Animal needs and yields

1. Livestock Needs & Yields
BEN STAMATS

2. Ducks
 Needs: Ducks require a well built house to sleep in and
survive the winter in. This duck house will have to be
equipped with hay or some sort of insulation. Ducks will also
need a fair amount of space to roam around and eat in. They
could do well in a 50 square foot area though they may enjoy
being moved around the property from time to time. Ducks
require a healthy diet and can be fed certain vegetables that
are either going to the compost bin or that cannot be sold to
the public. I do know they enjoy squishy tomatoes but not
more than they enjoy slugs. A grain pellet type of feed would
be necessary.
 Yields: Ducks provide eggs daily as well as manure for
fertilization purposes.

3. Ducks Continued
 Habitat: Ducks would do best in a wetland habitat although
if I put them in such a place, it would be nearly impossible to
find the daily eggs they provide. Eggs being the primary
reason I would have ducks on the homestead. I know they
would like a small pond or outdoor pool or sorts to wade in
and cool off in in the summer months.
 Behavior: Ducks would be a solid animal to have on the
homestead because they can eat slugs and many other types
of bugs that will eat my vegetables. Ducks also provide small
amounts of manure to the areas they are allowed to roam.
Lastly, they can provide my family with needed nutrients
from the eggs they lay.

4. Bees
 Needs: Bees need a bee hive. They like having their hive
facing slightly SE in order to catch the earliest morning heat
from the sun that they can. This helps them get an early start
on the day. Bees also need early spring flowers for foraging
as well as an abundance of different flower types throughout
the growing season. If I am to collect honey in the fall, the
bees will need me to replace their food source (bees collect
pollen to make honey in order to survive winter and have
babies). I do this by boiling sugar into water and setting up a
mason jar with a drip system on the top layer of the hive.
This is how they survive winter.
 Yields: Bees provide pollination for plants within 1-2 miles
from the hive. Bees also provide glorious honey! Yum.

5. Bees Continued
 Habitat: Bees originally set up a hive in a tall tree nook. They
enjoy capturing the morning sun as soon as possible. They would
do best with a slight northern wind break for early spring and late
fall in order to reduce cold temperatures as well as some pesticide
drifts in areas of no trees (Iowa corn farms). Plenty of early flower
crops such as white clover help start the season early for the bees
and having an abundance of wildflowers and vegetables to
pollinate is ideal.
 Behavior: Bees are great to have around because they provide
pollination to the homestead. They provide this service from
March-November. I can’t imagine having to pollinate all my plants
by myself. This is a large and easily one of the most important jobs
on the farmstead/homestead. The more bees, the better off the
plants will be.

6.  As for now, the bees are a better fit for my site. They will
be easier to get established and do not need to be moved
around more than a few times. Ducks would have to be
moved around every two weeks. Hives aren’t the hardest
thing to take apart and move. In some instances they will
swarm if they do not like the spot they reside in. Thus,
moving them around for the first three years may be
necessary to find where they are comfortable. You will
have to buy a new queen every year if they swarm. It is
never too soon to start introducing pollinators into the
homesteads process. This creates a healthy system of
cross pollination and bees can also help increase to
yields. We have clover, vegetables, fruit trees, and plenty
of wildflowers on our homestead. Bees would fit in
extremely well.