Love my Ducks.

[Nature's Babe]

Torrential rain and high winds , and more downpours are expected, there is a stream running down the lane to the lower part of the village, water is pooling in the paths around my raised beds and my indian runner ducks are out around the garden hoovering up the slugs. bless them. Just read an article where Chinese farmers are discovering that resurrecting the old tradition of keeping ducks in their rice fields allows them to cut down on the amount of pesticides and artificial fertilisers they need to use to grow their crops. Then theres the added benefit from the eggs, and they take mosquitoes from the air too. Mine all have names, they are such fun characters, I love them not just for the benefits they bring but for themselves. Climate change makes it likely that pests will become more prevalent in the future, but keeping ducks helps keep the ecological balance.

[Primrose]

I've always hankered after a few free range chickens myself but sadly our garden isn't really suitable. I've always wondered how keen vegetable and flower growers cope when they let their birds run freely in the garden to polish off slugs, etc. I imagine that a few chickens or ducks if allowed to run free, would absolutely decimate your flowers and vegetables in a very brief space of time and that if they weren't eaten, they'd all be trampled to death.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Your ducks sound lovely. I've had a hankering for a few ducks for ages, but keep being put off by the thoughts of them fouling the pond (no pun intended), or them trampling small plants.

I wouldn't dream of letting my hens run free, but do let them out of the orchard for a wander and scratch about when there isn't anything they could spoil, but I was told by someone who keeps ducks that the only precautions they needed to take was to put a small barrier round any seed beds so they didn't trample the seedlings.

Would two or three ducks spoil a 16 ft x 21 ft fish pond by the nitrates from their poo turning the water green, and do Khaki Campbells etc bother the fish?

Also do you have to clip their wings?

I would keep the ducks in a different part of the garden from the hens so they could be free range enough to eat all the slugs etc.

As you can see I'm very tempted. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Nature's Babe]

Yes they can be messy, and a small pond needs cleaning frequently but you may be ok that sounds like quite a large pond. My ducks get pellets, lettuce chopped up in water and cubed wholemeal bread in water, they seem to leave my plants alone, and are quite dainty clearing slugs out of the strawberry bed without doing any real damage. I never clipped their wings just kept them in for a little while till they knew where home was, I thought unclipped if a large rat or fox attacked they could at least fly out of harms way, mostly they run everywhere. The chickens on the other hand are more problemattic, scratching up seedlings and any mulch to find worms , so I only give them freedom when i can see what they are up to, we have a moveable pen for them.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Thanks for that. Another question - Someone told me that ducks don't always lay their eggs in the nest like hens and once they've been let out they lay them anywhere. What do yours do?

[Nature's Babe]

Hi Plumpudding, mostly they lay in their pen, they have been known to drop them in the mud or in their pond, but their shells are more waterproof than hens eggs and as long as I know they are fresh I just clean them off under a running tap and then dry immediately. Oh - and they are delicious, yolks like the rising sun !