Raising ducks for eggs and meat; pros and cons

This is our fourth year raising ducks for eggs and meat. I love ducks. I love their bills and their webbed feet. I love their waddle and their quack. We enjoy their eggs, mostly in baked goods (not fried). The meat is good eating, if you put the time and attention into preparing it right. Nothing better ever happened to a potato than to be cubed and fried in duck fat. And I'm not sure if any other farm animal is cuter than a day old duckling. That being said, I am planning on fazing out the ducks on this small homestead until a day when we have property with a pond or a creek. It comes down to economics and amount of labor. As much as I love having a diversity of meat and animal products, it just seems like we get more from the chickens for less work. Keeping costs and labor down is a priority. I've been thinking a lot lately about ducks and the reasons for and against keeping them and thought I'd share.

We started off with four Khaki Campbell ducklings and have had as many as twenty-seven ducklings; Welsh Harlequins (beautiful), Saxony's (big, lovely, heritage), Pekings (meat), Runners (small eggs/little meat -fun), and this past spring we hatched our own random crosses which was interesting. They are all beautiful. The Pekings and Saxony are our dual purpose breeds, the rest are good for laying but are hardly worth eating. The Pekings are known for being a meat breed but they also are good layers.

General Duck facts/needs/care requirements:

1. While ducks might not need a pond or a pool, they will be much happier for it. And they do need water that they can dunk and clean their heads in. So a chicken waterer will not suffice. We keep a small insulated cooler with a hole cut out in the top and in the winter we put a heater in it and change out the water daily. The ducks can duck their heads in but cannot climb in it, or spill it all onto the ground. I haul four times as much water for our ten ducks than for twenty chickens - and that is in the winter. In months where the water does not freeze solid, the ducks have a baby pool to play in.
2. You only want one male duck for up to ten to twelve maybe fifteen females - I haven't looked it up but I think that is about right. We have a problem every year of waiting to long to butcher the extra males. Male ducks are very aggressive and dominating with the females and males. The lower ranking males will be humiliated, disgraced and picked on. The females will be bothered too much and will not lay.
3. Ducks do not roost. They lay their eggs on the ground. If you want clean eggs you must put down fresh bedding daily and even then, the eggs get soiled. You can build boxes or put kennels on the ground, but the ducks will sleep and live in there as well, so it will not stay as clean as a chicken box off the ground would.  ( I really hate poopy eggs! big con for me)
4. Ducks are messy. Partly because they do not roost, partly because they are waterfowl; they need more water to stay clean. If you do not put down fresh bedding and provide water for bathing, they will have a harder time staying clean. This is not their fault. It is a care consideration. Ideally ducks have year round access to fresh water. This makes them less ideal for places with long cold winters, and homestead's without excess water.
5. Ducks mature later than chickens. So they start laying eggs later, the males take longer to raise for meat - more feeding, later reward.
6. Pro, once ducks do start laying eggs, they lay well. We've had females lay almost an egg a day for a few months or more. However their seasons do seem to be shorter, so they take a longer break from laying.
7. Ducks need more indoor space than chickens. They take up more space because of their size, they don't roost. If they are overcrowded they won't lay well.
8. Pro, ducks are hardy. They are outside almost all year during the daylight hours. They tolerate the cold, the snow and the rain much better than the chickens. 
9. Pro, ducks are just hardy in general, they don't die from mysterious internal ailments as often as chickens do.
10. Con, ducks don't eat scraps as well as chickens. We do fed them a small amount of scraps, but they waste a lot more than the chickens. 
11. Pro, duck fat is awesome, save the fat!
12. Ducks are good eating, but a duck carcass is very different than a chickens. Ducks generally have less meat on their frame, but the meat that is there is dark and very good.
13. Don't roast a duck like you would a chicken. Look up a duck recipe!
14. Ducks are harder to kill. My husband does all the poultry killing - but we both agree that the ducks are cuter and more personable than the chickens but that is just our opinion.

 Which brings us to why we raise ducks; meat and eggs. We have found that we prefer chicken eggs fried for breakfast. We like the taste and texture better. I use duck eggs in egg salad and for baking. We can sell chicken eggs to the local meat market for $4.50 and duck eggs for $5.50 (I think - it has been a while since I've taken eggs in). 

The first several times we ate duck, I roasted the duck whole. There are two different recommended ways of doing this. One way is to steam the duck first, which allows a lot of the fat to come out of the duck into the water. Then you salt and season the duck and roast it for a shorter amount of time in the oven. When I cooked the duck this way, I actually got the skin crispy - (which I pick off and enjoy right away before it softens.) Another way to roast a duck is to set it above the roasting pan, and slice shallow slits all over the duck to allow the fat to drain out. You don't want to cut too deeply or the fat can soak back into the meat. And you want the duck above the pan so that it is not cooking in its own fat which leads to soggy, oily or greasy duck. To go above and beyond, either a salt water brine overnight before roasting the duck, and then letting it sit and dry out before seasoning. Or, rubbing the duck with salt and seasonings then allowing it to sit uncovered overnight in the fridge which will help make for crispy duck skin. Roast duck is more challenging to cut up then a chicken, so don't do it at the table. Also, remember that there will be less meat than you think there will be, don't try and feed a crowd with one duck! Finally use a thermometer and don't overcook your duck!  

Duck legs are often a bit tough or chewy. Which is why I think even a better idea than roasting a whole duck is to cook the breast and legs separately. I recommend making a meal with duck breasts. Then season the the legs and carcass and slow cooking it in the oven. Then pull all the meat off and pack it in the fat and store it for a while. Then you have something like duck confit which is awesome for salads or bean dishes. Or you could make soup with the legs and carcass. If you are trying to impress your friends with their first taste of duck, just serve breasts as they are the most tender and simplest to cook.

Summing it all up, I will raise ducks again. I love having them around, especially in the summer. When we fill their pool with fresh water they get so excited. We all stand around and enjoy watching them splash and play. I enjoy the diversity of meat, fat and eggs they provide. For now it comes down to how much more work it is hauling extra water and bedding in and effort to keep somewhat clean and healthy birds and get relatively clean eggs. Compared to chickens, you put more money into feeding ducks and get less eggs and meat in return. My plan is to butcher all of our males this spring as we don't plan on hatching any duck eggs this spring. Then keep the females until mid to late summer when we need the extra space. I'm going to trade the females to a friend who wants some layers, in exchange for some hair cuts for myself. Meanwhile, I'm researching chicken breeds in an attempt to get inspired about chickens again.

Facing my fears; geese and honey bees

I grew up with my dad raising bees for honey. My brother and I got stung a lot as children. Now, my brother has severe allergic reactions when he gets stung. I just have a slight fear of handling bees. I must have been in kindergarten or first grade when I remember my dad running circles around the house hollering while we tracked him from inside the house, running from window to window to peer out at him. I remember him stopping to pound on the door demanding entry and mom telling him to keep running. As far as the benefits go, I grew up on honey, honey and PB sandwiches, honey and PB on ricecakes, honey and homemade yogurt. I did not realize how much I appreciate good honey until I no longer had any. Now, we eat honey on hot cereal and honey on pancakes. I use honey in our weekly bread and on sandwiches. I have a strong appreciation and desire for local honey which is outrageously expensive here. I've been mentally working myself up to raising bees for a few years now. Last year D got me a beekeeping book for Christmas, which I read. Last spring I signed up for a beekeeping class, but later decided I already had too much on my plate.

This is going to be the year. I'm starting off by taking a beginning bee keeping class which covers all the basics. It is a couple hour class, once a week over five or so weeks. I'm gearing up to order a suit - or maybe just the jacket and head covering. As much as I'd like to imagine myself with barefeet and bare hands among the bees- well I think I'll be a lot less intimidated if I'm suited up and protected from stings. I'm starting off with one hive on the hill above the garden. I'm hoping to meet our honey and beeswax needs, with some leftover for gifts.

I don't have many experiences with geese. Actually I've only met one flock of geese, and we did not get along. There was a flock of large white geese at a farm where I boarded my horse for a couple years. This farm had attack geese and an attack rooster (which finally left me alone after it flew at me while I was holding a shovel, which was the bat. He was the ball). The geese would corner me in the barn, chase me, chase my car, pluck the rubber trim out from my bumper while I was off riding.

I've been doing a lot of geese research. I've learned that my shying away from the geese initially may have instigated our poor relations. I've been deliberating between Pilgrim and African geese, two of the more gentle breeds. I decided on the Pilgrim too late, multiple suppliers are already sold out for the season. I really liked the idea of the Pilgrims as they are the only breed of geese that are sexed. The males are white and the females are blue and gray. I ended up ordering a pair of French Toulouse geese, and an extra un-sexed goose - possibly for Christmas dinner. Looks counted for a lot in deciding which breed to get. The Toulouse are gray and blue, they look like the French aristocrat version of geese. They are stately, blue and gray and handsome.They are also one of the more gentle breeds, good layers, setters, parents, and they make a nice roast goose, good fat, feathers... I would have like to get the ones with the dewlaps, but those are way pricey.

I am getting geese mostly because I like the idea of having a couple pet geese. I also like the idea of large hardy birds wandering around the homestead. We have a lot of birds of prey issues, mostly Ravens attacking young chickens and ducks. As a result the ducks are hesitant to free range. I think they've been traumatized. So I'm hoping to raise the geese with some same age layers and ducks, and maybe the geese will look out for the smaller birds. The ducks are very skittish, not inquisitive or friendly. I'm hoping the geese will fill my desire to have some pet birds.

Now, if you have traumatic geese memories you may be thinking I'm crazy. Well, if they end up attacking my children, they will be dinner. We are just getting a few to try them out. We are going to handle them a lot. I'm going to work with the kids on not running from the geese or establishing any bad behavioral issues - no running, no intimidating etc. We will work on carrying treats daily as we do chores. So hopefully we will have friendly geese. Geese don't lay a lot of eggs. We're talking twenty to fifty/sixty a year depending on the breed. The French Toulouse lay towards the higher end. I like the idea of bonding with the original pair, letting them hatch and rear their young, and then eating the wild things. Obviously I have some details to work out, like they are going to be vicious when setting on their eggs and caring for their goslings. And then, wild goslings may be too wild... It is an experiment.

Other poultry notes: I'm still trying to decide whether to get regular Cornish Cross this summer or a slower growing meat bird. I think we are going to do four Broad Breasted Whites again as opposed to heritage breeds. I'm collecting duck eggs to start incubating in the next few days. I'm collecting Peking eggs and Peking crossed with Saxony eggs. We will keep the females for layers and eat the males. We just need a handful of layers. I'm going to set a few Ameraucana eggs and probably buy a few Ameraucanas and Sexlinks at the feed store. Each summer I end up with five groups of birds to feed and water. I'm trying to think of how to simplify the chores. There are the established layers, established ducks, then the turkeys, the cornish and then the new layers, ducks and geese. I may combine the established birds, and then all the new birds except the turkeys. Does anyone have experience raising turkeys with other poultry? Everything I read says that is a big no no, but then I've heard of folks doing it without problems. Also, if you have experience with raising geese and have any advice I would love to hear it. Thanks again for your words of encouragement and kindness regarding this years kidding losses. Take care.

Oh yeah, and here is to facing our fears, bees, geese or whatever they may be. Cheers!

Avery on a warm August Evening

We finally had a little July weather in August, five eighty degree days in a row - the warmest days of the summer I think. The last couple days are feeling more like August, sixties with scattered showers, but then our fair has begun so that explains the fair weather. It is starting to get dark late night- early morning. I've been heading to bed around midnight and I can still see, but I would grab a headlamp if I headed out to check on the animals. During our warm spell Avery and I took a walk with the camera. It was about nine p.m., about as warm and balmy as an evening gets around here.

Avery trying without success to catch a chicken.

Stopping at one of our wild raspberry patches.

Our warm days are so precious. I never get my fill. Here's to savoring the last of our bare legged, tank-top and sandal wearing days

Evening walk

I took these pictures about a week before Solstice. The guys had driven south in search of hay. Avery and I enjoyed an evening stroll about the place. It was between nine and ten p.m. and you can see the sun is hours from setting. We have been having spectacular summer evenings. Even on days like today that start out rainy and overcast, it usually seems to clear up by afternoon, ending in blue sky nights. The temperatures have been in the sixties and seventies, some nights cooler with a breeze, but at least clear and sunny. Below are pictures of four Broad Breasted White Turkeys in their movable hoop-house.

On the left are shallots and peas, to the right are carrots. I'll have to take some new garden pictures, as they have grown so much in the last week. Last week we put up new supports for the peas. They've been flowering - today I spotted the first pea pod.

Avery, pretending to eat an egg. I usually keep a stack of egg cartons near the hen house, but when they run out, I often end up carrying eggs down in pockets, hats, gloves and in this case, a feed bucket. Note, Avery's goggles around her neck.

This is our Khaki Campbell pair from last year. We recently tried moving them in with the new ducks, but the male is a menace. For now they are in the outer pen without netting over the top. They sleep in the kennel, and I find an egg in there every couple days. I've been putting them in the kennel during the day for a few hours and letting the rest of the ducks out into the grassy area. There are areas where the fencing is too high and they can sneak under, so I only let them out when I'm around to gather them back up.

A couple Saxonies on the left along with a Pekin. On the right a couple runners.

A Welsh Harlequin takes a drink. We have two regular poultry waterers, this lid to a garbage can which gets emptied and filled daily. There is also a child size wading pool that we empty and fill about once a week, although we should try for twice weekly. They absolutely love the fresh water. Before getting ducks we said we'd wait until we had property with a river, creek or pond on it. Well, impatient and determined as always, we couldn't wait. We are talking about digging a five to six foot mini pond in their yard. The nice thing about the pool is I can dump and rinse it. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the ducks are thriving. I cannot believe how much hardier and faster growing they are than the chickens. I find them enchanting. They are graceful to watch, delightful to listen to and just plain beautiful!

First Pictures of Summer Kids

Noah and Avery snacking on one of our very favorites, steamed Edamame with soy sauce. I was hoping to grow some this summer, but I lost the seeds, dangit!

Noah has been known to take off up the trail wearing nothing, underwear and boots or just a t-shirt. As long as the mosquitos aren't out I don't mind. Usually I try to push the shoes and shorts. We've got wild roses and raspberries everywhere. This picture is from a couple weeks ago. Now the banks are lush with growth. Noah's legs are black and blue with scrapes, scratches and bug bites.

Oh my, did mom really just set the ice cream maker down for us to scrape out right before dinner time? Kids in heaven. Goat milk ice-cream - infused with vanilla beans and wild blueberry jam stirred in.

Ducks. Saxony front left, Peking front middle, Welsh Harlequin Right, black runner in center back. Duck post coming soon.

                                                                        In the garden.

Poultry plans for 2010

I just realized that more importantly than focusing on seed orders, is getting our chicks ordered. It is fabulous that folks all over the country are raising backyard flocks. The hatcheries, however, seem to be having a hard time keeping up with the surge in demand. Last year our local feed store was buying chicks from Privett Hatchery. They order a large number of chicks for laying and meat, goslings and ducklings, heritage and broad breasted turkeys. That being said, if you want something specific at a certain time, make sure you pick up their delivery sheet of what birds are coming in when, because they go fast. In the past the chicks are available at noon the day after arrival.  Be there on time or early, as there will probably be a line of desperate chick mongers :)

We usually buy breeds locally that we just want a few of,  like sexlinked layers or heritage turkeys. When we want a larger number of birds at a certain time (thirty cornish cross) or when we think we want to raise a specific breed that is rare or we want quality genetics, we have ordered from hatcheries directly. In the last two years we have ordered Heritage Standard Cornish, Dark Brahmas, Welsummers and Ameraucanas with the intention of keeping a rooster and breeding our own. The Standard Cornish were just insanely slow growing and the Welsummer roosters we had were all too aggressive. The Brahmas are a large breed, very gentle, mellow and cold hardy, but not the best layers. We are hoping to hatch some Brahma chicks this spring, as well as some Ameraucana chicks. I am expecting our broody Cochin or the Brahma hen to go broody at some point this spring. Hopefully I'll have some eggs to stick under them.

Last spring we borrowed a monster of an incubator and set well over a hundred eggs and only ended up with about a dozen chicks. The thermostat on the front of the incubator was off and it took us forever to get the thing dialed in. This year we've been planning on buying our own small incubator but the ones I am interested in are pretty expensive. If I get two broody hens, that might just be a start for us, as we are not expanding our chicken flock this year, probably just replacing some of the older layers.

For the exciting news...we have decided to raise more ducks and some Turkeys this year. Our outdoor area is large, but the indoor housing probably won't keep more than ten to a dozen ducks comfortably by mid winter. We love how hardy the ducks are. Our sole hen lays an egg almost daily. We are going to redesign their watering system so that it is not so messy. My only other complaint, is that the eggs are usually soiled and require cleanup. The Khaki Campbells only get to about four and a half pounds. I've been researching other duck breeds. I want a decent layer, and a drake that gets close to the ten pound range.

I recently discovered Holderread Waterfowl Farm out of Corvalis Oregon. They have some beautiful birds and their prices are comparable with the larger hatcheries, who I think wouldn't provide as quality of birds. So I printed out their order form today. I'm planning on ordering ten or twelve Saxony ducks. I love the gals buff coloring. While we are ordering birds, I figured we'd get a couple more Khakis and a few runner ducks as well. 

Below is a picture of our Senior Buck in his old pen which is now the duck area. If you click on the picture you can probably see that there is small pen within a larger fenced area. Raising ducks here should work out well, as the runoff from the hills pools in the flat area, of which we have very few (flat spots).  My horse lived here for a while, then goats. We planted cover crops here for the last two years and let the chickens range here. We are planning on planting some fruit trees here and digging a mini pond for the ducks. Perfect. 

We are going to order thirty Cornish Cross again and possibly ten Jumbo Pekin Ducks from McMurrays. If anyone wants to order ducks from McMurrays and wants to share shipping costs let me know. The ducks will ship separate from the Cornish and I don't think we want more than ten or so. I was going to order some heritage turkeys from McMurrays, but we need to order fifteen, and we only want four to six. So we may be purchasing those locally. We are thinking a couple Broad Breasted Whites and a few Bourbon Reds, Blue Slate or Naragansettes; something heritage, something pretty, a bird that could reproduce on its own should we keep them around for the winter. We will also get a half a dozen or so Red or Black Sexlinked Layers from the feed store. Here is a picture of our Bourbon Reds from two summers ago in their movable hoop house.

We would like to be hatching most of our own chicks and not supporting the large hatcheries but for now, we are taking the easy route with the meat birds and hybrid layers; more bang for our buck. Our first priority is to meet all of our poultry meat needs. We haven't bought any poultry since mid summer, but we've only got around eight roasters left in the freezer. Raising ten plus meat ducks and a handful of turkeys will help our chickens last in addition to providing diversity in our diet. Ideally we'll not only freeze whole birds, but pieces as well, in addition to canning chicken for the first time, making duck confit, grinding turkey and chicken meat for sausage and having fresh Turkey for Thanksgiving. Heres looking forward to chicks, ducklings and baby turkeys, (turklings). How are your poultry goals changing this year? Downsizing? Upsizing? What are your favorite breeds? Happy Poultry Planning Everyone!

Summer Climax

i
It is past midnight and the thermometer is still reading in the high sixties. Most likely this does not impress you, unless like us, you live in the arctic. We've been enjoying temperatures in the high seventies and eighties during the day. Almost too hot for this Alaskan raised girl. My mother-in-law is up for a visit and I've been taking the opportunity to get outside and work in the garden in the heat of the day without the kids. Yesterday I was sweating so much I kept having to wipe my sunglasses.

The climax of summer is upon us. Solstice is past. It is still light but dusky all night. The garden grows before my eyes and the weeds wilt. I ate my first sungold cherry tomato today, but I've been buying lovely heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers at the Farmer's Market for a couple weeks now. My garden is pumping out the greens; head lettuce, baby greens, mustards, endive, swiss chard and sorrel. I've got some Napa Cabbage that is ready for harvest, and the Broccoli Rab is past. I've also got herbs and radishes. Other than that the broccoli and cauliflower heads are forming but small still. Peas are flowering. Beets, carrots, beans and cabbage and squash are rapidly growing. I'm thinking I may be done buying vegetables at the store for at least a few months. Our garden is just starting to produce and will continue to reward us for our efforts for the next few months. Did I mention that it takes me at least an hour and a half to water the garden by hand. Often I wait till everyone is in bed to do so, that way it is cooler and the water doesn't all evaporate, downside is that it means I'm up in the garden swatting mosquitos till one or even two a.m.

Our four ducks have finally been moved up to the garden. I love watching the ducklings! I let them out of their home several times a day (when I milk, when I water, anytime I'm putzing about the garden). They get to splash around in a small pool and waddle around amongst the plants. Only a few casualties so far. I recently planted another batch of kale, radishes and swiss chard in an area near the duck tractor and once they found the tender seedlings, they continued to return to the patch until I put fencing scraps over the row. The first time I let them out I had to chase them around to put them back in. But now they have it figured out. The ducks hate to be held so when they see me coming they run for their home.

All the chickens are outside finally. We have some more building and arranging to do as they are all outgrowing their current structures and pens. I've moved the largest cockerals and pullets in with the adult birds and they seem to be holding their own. Our injured Ameraucana seems to be healed and laid her first egg in a couple weeks today. It only took a few days in a bare kennel for two of my other hens to snap out of their broody stage and they are back to laying as well.

In goat news, a very nice lady is buying Zen and Rose's son (who remains to be named). Both boys have been wethered (fingers crossed) and are between two to three months old. I had a friend wether Zen at a goat meeting as a demonstration. Last night I attempted to do Rose's son using a burdizzo also known as an emasculator. It is a tool that clamps down on each side of their testicles and crushes their sperm cord. It does not cut the skin, and the goat keeps his testicles, only they shrink a bit instead of growing into huge monstrosities. I need to measure them so I can make sure I've been successful. We have one buckling left and I am holding out in case someone wants a buck. But I will probably wether him as well in the next month, by eight weeks they can technically produce offspring although I find the idea highly unlikely... I'd rather not gamble. We are considering selling one of our milking does along with her daughter. So if you are interested let us know. We are still contemplating. Basically, my does are outgrowing their stall and I'm going to have to start parting with a couple each year if I want to keep a couple. And it is hay time. We just got our first truck load of very nice looking Brome hay. The goats are eating a lot of hay right now, and it would be nice if they could pay for some of the years hay themselves.

Happy Mid Summer everyone!

Poultry updates

Above are our Cornish Cross meat chicks. Can you count them? This is our first year raising a batch of Cornish Crosses. We have some friends that raise them every summer. These birds can grow to ten to twelve pounds in as little as ten to twelve weeks, now that is impressive. We were trying to avoid raising these birds for a number of reasons, but have decided to go for more bang for our buck, (and our time). Last year we ordered Standard Cornish and Brahma chicks and thought we'd continue to raise harvest the cocks for meat and keep the hens for laying. Both breeds grew extremely slowly and after being on pasture for four months, they were still hardly big enough to harvest. We do have a Brahma Rooster and two hens, along with a few Brahma chicks that we hatched this spring. The adult birds are very large, but it took them probably almost a year to get to their current size.
Above and below are our Welsummers in a chicken tractor. It is a pvc pipe hoophouse on wheels with handles that we can move around on one of our few flat spots on the property. Last year we raised four Bourban Red Turkeys in here. It has a woven mesh floor so that hopefully nothing can sneak in underneath, although I've been feeling less confident of how well it could keep out a dog, if one were to come along and try to get in. Fortunately we rarely have visiting dogs, it has been a couple years since the last time we had a dog in the neighborhood that was coming over to visit. I think our most regular predators are Ravens, believe it or not. I never thought of Raven's as predators but we lost a Red Sexlinked chick to one a few weeks ago. I've heard numerous reports recently of people losing full size chickens to Ravens. Other likely predators that we have nearby are owls, fox and weasels. The birds are thriving in here. We keep their feeder and water full, and give them regular greens and milk. It is very obvious which Welsummers are hens and which are cocks now. Looks like we have four hens and five cocks.


The ducks have been in this small chicken tractor for about a week now. Honey and her chicks were in here but Honey moved back in with the adult birds and her chicks are in the chicken tractor with the other Welsummers now. You can see the entry to their little enclosed area that they can go into at night or in bad weather. This tractor is too small for more than a few adult birds, but it is perfect for chicks or ducklings. By the time the ducks have outgrown this tractor it will be too cold for them to stay in here anyway and they will move to a new home with insulated walls, a heatlamp and more square feet. My mom use to keep a couple ducks in with our chickens. I remember they had a small little black feed tub with water to splash in. Folks say that ducks don't need access to water to play in, but that just seems wrong... they are DUCKS! So I hope to always have a small pool for them of thawed water for them.

Duckling Surprise

Dustin surprised me with four Khaki Campbell ducklings last week. I've been suggesting that we get ducks for a couple years now and Dustin has been adamantly opposed to the idea on account that they would end up being pets, we wouldn't be able to eat them, they make quite a mess, need their own quarters and finally, we don't care for the taste of duck eggs. He has placated me by saying that someday we'll have a more duck suited piece of land with a stream or pond and then we can keep some ducks for enjoyment. I hinted as recently as a month ago that perhaps he might like to bring home some ducklings along with the chicks he was picking up and was once again turned down. Last week Dustin was picking up some Alfalfa from our local feed store and noticed that they had quail. To make a long story short, we had some friends wanting quail for their bird dogs so, not knowing how long the quail would last Dustin brought a box of quail home. We had been calling back and forth arranging how many quail to get and such so I was ready for them when he got in the door. He came in and said, "Wait till you see these guys" and opened up the box and instead of quail, inside were four ducklings. Well I have to say that it was one of his best surprises yet. I squealed.

Dustin said that it was Eliot Coleman's Four-Season Harvest chapter on keeping ducks as garden helpers that finally convinced him. As far as their eggs, we do a lot of baking so using them up won't be a problem. I read that the Khaki Campbells lay close to three hundred eggs a year, which is a lot of eggs! They should quickly earn their keep at that rate. They are already providing entertainment for us all. Noah has been feeding them grapes and other yummy snacks. We put down a small tub of water for them to play in a couple times a day. The picture above was taken the first night we had them. I had just put down a small tub of water and they were all trying to climb in at the same time to splash around. In our research we read that they aren't suppose to have unsupervised access to water as they don't have the protective coating that they would have if reared by a moma duck. So we are careful not to leave their little pool down for too long. I am looking forward to spending time with them outside in the garden and watching them swim around in a baby pool when they are bigger.

We are feeding them the same mix I'm making for the chickens; a mix of corn, wheat berries, oats, barley, flax seed, alfalfa, Alaskan Salmon meal, kelp meal, an herbal vitamin supplement and sea salt. Our feed store carries duck starter feed and I have thought about getting some but I can't help but feel that a whole grain diet must be more nutritious than grain by products processed and repackaged in a tidy little pellet or crumble. They are also enjoying daily fruit and veggie scraps along with some fresh weeds, hard boiled eggs and raw goat milk and cheese. The ducks are probably about two weeks old now and still so cute. I'm looking forward to getting to know their personalities and watching them grow. Hearing their first attempts at quacking and finding out which are mallard and which are females. Hope we have at least two ladies. And finally, thinking of next year at this time when we will have chicken and duck eggs aplenty.