Ask and ye shall receive...
Tonight I am thinking about ducks. Khaki Campbells to be specific. I want some. Maybe four, maybe five. No more than five. I'd like to have them just to have them--to watch them swim in their kiddie pool and root around in the mud. It seems I have a soft spot for animals that do that sort of thing. KCs like to munch on snails, mosquitoes, and other backyard pests. We will gather their eggs and make puffy gluten free cakes with their rich fatty yolks.
Khaki Campbells out-lay chickens and aren't nearly as noisy. But where chickens are smart enough to sleep tucked into a pretty coop, ducks prefer to nest on the ground. That's all well and good until you stop to consider the hidden dangers of a backyard in Dixie.
Last summer our neighbor spotted Nate in the yard and leaned over the back fence to offer up a warning. He'd been pet-sitting a friend's prized Macaws and had carried them out onto his patio for some fresh air. Too late he'd discovered a stealthy predator devouring the last of his pal's jungle birds.
"Hey you need to watch out for your babies," he said. "Don't let them play out here alone. I just killed a big snake, I'm sure there are more."
When a Good Ol' Boy, from the land of swamp monsters and roaches the size of mice, warns of a "big snake," he ain't kiddin'.
(Now Seth, don't be too hard on him for setting those pretty parrots out on the deck in the first place. Having once fried a box turtle to a scaly crisp, I know first hand how easy that mistake is to make.)
Backyard marshmallow roast with Papa- winter 2008
Our backyard is a little piece of Southern wilderness tucked into the corner of a quiet cul-de-sac. For the most part that's just the way we like it, but in addition to the snakes, there are often lithe leggy foxes hunting the squirrels that scale our trees and traumatize our cat. While the squirrels do seem to keep the foxes altogether occupied, I've no doubt that Mr. Fox would find a duck and her eggs a welcome diversion.
But Seth, good news! In the time it has taken to write the post thus far, my mammoth farm boy has presented a solution. We will build a duck house and nighttime run! It will look like this-
I've been telling Matt for months that I want some chickies. Sooner than later. He promises we will have some one day. I like that coop. Your little ducklings will be very happy there. Do your lady ducks need a man duck around?
ReplyDeleteNope, no man ducks necessary. (For egg production at least, babies would be a different story.) I've wanted chickens for quite a while but now am TOTALLY sold on ducks for a PLETHORA of reasons. The link to the duck house "image source" will take you to a pretty fantastic website with pro and cons of both, as well as how-tos, fun pictures, and video.
ReplyDeleteYou've made me a very happy man. Also, now I have to convince Emily that Khaki Campbell eggs would taste better than chicken. She tells me, "you hate duck" but I think the eggs would be lovely.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. If you'd like to raise ducks for meat, it seems Muscovy ducks are the way to go. They are apparently far less greasy than other breeds. However, by all accounts Khaki Campbell duck eggs are the size of extra large chicken eggs and taste exactly the same. Those who claim to tell a difference only ever describe them as "richer."
ReplyDeleteTheir eggs are also said to produce fluffier baked goods--something I consider to be a bonus as our lifestyle necessitates all sweet treats be gluten free and GF foods have a reputation for being hard and fairly dense.
Go. Fight. Win!
You're worried about snakes and foxes? What about the 400lb dog?
ReplyDeleteThe dog wears a shock collar and I own the remote!
ReplyDeleteSoooooo....the dog won't eat the ducks but she'll eat Sophie?
ReplyDeleteNah, she wouldn't actually eat Sophie anymore either. I'm sure she'd LIKE to, but the trainer we hired and the e-collar have made a huge difference--she doesn't show much cat aggression and does just about EVERYTHING I say, the first time I say it. Pretty cool, huh.
ReplyDelete