The ducks eat commercial feed and will forage for grubs, maggots, mosquito larvae, and certain plants around the farm. They love brassicas (cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, collards, brussels sprouts).
The ducks are more disease resistant than chickens and require less care. I let them out of their cage in the morning (which keeps raccoons from eating them) and put them back in at night. I throw some feed into their cage and wash it out in the morning. I collect eggs and do a little counseling if one or more seems down.
Aside from the poop, ducks are pretty fun to take care of. They have personalities that mirror Ferdinand (the anorexic duck in Babe). They're clumsy and so gung-ho about eating that they spill half of it into the water under their cage. They don't have sharp beaks so their inferiority complexes are acted out on each other. The worst they can do is gum each other. Their quacks are much less grating than chicken noises. Watching them act like goofballs is the best part of the day.
Moe's hair is sweet.
and Vanilla Bean:
Aww.
The goal with these guys is to train them to line up in formation and then follow me in a single file line. The adults are unteachable, but if I get some ducklings, I think I can make it happen.
Also, ducks are racist. I will prove this next week.
Finally, this duck is not afraid of me and he has a camouflage bill. I'm going to call him Lieutenant Dan.
That's right, you have earned my respect.
New experiences:
1. Went to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and saw a real-live hippo
2. Went to a gun show in Florida
3. Found out the pecking order of common farm animals. (goats, chickens, rabbits, ducks)
4. Found out what happens when you leave a goose egg on your dining room table for four months. (it explodes)
I hope that you are certified in duck counseling... lawsuits are rampant right now and you should protect yourself.
ReplyDeleteAlso, huge fan of LT. Dan's bill
Thanks for the smlLes! Glad you are cheerlng up your duck frlends, Llttle brother (has to be hard on those ducks to be at the end of the pecklng order).
ReplyDeleteSo uhh....sclentlst...after your explodlng goose egg experlment....dld lt flLL your room wlth unpleasant smells? Had a roommate from a forelgn country who once put an egg ln the mlcrowave and lt exploded! Leavlng behlnd an overpowerlng rotten egg smell that went beyond our walls all the way down the hallway lnto other rooms for days!!!! My students would thlnk your explodlng Goose egg was pretty cool. Hope you won't be sacrlflclng Mo or Lt Dan or VanlLLa Bean...slnce they are your source of eggs l thlnk they are safe...and a good source of entertalnment, sclentlflc experlmentatlon, counseLlng tralnlng and frlendshlp :) Have fun, Lotze! Thanks for the update....fun to read! And plctures ...wlsh you had a vldeo cLlp of the egg when lt exploded! ln slow motlon!