Ducks “helping” with gardening

[Beaglegal]

This is how worn out Gardener Ducks look like:
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Lot's of garden work to do today as the brain will be back tomorrow:
First i had to distribute the three loads of Duck-compost on my potato-patch with a rake. Half way done there were 28 ducks standing all around, urging me to work faster…
While they were busy, analyzing the quality of my work, i sneaked to the compost pile and managed to dump three loads of compost to my new veggie bed before Katharina realized that the gate was open and called everybody to the compost pile…
Ok, ducks busy, i distributed the compost evenly on the new veggie bed, guess what Pompom saw me, squicked enthusiastic like a little piglet and joined me. Five Minutes later all ducks were digging in the veggie bed again, so…
I unrolled that long orange »cable-snake« and dragged it up the hill to the potato patch. Everybody was still, watching if that dangerous orange thing on the ground would move. Blanca tried to eat it, but it wasn't tasting good. And then: Humon took another dangerous green thing on two wheels (aka Tiller) up the hill, grabbed that orange worm and plugged it into the green thing. Purring sound and tiny bits of compost and earth flying around.
Just ½ way through the potato-patch and all ducks moved in. I had to be so careful not to till one under. Apparently the potato patch was full of grubs and worms that had to be converted into - instant-fertilizer.
Done with the potato patch, that green thing rolled down the hill to the veggie-bed and suddenly that orange worm tried to crawl back down too. Blanca and Bazilla pursued, but it sadly escaped. - I just pulled the extension cable downhill when two crazy ducks discovered their cat-genes.
Peacefully tilling the new veggie bed… - ½ way done and the ducks moved in. This time they all walked through that pit with the deep black mud, over the patio (leaving footprints everywhere!) down the stairs and - banzaaaiii - into the freshly tilled earth.
Much later: Do you know that ducks can slip too?
I was digging out the drainage ditch that runs across the hill behind our house - did i mentioned they forecasted rain for tomorrow? - that hill is a slippery, muddy mess and almost fell twice on my butt. All ducks watching me and laughing out loud. Then Katharina spotted me dumping a full shovel of wet dripping mudd from the ditch and started running downhill towards the pile of gunk i had dumped. She ran as fast as she can, which is really fast and then could not stop. Her legs stopped running, but her momentum made her continue sliding down the hill. Then came the ditch. Full of runny black mud. In she went with a humiliating loud smack. This time i was laughing…
My duck babies were so exhausted from all that had labour that they all turned around when they saw me coming out with their dinner and ran straight into the duck house. »Just give us our food, no ceremony today! We just want to eat and go to bed!«
Ten minutes later - silence!

I love it when mine come in all tuckered out from being ducks it’s so cute. Mine are leaving the onion sets alone. As are the deer

 

[Duckfarmer1]

@WannaBeHillBilly i think you just might be the most dedicated to your ducks! A camera for the ducks? I have cameras in the barn for my goats but that’s because of kidding season...so I could know when they are giving birth and go help. What, are you watching to go help deliver eggs? You’re a riot! And, if you’re gardens are just for the ducks, why do have a gate on them? Anyways. Last year we bought a few of those giant watermelons, from when we were kids...long ones with seeds. the ducks ate the first one, we we’re saving the other one, outside for a nice hot day. We didn’t notice that the ducks had been working at it...but not from the top, where it would make the most sense for 43 ducks to gain entrance. They got the hole in the side, and then they ate it out...completely from that small hole!! When we came home they were covered in pink down to their chests from diving so far into the watermelon...we laughed soooo hard! So we split it open...nothing inside...I mean gone down to a tiny thin bit of core...but, they still ate the core...you know them! They were a sticky mess!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Duckfarmer1 did I read somewhere you let all your ducks go? Haven’t any more at all?

 

[jaykayhuff]

Yesterday was my first experience with gardening and ducks. I was digging out a bunch of bulbs of some flower I want to relocate. I’m not sure what was harder: the actual digging and splitting of the bulbs, fighting off my psycho Welsh that was attacking my handheld tools while I was using them, pushing the two fatties who were walking where I dug just to fill it all back in again, or chasing off the the instigators that were dragging all the bulbs out of the pot I was placing them in.

it’s going to be a fun spring!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@Duckfarmer1 - Ducks are just incredibly interesting creatures and i like to study their behaviors. The DuckyCam was extremely valuable when Katharina Duck had her ducklings last summer.
Sadly my phone was empty when i discovered that the Ducks had chewed into the Pumpkin… The white layers looked exactly like yours, just replace the pink with a bright orange! And i had orange-black ducks too.
Not all of the veggies will be grown for the ducks, just the cabbage heads will be stored in the cold pantry for the winter-time. Most of the Veggies will be for us to eat and maybe some eggcess will be sold.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

@Miss Lydia , yes..I did sell my ducks. It was a combination of reasons...i think the biggest factor was about Little Lou. I couldn’t get over the heartbreak. But, we are not raising mini pigs and I simply needed the barn space. I know that sounds terrible. i found two nice farms that are close by...one with children...they took many pictures of their ponds before I even considerEd them. I still love ducks, especially my ducks, but it was just too much right now because my farm is expanding sooo much, and I just couldn’t give them the time they deserve. I know that sounds like a cop out. I might, get a couple ducks down the line...the garden was another huge factor. Our garden is wayyy two big to fence due to ducks. 2acres now and were planting another acre and a half. It really was a tough decision. One I still question, and that’s why I’m still glued to the duck forum pages. I miss them.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

@Duckfarmer1 - Ducks are just incredibly interesting creatures and i like to study their behaviors. The DuckyCam was extremely valuable when Katharina Duck had her ducklings last summer.
Sadly my phone was empty when i discovered that the Ducks had chewed into the Pumpkin… The white layers looked exactly like yours, just replace the pink with a bright orange! And i had orange-black ducks too.
Not all of the veggies will be grown for the ducks, just the cabbage heads will be stored in the cold pantry for the winter-time. Most of the Veggies will be for us to eat and maybe some eggcess will be sold.

Sounds great! You need to get a redneck farm truck for out at your drive way! We have one...next to our real farm stand...it’s a real eye catcher. It even has bull horns on the hood! You wouldn’t believe the people who stop just because of that silly truck! The more streamers the better!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@Miss Lydia , yes..I did sell my ducks. It was a combination of reasons...i think the biggest factor was about Little Lou. I couldn’t get over the heartbreak. But, we are not raising mini pigs and I simply needed the barn space. I know that sounds terrible. i found two nice farms that are close by...one with children...they took many pictures of their ponds before I even considerEd them. I still love ducks, especially my ducks, but it was just too much right now because my farm is expanding sooo much, and I just couldn’t give them the time they deserve. I know that sounds like a cop out. I might, get a couple ducks down the line...the garden was another huge factor. Our garden is wayyy two big to fence due to ducks. 2acres now and were planting another acre and a half. It really was a tough decision. One I still question, and that’s why I’m still glued to the duck forum pages. I miss them.

What if you get just a few Duckies and fence them in, instead of the veggie garden?
And what about the local deer population? When i told the neighbors about my plans to grow cabbage for the ducks, they all started laughing and told me the deer would storm into my living room if i had cabbage there…

 

[Duckfarmer1]

What if you get just a few Duckies and fence them in, instead of the veggie garden?
And what about the local deer population? When i told the neighbors about my plans to grow cabbage for the ducks, they all started laughing and told me the deer would storm into my living room if i had cabbage there…

We have a deer fence...the deer stay out...the ducks plowed right through it! I thought about fencing my ducks...I hate that idea. I love to see my animals free range. Even my goats and pot belly pigs are free range during the day. Absolutely no trouble ever!! The ducks were/are such a joy to to me...I’d hate to lock them up. I really think I need to get over the loss of Little Lou, then, as you said, just get a few. Muscovies will be my choice. We loved to watch them in the pond! Then, with just a few, it won’t matter if we lose a few veggies here or there. Also, I’m milking goats right now, twice a day..it takes at least an hour a time. I make cheese and fudge and sell that. . I didn’t know how to tell you guys about the ducks...sorry.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

OK, here is yesterday's Compost-Duck video, i had to salvage it from my stupid phone that turned off with an empty battery while filming: