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This entry is presented in the tradition of "reaching for your head, rather than your pocketbook" which is one of the content threads associated with field trips at Waterfowl of Chenoa. Efforts are made to show students that although you can buy anything if you have the money, your quality of life can be improved considerably by applying the science learned in school to interests or hobbies. Literally, this page is intended to explore ways in which the individual can employ school science ideas to solve problems related to fowl culture. By clicking on the title or subject in which you are interested in the table below you will be taken immediately to a brief description of what that entry entails. To make a leisurely pass through the web page, scroll below the table to start the excursion.
A very good blood stop can be prepared to prevent bleeding when toe clipping and pinioning. A mixture of green rubbing alcohol that has wintergreen, water, and aluminum chloride results in such a blood stop known as Chenoa Penion-Aid.
Incubators can cost a fortune or be constructed by combining old and new parts which results in a considerably smaller total investment. A large homemade incubator is easy to construct from old refrigerators. This page shows how three different models and sizes of refrigerators have been employed as incubators.
Brooder For Fowl Or Cage For Small Animals Many times hatching eggs in the classroom or playing host to a small animal requires a container of some sort to serve as a home for the visitor(s). A brooder/small animal cage is easy to construct from a clothes storage box.
The brooder box above is very useful for small numbers of quail, bantams, and even waterfowl if for only a short period of time. The person who coined the phrase that "baby ducks and geese are cute" most assuredly saw the individuals described shortly after hatching and certainly before eating and drinking. This page addresses the designing of a broodery for larger numbers and older fowl than can be accommodated by the brooder above. Broodery for Started Waterfowl This page addresses the designing of a broodery which is suitable for larger numbers and older fowl than can be accommodated by either of the brooders above. Like the broodery above this expansion also is equiped with an automatic watering system and has a waste disposal system.
At Waterfowl of Chenoa there is an enclosure for small fowl that has been used for pigeons, pheasants, and bantams for nearly 25 years. Recently I decided to refurbish the pen by putting screws where nails had loosened and replacing chipboard covering with plywood on which a preservative had been placed. During this period a genetics idea was hatched, retired you know. A new enclosure was needed for the project so a desion was made to replicate the original as cost per year had been very low on it. This page addresses the designing and construction of that pen. Moveable Pen For Fowl To provide fresh grass and/or space for fowl, a moveable pen is needed that is reasonably strong, relatively large, fairly inexpensive, and light enough for a single person to move.
From the late 70s until 2004 the only aviaries at Chenoa Waterfowl were those constructed of chain link fencing. The major waterfowl inhabitants were true geese, shelducks, and mature ducks that could not escape through chain link fencing.
Construction of this duck breeder aviary is fairly straight forward as is shown by the accompanying photographs. It is virtually predator proof from the air by way of the top net. The same is true by the ground with an electric fence placed at a height of about five feet on the wire walls of the aviary plus a dig wire along the bottom edge. Grow Out Aviary This grow out aviary for ducks, geese and shelducks provides a home for 350 to 400 birds. The facility is structurally made of treated wood, 1" by 2" welded wire that is six feet tall, and topped with 2 inch Toprite III netting. The example structure is 75 feet wide and 100 feet long which is in part determined by the width of the net. Included in this aviary is a concrete pond which is approximately 25 feet by 50 feet.
The A-frame is chosen by a number of the small to medium size geese as a nest aid. Among those are the Nene, Barnacle, Snow, and Eastern and Western Greylag. This page is based on the construction of six A-frames. The major components are treated 2" x 4" lumber of various lengths and 4' x 8' sheets of CD plywood. Nest Aid: Barrel Nest Box A plastic barrel can also be used as a nest aid. Used barrels are readily available in the food industry and are for sale at some farm supply stores. Nest Aid: Wood Duck Nest Box This is an effective nest box selected by Wood ducks and a variety of other species of ducks and shelducks. The nest boxes an be pole or bench mounted. The construction plan is designed for producing four boxes with no waste from grade three 1 x 12 shelving.
Converted Clothes Storage Boxes An environmentally sound, yet inexpensive transfer box can be made from a Rubbermaid storage box. The boxes are readily obtainable from Wal-Mart and the only tools needed are a hammer, Osborne 245 belt punch, and a plastic cutting board which is somewhat expensive or a much cheaper way to go if you are careful is with an Irwin Standard Length Spade Bit of 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter. The secret lies in the protrusions on the outside edges of the cutting blade.
Chenoa Waterfowl Wood Duck Restoration Project This Wood Duck Restoration Project has been designed to aid in the restoring and/or population enhancement of the Carolina Wood Duck (Wood Duck). In some areas the population size of the Wood Duck has dwindled. This project has been designed to provide a population start and/or boost while at the same time bringing about the creation of a nesting environment that will foster continued population development over a number of years.
Color Mutations in Wood Ducks and Mandarins: The bottom line is that two split silver Wood ducks theoretically producing four offspring will produce one silver and three normal ducklings. The kicker is that one of the three theoretical normal looking ducks does not carry the silver gene. It is in fact a normal, but there is no way to differentiate the normal looking ducks by eye sight, only test crosses or possibly DNA analysis. To further complicate the understanding of color it is impossible to have a female split for white. The female is either white of normal, but not split. Aix Genetics: Wood Ducks and Mandarins Gone Wild The problems associated with running the various color mutants of Wood ducks and Mandarins together where they can form pair bonds without regard to color is demonstrated in the models included in this section. For purposes of demonstration a male Wood duck which is split silver and also split white was crossed with a Split Silver White Female.
Wood Ducks and Mandarins: Can You Tell the Difference? The Wood duck (Aix sponsa) and the Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) are the only two species in the genus Aix. This is an oddity due to the small number of duck species comprising the genus. Geographically they are representative of areas of the world very far apart. Where the Wood duck enjoys the whole of the United States, the Mandarin is found in Eastern Asia. Even though the males of the two species representing arguably the most beautiful ducks in the world are strikingly different, the females are like peas in a pod to the untrained eye and the ducklings have only slight differences. The intent of this piece is to photographically present the various ages and genders of the two species.
Maurice Houston Field Professor Emeritus of Science Education The University of Tennessee at Martin and Curator, Waterfowl of Chenoa
The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.
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This page was placed in service 12/20/95. Last Modified Saturday, 26-Apr-2008 19:43:52 CDT |