Hands down, one of the best investments anyone who lives where it gets cold and has any kind of livestock can make is water fount heaters or heated buckets. Why people still waste time and energy breaking ice out of dishes and troughs when you can simply run an extension cord or other electical supply to a heater is beyond me. It's especially valuable for animals that have rumens, like our goats. They'll pack it full of hay, suck down water, and then go lay down to chew cud.. A full, well functioning rumen is like a little furnace inside of them which helps generate body heat but they need to have fresh water for it to work properly. ( Doesn't hurt that it's also slightly warmed in the bucket. )
The town we live outside of is getting a Rural King, apparently the first in New York State. The location is kind of a strange choice, but since it’s a stone’s throw from where I work, I ain’t arguing. I was paying 19.99 per 50# bag for chicken feed at a locally owned place. Tired of paying that, I checked Tractor Supply and they have what they call “mini layer pellets” for a few bucks less and they’re the same size pellets as any other. Now I see this Rural King is selling layer pellets for $12.99 and I hope that’s true because that’s a significant savings. If it’s any indicator of their feed prices it may even convince me to get some more birds of some kind. ( I’m thinking pigeons for starters. )
They’re on the list. My wife and my future daughter in law all want them and I do enjoy seeing them around the yard. Problem is the place I’d put them is off the garage which we’re tearing down next spring. Plus I’m still in the fence about more mouths to feed in general. We’ll see. But if I do get ducks, I want good quality birds, probably Rouens. I used to keep Call ducks but have always liked Rouens.