Everything is Ducky in Elberton!Everything is Ducky in Elberton!

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Life on our new farm is busy and hot, but Jon and I consider ourselves “lucky ducks” because we have our first livestock on the farm. You guessed it – ducks! Sunday morning we picked up nine Khaki Campbell ducks that are six weeks old. Hens of this breed are notoriously good egg layers, excellent foragers on pasture, and hardy. Duck eggs are nutrient-dense and rich in protein, fat, cholesterol, and calcium. People who are allergic to chicken’s eggs can often enjoy eggs of other layers such as ducks.

Our first working animals on the farm were Belle and Lucy, Great Pyrenees Livestock Guardian dogs. However, we’ve had nothing for them to guard but the house until now. The ducks fit the bill and have already provided hours of entertainment.

Saturday was the beginning of a full weekend for us. Patrick and Andrew are 1/3 of the way through their internship with us, so we met to discuss our progress over lunch at the farm house. Next we dashed over to Nature’s Harmony Farm, about 7 miles away, for a farm tour. We wanted Patrick and Andrew to see the kind of model we embrace with multi-species grazing and mimicking nature as much as possible to return nutrients to the soil. Although it was the third tour for Jon and me, we saw it with new eyes this time. Instead of touring as consumers wanting to know more about where our food comes from, we were there as future producers to see what ideas we can adapt for our farm. The weather this June has been very hot and dry, and Saturday was one of the hottest. Not everyone made it all the way through the two-hour tour.

After taking a brief break to rehydrate and feed the dogs, Jon and I set off to pick up some layer feed from Sally Robertson of Treffynon Farm. She had ordered a pallet of soy-free poultry feed from Hiland Naturals and we bought a few from her. We are assuming that our potential customers will value eggs from ducks that do not eat soy. Sally and her husband Barry took us on an informal private tour of their 5 acre homestead. This includes an old farm house and barn, small pasture, creek, and woods. Once we entered the back gate we were surrounded by chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, 3 llamas and a boer goat. We got some great ideas about how to re-purpose items we already have to develop simple housing for our future ducks and chickens. And with the truck bed full of feed, we were ready to go!

Sunday morning we got up before dawn to tend to dogs and head down the interstate to meet the person who had been housing our ducks. They nestled into the hay we brought to keep them cozy and the truck bed clean. They came with an old dog crate. Driving home, Jon and I found ourselves using lots of figures of speech related to ducks – lucky duck, lame duck, etc. On every farm, one animal or species has to be a “first.” We were excited to finally have some real livestock to care for.

Jon and I had already placed our Kencove portable electric poultry netting around a grassy spot next to the carport and within visual sight of Belle and Lucy. We released them there, but since they have never been on solid ground before or roamed in an area that large, they did not know quite what to do. They spent their first hours moving as a school of fish does, like one unit. When a hawk flew overhead, they froze. When one of us moved suddenly, they ran as one. They did know what to do with the wading pool Jon bought, though. They dove right in, all nine of them, and splashed about. What fun to watch them in their element!

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Jon hitched up the duck schooner with his truck and pulled it up to where the ducks were so they would have a predator-proof coop for the night. Herding them into it proved a bit of a challenge, as they did not want to stray far from the cozy corner near the pool. We created a funnel from some plywood that led up to the door of the coop. That made it much easier to guide them to the right spot. Then they ran right in, we closed the door, and they were safe from foxes, rats, and coyotes for the night.

Today they feel much more comfortable. They are moving more independently, tolerated both shelties entering their pen, and have eaten generous quantities of mash along with grasses, weeds, beetles, mealworms, and grasshoppers. Patrick and Andrew, both avid duck hunters, got a kick out of playing their duck calls. They are designed to make a sound that says, “here’s a good place to eat.” Darned if the little quackers didn’t start pigging out on the grass when they heard that call!

So if I’m not returning your email or answering the phone when you call, I may be found outside watching the antics of our new ducks. We’re finding them endlessly entertaining.

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