Ducklings and Chicks
Ducklings and chicks spending the day outside.
Heading Outside
Our little ducks and chicks are growing quickly and making a big mess of their brooder room. They have a lot more space to stretch their little legs than commercially raised animals, so I feel good about that. But I really want all of my animals to have access to pasture and the brooder room has no door to an outdoor pen. So Tom and Joe helped me bring them out to spend the day on pasture. They have access to the little green house to warm up if they want. There’s grass to eat (or just play with, as the case may be) and pans of water to drink and play in. They have food to eat, or sleep in, as the chicks are happy to do. They seem to really enjoy the outdoors and I like bringing them out for the day.
I am a bit wary of our darn, bird eating cat…she would just love to get in the pen and have a chicken dinner! Shadow is happy to just sit and watch the little ones, as long as I’m around. He is turning out to be a good chicken herding dog. 
Here’s a short clip of the ducklings having fun in their pan of water. They really ‘quack’ me up!
It’s hard to believe that they will all be ready to butcher in one more month. I try not to think about that and remind myself that our meat will come from animals that had a much better life than their commercial cousins.
Do you raise ducks and chickens for meat?
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