Preparedness for when

AnimalTribe

lobbyludd wrote: »

DUCKS

hope this isn't OT - does anyone here keep ducks? I would really like to get some next year - it has been a wish of mine for a long time, and I think the last remaining feline overlord has got to an age where he won't be bothered by them.

Is there an association/book/website you could recommend as a stater for me to think about/read up on and then I would like a way of contacting a reputable duck keeper with a view to spending some time learning the hands on reality of it before committing us and some fowl to a life together.

any help gratefully received.

Starting with Ducks by Katie Thear is a pretty good introduction.

I love my ducks and wouldn't be without them, but you should be aware of a couple of things to make sure they are right for you.

Duck eggs have a higher fat content and taste different to hen eggs. I love the eggs, but some people don't so I suggest you try some eggs first to see if you will eat them.

They are incredibly hard on a garden, and can turn it into a mud pit very quickly.

Make sure you get point of lay ducks (that ensures they are all female). I have three drakes and they have to be kept in separate areas otherwise they fight. I have had drakes live peaceably together but they were from the same brood.

Ducks lay less eggs per year than hens.

There comes a point in their lives when they no longer lay eggs. Will you keep them or despatch them for the pot. I'm a vegetarian so all my birds are kept for as long as they live. Which for domestic ducks is an average of 10-15 years. Apparently the world's oldest duck was 27.

If they get excited they can be fairly noisy.

If you keep them all their lives, they cost more than they save you or make you from farm gate sales.

My dogs are not allowed near them as they think they are chase toys.

I don't mean to be negative but I just think it's important knowing the down side before you commit.

On the plus side ducks are the most adorable, smile making creatures. They get on well with my hens, and even the cats.

ivyleaf

Will be thinking of you 1Tonsil. Hope it misses you.

Softstuff Thanks for posting I was thinking of you just yesterday and wondering how you were. Sorry to hear of flat sale problems ((HUGS)) We do miss you!

Softstuff

ivyleaf wrote: »

Will be thinking of you 1Tonsil. Hope it misses you.

Softstuff Thanks for posting I was thinking of you just yesterday and wondering how you were. Sorry to hear of flat sale problems ((HUGS)) We do miss you!

Thanks Ivyleaf. We're on contract number 3 for the sale having had 2 nutters try and buy previously, I'm near the end of my tether mentally (I mean that quite seriously ). Our bank is now stuffing around with the mortgage discharge (even though that mortgage is $1). We've spent the last 6 months camping in the new house due to not having cash for major works. Were it not for cheap wine....

I ran out of loo roll last week. GQ would tell you how mentally unbalanced I have been for that to happen.

Karmacat

Softstuff, 1Tonsil - hope you're both okay in the next few days, for your differing reasons.

mardatha

Cracking post softstuff I'm not keen on the attitude of many towards fellow human beings in dire trouble. Yes agree with being careful re younger single males though.

Frugalsod

armyknife wrote: »

Oh dear 1tonsil, concentrating on the negatives again?

Of the top of my head;

Not all Syrians are Muslims, there are a lot of Christians.

Before the civil war, Syria was one of the most secular ME countries, so I suspect a lot of these Syrian won't be planning on building their new lives entirely around a religion.

Given how much it's cost these refugees to get to Europe and through it, most of those coming are ones formerly relatively well off occupations and who'll tend to be more able to adapt to the new circumstance. Hence the prevalence of some English skills amongst many of the refugee families.

The problem is that when you are in the thick of problems like thousands of refugees on your doorstep it is harder to see the other side. While I do agree with you on all points when is close and personal it is harder to see the wood for the trees.

[Deleted User]

The purpose of 'TERROR' is just that, terror in whatever form it can be presented, acted upon, speculated about and the worse type of terror is 'possibilities'. The human brain can imagine the most terrifying scenarios and atrocities, well mine can anyway and I don't suppose for second that I'm alone in that, and the prospect of 4,000 terrorists free to act in European countries IS terrifying. Would the threat and the fear be any the less if we didn't know there were 4,000 potential mass killers in European countries, don't think it would y'know. So, nothing's changed except the knowledge of a possibility. If we respond to that possibility by rejecting the chance to help the genuine displaced humans because we're afraid to then we lose our own humanity and the terrorists have won a victory without lifting a finger. Better to give aid and support and hope that exhausted and bewildered folks are given safe haven than to refuse them that safe haven, just in case!

nuatha

If I were behind ISIL strategy, then announcing that the refugees were seeded with ISIL warriors would provide the perfect disruption. While that was happening I wouldn't waste the resources risking having trained troops dying aboard unseaworthy ships when I could fly them into Europe from Dubai on holiday flights. And the media would have everybody looking at the Med, thankfully our security services aren't as gullible as the newspapers believing public.

Terror is a weapon that doesn't need any reality behind it, terror is a weapon that uses your own fear to do its work. Meanwhile I'll keep prepping for the real world issues facing me and mine, as well as supporting a couple of local initiatives that are doing what they can to help refugees.

GreyQueen

Softstuff wrote: »

Thanks Ivyleaf. We're on contract number 3 for the sale having had 2 nutters try and buy previously, I'm near the end of my tether mentally (I mean that quite seriously ). Our bank is now stuffing around with the mortgage discharge (even though that mortgage is $1). We've spent the last 6 months camping in the new house due to not having cash for major works. Were it not for cheap wine....

I ran out of loo roll last week. GQ would tell you how mentally unbalanced I have been for that to happen.

(((((softstuff)))))) I was thinking in passing the other day that I'd not seen you post for ages, and put it down to you being productively-busy sorting the new house. Sorry to hear it's a PITA selling the unit and you haven't got any further forward with your plans.

And yes, running out of loo roll, when you were the Queen of Non-Food Poker, indicates how bad it is. Buy some multipacks of loo roll and some box wine and hunker down until it's all over.

I'm very cynical about statements such as there are 4,000 waiting to launch attacks in Europe. Seems a great way to make people sweat and shiver with no evidence whatsoever. I'm rather more concerned about the rapist who has struck in my neighbourhood this week (reportedly a white Englishman) than any possible bogeymen among the refugees.

The most danger most people will ever be in is from their own cells (cancer) or their own arteries (heart attack and stroke).

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

I'm very cynical about statements such as there are 4,000 waiting to launch attacks in Europe. Seems a great way to make people sweat and shiver with no evidence whatsoever.

Hegelian Dialectic anyone?