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my experience with Ducks



The Kahki ducks here are poor mothers whilst the males
are still around to bug them.  you can tell them off
fairly well when they get too many seedlings/water chestnuts
in their bellies.
The Muscovy is heavier, can fly from foxes and dogs
but needs protection at night and while laying.
It would be a better meat bird.  She is much more
protective of eggs, and very intelligent (for poultry).
but because the fly, you need much higher fences.
so for snailing I recommend kahki fences need only be
30cm high.
I raise only a few replacement ducklings each year under hens
well, i should say, they raise them not I.
the children and I have learnt some 
hard lessons about ducklins though.
One imprinted on me when I helped it out the shell
and consequently, the hen who was sitting didn't care 
for it as much as the other duckling - it got trampled a week later.
An earlier year, one duckling drowned in the hens water, the hens
were so upset!, Hens can't teach swimming!
all 8 hens had sat on those eggs (the rhode island reds
are sharing girls, the bantams are possessive)
The nesting box had been very crowded.

Fortunately the hens sleep in a penthouse arrangement above the ducks
and eventually the duckling has to sleep downstairs and gets
accepted though it is hard and the hen-raised duckling rarely
gets takes a bath.  The hens still allow the it feed with them,
making other ducks wait their turn.
Another time, I lost my lead male to my jealous dog and then 
the next superior drake got it too.  The dog retired early.

April

----------
From: 	Mark Ludwig[SMTP:mpludwig@students.wisc.edu]
Sent: 	Thursday, 16 January 1997 11:34
To: 	permaculture-mg@amani.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: 	Re: (Fwd) practical use for snails? 

At 08:44 AM 1/15/97 -0500, you wrote:
>
>In a message dated 1/14/97 1:53:14 PM, peltier@isi.edu (Jennifer Peltier)
>wrote:
>
>>I strongly second the use of Ducks.  I have 2 in my yard where I am
>>slowly establishing a sustainable environment.  I have found them to
>>integrate nicely.  They are like walking fertilizer makers.  The lawn
>>(which will be gone soon) is green, lush and free of pill bugs and
>>snails which were both a major problem when we moved in 5 years ago.
>>
Ditto ducks,
One of my plans is to raise Kacki Cambel ducks this year (300+ eggs/year)
for pest control and profit, duck eggs sell for $.50 each in Madison, WI.
Kackies are also supposed to make excellent use of forage.
Mark