs , they're young). And was looking to add a couple of new breeds. But considering cost- benefits I don't think it is my best option.
She'd rather freeze any day! I felt so bad for her when she and Clay were out doing the tractor work. She's such a good sport and hard worker, but we all know how much she dislikes the heat.
I know y'all are very experienced and knowledgable so forgive me if you already know this, but I saw a chef who uses duck as one of the main meats in his restaurant and he emphasized that he always has to age the meat for at least 14 days for it to be the right tenderness and flavor.
Ariel. I live in central Alaska near Fairbanks and we kept ducks for a number of years. Even when temps would drop to -50 F and colder they were determined to be outside the warmer shelter we had for them and they always wanted to bathe in their water. We finally wound up with a low open fronted lean-to type shelter with a deep bed of straw and they seemed to be perfectly happy with that arrangement. No frozen feet or frostbite. We kept Rouen's and whatever the standard domestic white ducks are called.... I did enjoy their antics but they never were great producers. Good luck with the Khaki Campbells!
Thanks for spelling out what she was saying - Khaki Campbells. I don't know much about ducks, but I can go and look these up the same way I looked up the chickens and other ducks when she got them.
I hope you get some eggs from them between now and the time your new ducks grow up. I hope your new ducks taste better out of Freezer Camp too. They ARE so beautiful! But I totally get that everyone on your homestead has to pull their own weight. You're still just starting out here at your new place. I can't wait another few years with your fruit trees and other trees you were able to bring down from your old parking spot. I'm excited for you to get your other small home up so you can use Fy Nyth as an AirB&B for extra income. Being able to can so much, have your own flocks, and hopefully adding some fruit and nut trees... Ariel, it sounds amazing! I'm glad Clay has been able to keep his patience as long as he has with the ducks. LoL
You have certainly tried your best with these ducks--you have given them the best life, the best care, the best living situation. It's truly unfortunate that they have failed on pretty much all counts, and it makes sense that you need to move on.
Love your videos. Thanks for the chuckles about ducks, non productive poultry but entertaining. This year is going to be an extra busy year for you and Clay.
I love eating duck. Yummy. I have cooked duck breast. It's one of those foods I think you either like or don't like...weird that the duck meat was dry....at least you tried it various ways. We're hoping to get 4-5 ducks & 6-8 chickens in the near future. Wish you both well. Love the snow. Hubs & I use to live in planting zone 5b/6a & we lived near a big river & the ducks would congregate & quack ...it would be 1-2 foot of snow on the ground & freezing cold & the ducks were in the water just enjoying themselves....some of their antics could be hilarious.
Perfectly understandable-they are beautiful and fun tho. Hopefully they’ll get a new home where everyone can be happy about it. Thanks for a good video. 😊
We had a pet Long Island when I was a child. We got her a companion and he was a Pekingese. We had to bring them indoors into our garage during some cold spells and sometimes even into our house, into the laundry-room, when it was well below zero (not often, in northern NJ). We went through a great deal of newspapers during their indoor stays. Supposedly Long Islands don't sit their eggs but "Quacky" did and we got 13 more ducks. We had only wanted pets and in the suburbs one wasn't raising duck flocks in those days so we gave them away when they were full grown, to a nearby duck farm. Quacky had been hand-raised and was incredibly affectionate but could never bear to be left totally alone at the house (we had a pond) so we often had to bring her with us to various places in her own wooden box or someone had to stay home. We found this out when she grew greatly distressed when we all piled into the car to go visit my grandparents and she chased the car as fast as her little legs would carry her. Such fond memories...and so many of them. I guess we were her flock.
perhaps, the feed u r giving the ducks is causing this lack of eggs, many other utubers have mentioned this and changed up the feed to have the fowl laying eggs
Thanks for the update and everything you share about your lifestyle. I hope they live together near a creek where they can still enjoy just being the Swedish ducks that they are. You have a great idea for the new baby ducklings coming. They will "imprint" with you much better that way if you are with them each day like that.
How is little Miss Broody Hen faring? Still incubating her future babies 🐣? Always so interesting and exciting at your house 🥰. I am fascinated by all of your poultry…
On a farm like yours each animal has its place. I have been thinking about my blue swede ducks too. She started laying before Christmas stopped with the extreme cold up here in Montana. They have started on laying eggs once again. That's funny because I only have two. So one is but have decided to see if she'll hatch some ducklings. If so we will keep a couple back and the parents will probably go. Like I said hard decision with them so I see your pondering.
I'm sorry to hear that your ducks are not completely working out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your new orders that are coming in April. Always good to hear from you Ariel.
My son has 5 khaki Campbells and 3 Indian Runners …they are so tame ,he hand raised them ,he gets eggs but really there pets ,I think they are a very good breed …he lives in Atlantic Canada ,winters are pretty cool but ducks do fine .Great video ..♥️🇨🇦
always wonder about y'all being up there, if something was to take the electric grid out, and we didn't have grocery stores and gasoline and all the modern conveniences that we have now; how would you survive, heat-wise etc? I don't see a lot of trees near you. Because if you're short growing season, could you grow enough food some seeds during the summer to actually feed your animals by yourselves? Does your water well rely on electricity? Sometimes I wish you would do a video about those things...
So! THAT'S what kind of ducks those are. (I asked in another comment section- I am two days new to this channel!). Also, I noted with interest their drinking basin... 😄
I've always thought duck meat was both dry and greasy at the same time.. part of it's charm I guess. I imagine it would make respectable jerky if you're into jerky. Mixed with ground pork might make an interesting burger or meatball. Ducks are absolutely the best entertainment bird to me.
Up on our Rocky Mtn Homestead at 9K ft elevation, we have a kitty, Mishka, who looks identical to your kitty Velcro...She is very affectionate as well...And she is an amazing mouser...We used to have rivers of mice but now we rarely see a mouse...She is the best cat ever... Thank you for your update on your Swedish Ducks...We, currently, have khaki Campbells and Pekins...They are all panicky, too...the only ducks I have ever had that were not panicky were ones that were constantly being played with by one of my daughters...but now that she is an adult and on her own, all of my ducks, even one's I hatched out with an incubator, have all been little scaredy cats. But that is okay, I don't have time to coddle them on our homestead...I found that my Pekin Ducks outlayed my Khaki Campbells on our mountain...They are a larger and calmer duck, too... QUESTION: What have you found as the easiest way to remove all of the feathers from the Carcass. I saw on Justin Rhodes that a drake should be culled as soon as they get their pin feathers so they are not tough...Even his kids loved duck culled that young... We don't give any of our farm animals water since it just freezes and we have no way of heating it. We just make sure that our goats, chickens, ducks and turkeys have plenty of snow in buckets that hook onto the walls in the barn overnight and let them out to free-range during the day where they eat snow...Even our ducks do well with this method...
I have Khaki Campbells and the females are very productive once they start laying. They tolerate our heat here in the south very well so it sounds like they are a very versatile duck. Good luck!
It is a matter of personal preference. I enjoyed duck eggs for baking, french toast, and in custards. I didn't like them as fried eggs, hard boiled, deviled eggs or scrambled. Plus the diet of the ducks does influence the taste of the eggs. The mildest flavored eggs were when they were on a commercial feed. My Swedish blue eggs varied between an extra large and jumbo chicken egg.
We had khaki Campbell for years, very messy but layed really well. Drakes were a bit of a pain, not much of an eating bird. We finished up with Indian runners.
Do the ducks eat any type of insect that would otherwise destroy crops or do they eat ticks, etc? I know guinea hens eat tons of tics in the south and they make a big dent in that. 👍
We just had our biggest snow in ten years here in the Northern California.. Just about to let my ducks out to enjoy the snow for their first time. This video was helpful on how ducks do in the snow! Thank you!
Weird, I would have thought at least the new ones would have laid eggs for you by now. Hopefully they start soon before you are trying to sell them. I have a chicken that is skittish like that. If I get within ten feet of her she is panicking and running into things flying away. I got her along with a black Copper Maran that I’m now thinking is too old to lay eggs. An older lady sold them to me at a swap meet and every time I am annoyed by one of them I can’t help but crack up about how that wise old lady pulled a fast one on me. 😄
I'm def with Clay, getting rid of the non-productive birds. It's not good economics to be feeding and maintaining creatures of any kind that are "not earning their keep," in my Dads words on his farm. Did you try Chinese style Duck as in Peking Duck ??? Not sure if it requires a specific breed of Duck but hotdamn it's very tasty. We only ever raised ducks for their eggs ( make thee best sponge type cakes etc). Duck, like possum , rabbit, etc is an acquired taste I feel. Hope your new ones are a better fit for your homestead set up , so as not to waste more money feeding etc with no returns. Farming is def a fine line in balancing finances, requiring a good clear business head. Thanks again for the no nonsense approach you and Clay bring to farming /homesteading. Love and prayers from Ipswich Queensland Australia 🇦🇺🤗💞🙏✌️👍👏🇺🇲
I understand that the ducks , like your other animals, have to “pull their own weight” on your homestead. So your future plans for them make sense. I’ll miss the Swedish ducks when they’re gone, though. They are so beautiful in the snow (like a black and white movie!). And I’ve really enjoyed their antics. I know you’ll be sure they end up in a good home. And I look forward to seeing the new breed of ducklings when you get them. Thanks for this update.
Sorry these duck aren't working out...they have been very entertaining to watch and I totally understand that you and Clay are not in the business of raising "pet" ducks. So, good luck with the group🤞🤞🤞
Thank you for your video! I was considering buying swedish blue ducks for eggs and meat. But I already have a good breed that is cheap and easy to find where I live. I also have khaki Campbell ( produce a good amount of eggs, haven't tried their meat yet ) and Cayuga ( still no eggs , they're young). And was looking to add a couple of new breeds. But considering cost- benefits I don't think it is my best option.
Trial and error, good luck with your new ducks. Ariel is certainly winter hardy!
She'd rather freeze any day!
I felt so bad for her when she and Clay were out doing the tractor work.
She's such a good sport and hard worker, but we all know how much she dislikes the heat.
I know y'all are very experienced and knowledgable so forgive me if you already know this, but I saw a chef who uses duck as one of the main meats in his restaurant and he emphasized that he always has to age the meat for at least 14 days for it to be the right tenderness and flavor.
Ariel. I live in central Alaska near Fairbanks and we kept ducks for a number of years. Even when temps would drop to -50 F and colder they were determined to be outside the warmer shelter we had for them and they always wanted to bathe in their water. We finally wound up with a low open fronted lean-to type shelter with a deep bed of straw and they seemed to be perfectly happy with that arrangement. No frozen feet or frostbite. We kept Rouen's and whatever the standard domestic white ducks are called.... I did enjoy their antics but they never were great producers. Good luck with the Khaki Campbells!
Thanks for spelling out what she was saying - Khaki Campbells.
I don't know much about ducks, but I can go and look these up the same way I looked up the chickens and other ducks when she got them.
All interesting. LOL on the cuddle duck comment. Looking forward to seeing your Khaki Campbells. Awesome update!! 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆👍🇨🇦😎❄
Would changing their feed increase their fat content? Just curious, I know nothing about raising ducks. I’m totally a city rat.
I hope you get some eggs from them between now and the time your new ducks grow up.
I hope your new ducks taste better out of Freezer Camp too.
They ARE so beautiful!
But I totally get that everyone on your homestead has to pull their own weight.
You're still just starting out here at your new place.
I can't wait another few years with your fruit trees and other trees you were able to bring down from your old parking spot.
I'm excited for you to get your other small home up so you can use Fy Nyth as an AirB&B for extra income.
Being able to can so much, have your own flocks, and hopefully adding some fruit and nut trees...
Ariel, it sounds amazing!
I'm glad Clay has been able to keep his patience as long as he has with the ducks.
LoL
You have certainly tried your best with these ducks--you have given them the best life, the best care, the best living situation. It's truly unfortunate that they have failed on pretty much all counts, and it makes sense that you need to move on.
I know!
When she said they didn't even taste good!🙀🙀🙀
Thanks for your honesty, some things just don't work out. I'm glad to hear you are thinking about re-homing them.
Cock-a-doodle-quack?
Love your videos. Thanks for the chuckles about ducks, non productive poultry but entertaining. This year is going to be an extra busy year for you and Clay.
They’re so cute I agree and I have a soft spot for them 🦆
Love your videos, informative and practical. Great variety of subjects. Love your wildlife videos too.
I love eating duck. Yummy. I have cooked duck breast. It's one of those foods I think you either like or don't like...weird that the duck meat was dry....at least you tried it various ways. We're hoping to get 4-5 ducks & 6-8 chickens in the near future. Wish you both well. Love the snow. Hubs & I use to live in planting zone 5b/6a & we lived near a big river & the ducks would congregate & quack ...it would be 1-2 foot of snow on the ground & freezing cold & the ducks were in the water just enjoying themselves....some of their antics could be hilarious.
Perfectly understandable-they are beautiful and fun tho. Hopefully they’ll get a new home where everyone can be happy about it. Thanks for a good video. 😊
Burley & Tana may enjoy duck🤷♀️
We had a pet Long Island when I was a child. We got her a companion and he was a Pekingese. We had to bring them indoors into our garage during some cold spells and sometimes even into our house, into the laundry-room, when it was well below zero (not often, in northern NJ). We went through a great deal of newspapers during their indoor stays. Supposedly Long Islands don't sit their eggs but "Quacky" did and we got 13 more ducks. We had only wanted pets and in the suburbs one wasn't raising duck flocks in those days so we gave them away when they were full grown, to a nearby duck farm. Quacky had been hand-raised and was incredibly affectionate but could never bear to be left totally alone at the house (we had a pond) so we often had to bring her with us to various places in her own wooden box or someone had to stay home. We found this out when she grew greatly distressed when we all piled into the car to go visit my grandparents and she chased the car as fast as her little legs would carry her. Such fond memories...and so many of them. I guess we were her flock.
I saw a UA-camr that fed her ducks navy beans and they started laying eggs. I enjoy your Channel.
perhaps, the feed u r giving the ducks is causing this lack of eggs, many other utubers have mentioned this and changed up the feed to have the fowl laying eggs
Thanks for the update and everything you share about your lifestyle. I hope they live together near a creek where they can still enjoy just being the Swedish ducks that they are. You have a great idea for the new baby ducklings coming. They will "imprint" with you much better that way if you are with them each day like that.
Yep. There is a creek.
I loved my khaki Campbells. They were more friendly than the runners, but my favorite was the muscovy.
How is little Miss Broody Hen faring? Still incubating her future babies 🐣? Always so interesting and exciting at your house 🥰. I am fascinated by all of your poultry…
2:48
@@throughtheenchantedportal6617 Hey… thank you 👍. I can’t believe I missed her saying that. 😉
Just got 6 mixed sex Blue Swedish ducks. Wish I would have seen this video sooner. Hopefully I can have better luck with mine.
They are neat birds, but just didn't end up being a good fit at our place.
On a farm like yours each animal has its place.
I have been thinking about my blue swede ducks too.
She started laying before Christmas stopped with the extreme cold up here in Montana.
They have started on laying eggs once again. That's funny because I only have two. So one is but have decided to see if she'll hatch some ducklings. If so we will keep a couple back and the parents will probably go.
Like I said hard decision with them so I see your pondering.
I'm sorry to hear that your ducks are not completely working out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for your new orders that are coming in April. Always good to hear from you Ariel.
My son has 5 khaki Campbells and 3 Indian Runners …they are so tame ,he hand raised them ,he gets eggs but really there pets ,I think they are a very good breed …he lives in Atlantic Canada ,winters are pretty cool but ducks do fine .Great video ..♥️🇨🇦
Always enjoy your updates. They are looking like they're fine but understand the proposed change. Good luck.
Enjoy looking at the videos,healthy flocks ❣️👍
always wonder about y'all being up there, if something was to take the electric grid out, and we didn't have grocery stores and gasoline and all the modern conveniences that we have now; how would you survive, heat-wise etc? I don't see a lot of trees near you. Because if you're short growing season, could you grow enough food some seeds during the summer to actually feed your animals by yourselves? Does your water well rely on electricity? Sometimes I wish you would do a video about those things...
So! THAT'S what kind of ducks those are. (I asked in another comment section- I am two days new to this channel!). Also, I noted with interest their drinking basin... 😄
Ducks were hatched by Blackie last summer right? Aren't you cold must be warmer today!!
I've always thought duck meat was both dry and greasy at the same time.. part of it's charm I guess. I imagine it would make respectable jerky if you're into jerky.
Mixed with ground pork might make an interesting burger or meatball.
Ducks are absolutely the best entertainment bird to me.
Thank you for the update Ariel. The ducks are very entertaining.
Up on our Rocky Mtn Homestead at 9K ft elevation, we have a kitty, Mishka, who looks identical to your kitty Velcro...She is very affectionate as well...And she is an amazing mouser...We used to have rivers of mice but now we rarely see a mouse...She is the best cat ever...
Thank you for your update on your Swedish Ducks...We, currently, have khaki Campbells and Pekins...They are all panicky, too...the only ducks I have ever had that were not panicky were ones that were constantly being played with by one of my daughters...but now that she is an adult and on her own, all of my ducks, even one's I hatched out with an incubator, have all been little scaredy cats. But that is okay, I don't have time to coddle them on our homestead...I found that my Pekin Ducks outlayed my Khaki Campbells on our mountain...They are a larger and calmer duck, too...
QUESTION: What have you found as the easiest way to remove all of the feathers from the Carcass. I saw on Justin Rhodes that a drake should be culled as soon as they get their pin feathers so they are not tough...Even his kids loved duck culled that young...
We don't give any of our farm animals water since it just freezes and we have no way of heating it. We just make sure that our goats, chickens, ducks and turkeys have plenty of snow in buckets that hook onto the walls in the barn overnight and let them out to free-range during the day where they eat snow...Even our ducks do well with this method...
I have Khaki Campbells and the females are very productive once they start laying. They tolerate our heat here in the south very well so it sounds like they are a very versatile duck. Good luck!
LOL They look like squatty penguins as they slide down the snowbank.
Am curious, how do the Chucklings get along with Ember (chicken hen who raised them)?
I love seeing your birds and other animals. How do the duck eggs taste compared to the chicken and is there a size difference?
It is a matter of personal preference. I enjoyed duck eggs for baking, french toast, and in custards. I didn't like them as fried eggs, hard boiled, deviled eggs or scrambled. Plus the diet of the ducks does influence the taste of the eggs. The mildest flavored eggs were when they were on a commercial feed. My Swedish blue eggs varied between an extra large and jumbo chicken egg.
We had khaki Campbell for years, very messy but layed really well. Drakes were a bit of a pain, not much of an eating bird. We finished up with Indian runners.
Watching your video I forgot we were even in winter down here in the South it's 80°I hate it and I can't wait to get back to the snow
Do the ducks eat any type of insect that would otherwise destroy crops or do they eat ticks, etc? I know guinea hens eat tons of tics in the south and they make a big dent in that. 👍
Can't you just enjoy the ducks? They can't cost that much to feed.
Love the white surroundings while you shared the ducks story. I hope they find a happy home
I like Khaki Campbells
Interesting
Love your videos
We just had our biggest snow in ten years here in the Northern California.. Just about to let my ducks out to enjoy the snow for their first time. This video was helpful on how ducks do in the snow! Thank you!
Hate that the ducks aren't a productive part of ur homestead. You will find the right duck. Best of luck!
Weird, I would have thought at least the new ones would have laid eggs for you by now. Hopefully they start soon before you are trying to sell them. I have a chicken that is skittish like that. If I get within ten feet of her she is panicking and running into things flying away. I got her along with a black Copper Maran that I’m now thinking is too old to lay eggs. An older lady sold them to me at a swap meet and every time I am annoyed by one of them I can’t help but crack up about how that wise old lady pulled a fast one on me. 😄
Those are the one I just looked up for egg laying ability Khaki Campbell
How are your ducks working out there? I dunno...did you get them a gym membership?