Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck...

But no goose! The latest additions to the farm are 10 baby ducklings.

It all started quite innocently, really. With the pond finally staying full, I hoped for a few ducks to visit again as they did last year when we first got the pond full. You know, some cute entertainment out on the pond. However, no ducks in sight this year. So, naturally, I head to the computer to start researching domestic ducks and duck eggs. After reading a good many articles, I thought I had it all figured out. I wanted a good forager, good egg layer, and good brooding instincts. Also, I wanted easy to pluck feathers and a good meat quality. When John came home from work, I sat down with him and unloaded the perfect duck spiel. I just knew the Muscovy was "our duck." So, after telling him all of the wonderful qualities of the muscovy, I decided to pull up a picture of it. "Oh well," I said, "Surely, there are other good ducks out there! There is no way I will be looking at that face everyday!" Bless them, they are horrific looking. I would hate to scare Emma Katherine or any kid for that matter. They are just unbearably ugly... scary even! So, back to square one...

I couldn't find all of the same qualities of the muscovy in one duck so we decided to get 3 different breeds. Each breed known for a certain trait. We have 3 khaki campbell, 3 welsh harlequin and 4 buff orpington ducks. The Khaki Campbell, developed in England in 1901, is known for its excellent egg production but has a very poor instinct to go broody. The buff, also developed in the early 1900's in England, is a multipurpose bird, laying good quantities of eggs and having the size and feather color to make a great roasting duck. The Welsh Harlequin is a fairly new breed, developed in 1949 and making its way to the US in 1968. They are also a multipurpose breed, they have excellent egg production due to their khaki campbell ancestors, yet they retain the instinct to sit and hatch ducklings. They are excellent foragers and very calm. They have been known to make an excellent table bird as well. All of these ducks are non-flyers for the most part. We plan to raise them to table size (usually 8 weeks for ducks) and then process 4 of them and keep a pair of each breed.

Apparently, ducks are very hardy, easier to raise than chickens and make great farm residents. We are looking forward to a fun spring time with these little guys.