Keeping Ducks and Chickens Together

Ducks and chickens can be in the same building but have different requirements. Chickens will find their roosts by themselves and prefer to spend the night next to an open window, even in Winter. Roosts can be quite high and many people's chickens roost in trees. Except when they are molting, which often happens in Fall after the Summer drought ends, this should be OK. Studies done in upstate NY have shown that chickens allowed to acclimate to the cold weather and given appropriate amounts of feed have less frost bite and other cold related injuries than birds that are kept in closed buildings, even with some heat.

Ducks have very short legs, most of them don't fly at all or only a foot or two off the ground and nest on the ground. They need to be herded in every night. Ducks are very sensitive to light and don't really sleep at night. If I get home late I often find mine browsing back and forth looking for snails, slugs or other delectibles and actually seem more alert at night than they often do during mid-day when they seem to be most likely to be seen resting on the ground, maybe with their head under one wing. If you have neighbors and noisy ducks if you can't be there at the crack of dawn to let the ducks out and can't herd them in EVERY night then I recommend you pass on the ducks.

Ducks are very vulnerable to any kind of predator, coons, skunks, possum, coyote that finds one nesting at night. If they find one they will probably find the rest and you could go from many to no ducks in a single night. The shelters have to be something stronger than chicken wire mesh at the ground level as some predators can tear it apart or reach in to pull whatever they can get their hands on through the cage eating everything they can pull through the wire amputating what they can't kill. A coon can easily reach though 1" chicken wire and snag a little fresh meat. 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth at least two feet high with a bit of an apron (2-6" bent and lying flat and down on the ground") will help keep a predator from digging in or reaching in and snagging one of your animals. You might consider putting a bottom on a ground level enclosure but I found they make it hard to clean and can be a source of disease. The best source of information I have found about duck breeds on the Internet is http://www.metzerfarms.com. If you are planning on keeping ducks I would read all about the breeds they have and sign up for their blog.

My primary coop is a rectangular box, 2 feet off the ground with a 1” thick floor that is covered with a waterproof piece of shower liner to keep wetness caused by the birds from ever touching it. The coop has a pitched flat roof that rests on one end and is higher on the other where my chickens fight to get to so they can see out and have the the fresh air. This was very simple to build and wasted no wood because the walls are made from three pieces of exterior siding, one of which was cut in half for the ends.


Over a dozen chickens have chosen to crowd in that coop rather that the larger one with more space and air even though only about half of them had the coveted penthouse roost. The roof is 12 foot long metal roofing material that creates enough of an eave on both ends that water never comes into the top of the coop and you can stand under it to collect eggs etc. in the rain without getting wet. The bird(s) that are on the lower roosts are the first ones out every morning when the automatic coop controller opens the door for them. If you put ducks and chickens in the same coop, I recommend that you don't, then you need to have enough room keep the ducks from having to sleep under the chickens. The chickens poop a lot at night and take up the entire vertical space from the floor to where they are roosting because of that. We built our coop raised off the ground with a floor and a hardware cloth enclosure beneath to shrink the footprint and to provide another 32 sq. ft. of additional shelter for feeding or sleeping. This winter we kept our ducks in a lean-to type greenhouse to help protect our citrus collection. They did a very nice job. Instead of losing citrus or having to bring the citrus inside the citrus grew outside the house all Winter.

PLEASE LABEL GMOs

  Genetically engineered foods were approved by the USDA using the theory of "substantial equivalence" to other types of breeding like how we make modern hybrids of wheat that make tens of millions of people sick. Millions of people suffer from celiac disease and a recent study showed that only 10% of them have been diagnosed. The smoking gun in study after study has been modern hybrids of wheat and other cereal grains that contain proteins never seen before and rarely or never seen in nature.

Even though GMO/GE foods start with a hybrid and then modifies it even further, they are not the same thing as a pollinated hybrid. We have the right to know that the food we are eating has been developed or modified in some way might make us sick. The USDA decided to allow GMO/GE crops without ANY third party testing and NO long term testing and still doesn't require it in spite of hundreds of reports of health problems in farm animals related to these crops. Washington residents have a right to choose which foods they eat and to know what it is they are buying. The Federal government has decided to shield companies whose lobbyists regularly end up taking regulatory positions, regulating the industries where they have spent their careers promoting that company's products. It is unfortunate that the regulatory body that allowed these chemicals to enter our food stream can no longer be counted on as a reliable source of information because of well documented outside influence by the industry it is supposed to be regulating.

States have the right under the Constitution to regulate all matters not specifically reserved by the federal government. We aren't asking Washington State to bear the cost of a regulatory body or rules that will have any impact on tax payers. In fact, we expect to see a savings in the future by giving people that have already health problems related to the exposure to certain foods the choice to avoid foods that contain what for them will be harmful contaminants. A number of books have been published in the last year about the problems that tens of millions of people have because of new types of proteins and carbohydrates that occur in modern hybrids of cereals, especially wheat. Permanent brain and neural damage, cardiac disease, diabetes, hormone system issues et al have all been directly linked to whole grain diets based on new much more genetically complex hybrids. We have an epidemic of disease in this country related to the food supply and without access to all of the facts about the food we are buying this problem could grow even worse.

We aren't asking for what we really feel is necessary which is to completely ban any food that hasn't been tested whether it be a pollinated hybrid or laboratory engineered product, not because we don't feel that is necessary but because the political reality is that it would meet with such stiff resistance from groups that produce industrialized food that it would be unlikely to be passed. We do feel strongly though that for safety reasons for many and to address the personal concerns of others that allowing for free choice and freedom of information should be not only allowed but that full disclosure should be mandatory. This is like a property rights issue. I have the right to full disclosure about what I am buying to maintain myself and my property. Others don't have the right to hide facts from me when we engage in commerce whether it be selling a house or buying the groceries. The way things are currently, no one could even tell you what the facts are because their is so much pressure from certain members of this industry to keep secrets. Capitalism only works when the markets are free of such subterfuge and back room deals that give one party an advantage over another.

Highly Mineralized Organic Fertilizer

These fertilizer recipes are guidelines and adaptable. They were developed for use in the high rainfall area of the Pacific Northwest which has a tendency to be deficient in minerals and acidic. When blending HMOF all ingredients are measured by volume, using a tin can or other scoop. Many of these materials are quite dusty. I recommend applying them with a sports field ‘line marker’ to get the most material on the ground while creating the least windblown dust. Do not measure by weight. Into a large plastic bucket pour the following:

VEGETABLE MIX
• 4 measures of linseed/alfalfa meal;
• ½ measure of ordinary agricultural lime;
• ½ measure of dolomite lime;
• 1 measure of fish bone meal
• ½ measure crustacean or crab meal
• ½ measure green sand
• ¼ measure azomite
• ¼ measure glacial dust
• ½ to 1 measure of Thorvin kelp meal.
• 1/8 measure SEA-90
• 1/8 measure Epson salt
Mix the ingredients thoroughly.

GREENS MIX
• 2-3 measures of fish meal;
• ½ measure of ordinary agricultural lime;
• ½ measure of dolomite lime;
• 1 measure of fish bone meal
• ½ measure crustacean or crab meal
• ½ measure green sand
• ¼ measure azomite
• ¼ measure glacial dust
• ½ to 1 measure of Thorvin kelp meal.
• 1/8 measure SEA-90
• 1/8 measure Epson salt
Mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Two methods for applying.

Method 1--Uniformly spread 4–6 quarts of HMOF per 100 sq. feet of intensely planted growing bed or, if growing in long rows, 4–6 quarts of HMOF per 50 row feet, covering a band up to 18” wide depending on the crop and centered on where the water will be applied if using drip irrigation, not necessarily in the center of the planting. Dig in the fertilizer in advance of planting to let soil bacteria and fungi start working on the material before plants need the nutrition. Once the seedlings are up, if your crop does not grow fast enough to suit you, side-dress it with up to another 4–6 quarts per 100 sq. ft. of bed or 50 feet of row. If the extra HMOF gives you a good result you shouldn’t need any more through the entire crop cycle. If the extra HMOF had no result, you did not need it, and do not add any more because you might over fertilize and harm your plants.

Method 2—Rough up the surface of the soil or use something like a wheel hoe to make a shallow trench. Next, use a sports line marker and band the fertilizer 2-4” wide in the trench. You can plant in the trench and cover as you go or plant next to the trench and cover as you go. It does help to get the fertilizer activated in advance as it won’t become available to the plants until it starts getting worked on by the soil food web.

This fertilizer may be too rich in magnesium for some soils. As a first year application you should be all right with this formula but like any good thing it is easy to overdo it. Subsequent applications should be accompanied by a soil test to make sure you aren’t adding more than you need to accomplish the goal of growing highly nutritious vegetables and fruits. The primary use of this type of fertilizer is to feed the soil and encourage it to become highly biological. The soil food web then feeds your plants and the plants supply energy back to the soil food web. Consider this when applying any kind of fertilizer and amendments to soils as less is often more.

ABOUT SOIL TESTS
Soil tests may indicate that you need 5 tons of lime per acre to get to the desired range of pH. Disregard that. Conventional wisdom is that you cannot possibly grow plants, let alone highly nutritious food, without soil being very close to a neutral pH. This was proven to be false by soil scientists working for the USDA extension office in the 1930s when they fed plants a highly acidic form of calcium that brought the soil down to pH 3.5. As long as minerals like calcium are present in solution they are available to the plants. If in doubt some minerals can be applied as a foliar spray.

• If soil tests show that you have a very low pH and that you are low in calcium and magnesium then use the dolomite. Magnesium raises pH six times faster than calcium.

• Dolomite, which contains calcium and magnesium, and lime may be eliminated if soils are near a desirable pH because the bone and crab meal will provide enough calcium to be adequate for feeding.

• Epsom salt, which consists of magnesium and sulfur, has a neutral pH. Consider eliminating this if your soil has adequate magnesium. Sulfur is important to watch though, and even small amounts can have a great effect on yields if it isn’t available in meaningful quantities. Some essential amino acids are sulfur based so don’t neglect sulfur.

• If you have pelletized types of agricultural lime and dolomite available such as “Calpril” or “Dolopril” you might want to consider using that as your “lime” source as it is slower releasing and may provide more consistent nutrition in wet conditions and they are less likely to burn plants.

Chicken etc. Feed

I agreed to be a drop point for Scratch and Peck Feed out of Bellingham, WA. We are also carrying their garden hoop package and parts if you want to extend the season with a cloche. Here is a copy of an ad that runs in Craigslist periodically.

Growing your own food? Here is some help. Non corn/soy or soy free Layer feed and goat feed now available as well as 3 grain scratch. Broiler, grower, and pig available by request. 

Soy-Free and non-GMO feed grown and milled in Washington. Also available are feeds for turkeys, goats and pigs. Grain is all organic grain direct from the farmers right here in Washington which means a smaller carbon footprint while supporting local agriculture. I use this high quality feed because I believe that "you are what your animals eat!" My Hens love this feed and I am thrilled to be able to offer it to more Portland urban chickens! Features Washington grown organic whole grains specially blended to meet the dietary needs of poultry and livestock.

Naturally Free - Whole Grain Layer Feed   50 pound bag - $25.99 
Layer whole-grain mash is a complete chicken feed and contains 16.4% protein. It can also be used to supplement a pasture-based diet. Use this feed when chickens reach 17-20 weeks of age or begin laying eggs. 

Soy Free - Whole Grain Layer Feed   50 pound bag $25.99 
Layer whole-grain mash is a complete chicken feed with 16.4% protein. Can also be used to supplement a pasture-based diet.
All grains come from certified organic growers.

Goat Whole-Grain Mash   50 pound bag  $24.99
Goat whole-grain mash has 16.5% protein. Use this goat feed to provide your goats a healthy dose of daily nutrition.

Whole grain scratch   50 pound bag $18.99
This is a sproutable mix of triticale, wheat, and barley from organic growers. 

Whole-grain wheat-sproutable. 50 pound bag $16.99
Whole-grain triticale-sproutable. 50 pound bag $16.99

Pick-up only in Camas.
Easy pick up location near Hwy 14.
Respond above or call Tom at 360-216-1536
Quantity discounts available