Why ducks?
Despite telling everybody that we’re never going to have animals on our farm, we now have 12 young ducks. We’ve had them for 3 weeks, and they are doing fine.
Having animals is a big responsibility. They need food, water, and care every day. Henceforth, this is the reason we were certain we would never have any livestock. In any case, we have chosen to go with a type of ducks that primarily is raised for its meat. Our plan is to raise the ducks over the summer and then have them butchered in the Autumn. At least, that is our plan.
What lead us to purchase ducks was the hope that they would help with the slug problem in our garden. We’ve already observed them eat slugs, so that is positive.
These ducks also lay eggs. However, we’re not sure we will keep any through the winter. Yet, we hope they will start laying eggs before their time is out, because we’ve been told that duck eggs are very good, particularly for baking.
Watch our Ducks on YouTube
Fascinated by Ducks
Once the ducks were installed on the farm, our daily schedule has taken a new turn. We begin the day with a cup of coffee while watching the ducks. Already, they show different personalities. There are the confused duck, who always seem to be on the wrong side of the fence or running after the others. Then, there’s the posh duck, who takes long baths and tend to her feathers all day. Finally, the little fighter, who has to force his way to the food tray or others treats.
Please note that I don’t know who are male and female yet, but there seems to be mostly females and maybe two males.
Challenges
We’d like the ducks to roam around freely in our garden despite we’ve already experienced that we have to watch them constantly if they go loose. If we leave them alone or fail to close off areas that are not meant for their use, we have to take the consequences. In this respect, they are like misbehaved children and walk into flower beds and vegetable beds and chew on what they see fit.
Worst still, we have had to wash down the orangery, including the carpets twice, as they have managed to find a way in. Take an eye away for a minute, and they go where they want.
Duck Time
The ducks are fascinating creatures, and our new pastime is to watch them whenever we can. On the other hand, they have become more familiar with us too. They tend to follow us around and if we appear when they are chilling out somewhere, they immediately get on their feet and come towards us.
Of course, they know who brings the food.
Meanwhile, time leaps and we have to get back to our building project.
