Ducks “helping” with gardening

[milkandpeaches]

So cute! We're improving our coop/ run with some bird friendly landscaping and eventually a filtered pond. You have such beautiful helpers, I hope mine will share the same interest [We're picking up our first 15 bird straight run on Monday]

 

[Miss Lydia]

What breed?

 

[jaykayhuff]

Suggestions on duck and dog friendly plants/vegetables? Just removed all my perennials so I have a retaining wall to plant in and a 4x6 area in the yard that is all dirt so I was going to try a few vegetables or some plants they can munch on.

 

[milkandpeaches]

What breed?

Ancona ducks! I've been obsessed with them for years now. We're so excited.

Suggestions on duck and dog friendly plants/vegetables? Just removed all my perennials so I have a retaining wall to plant in and a 4x6 area in the yard that is all dirt so I was going to try a few vegetables or some plants they can munch on.

Im kind of a beginner gardener but I took some articles and compared safe plants for chickens, ducks, and dogs. This is what I've got:
-Dill - great for canning, seasoning, dressings, and meat
-Lavender - dogs can eat lavender in small quantities [theres actually some health benefits for them], but too much can cause vomiting and stomach upset. Your dogs are very unlikely to eat your lavender plants. They dont attract dogs. It's a great pest repeller and stress reliever for your chickens! It can also be great for their circulatory system. I like to get culinary strains so I can infuse them into drinks, desserts, syrups, ect. Blueberry lavender mint lemonade is my favorite summer drink! [Stolen from buffalo wild wings lol]
-Greens - Greens are generally safe for chickens, ducks, and dogs. They can grow in shade and are cool hardy.
-Calendula - is safe for all. They're edible flowers that can substitute saffron and even have health benefits for your ducks making their eggs a deeper golden orange color.

I'm sure there are several more, but thats what I just round up!

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you want an hen that’s good in tea plant lemon balm it’s sake for the birds and they can kill it. My lavender didn’t hold up oregano does pretty good it’s in a big pot. Mints are another but invasive so they need to be grown in pots. Bet sure to post pics Ancona are such pretty birds I know you’ll love them. There’s a member here @DuckyDonna who plants sweet potatoes and her ducks love the leaves.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

@WannaBeHillBilly ...don’t rub it in!! You stinker!! We won’t see spring till the end of April if we’re lucky!! Last year we tried to plant some stuff before Memorial Day...too early. Got frost and high winds broke the plants Chris had started in the house. He was sooo upset!! We don’t have any seedlings started in our windows yet....this is crazy! last year you couldn’t see out any of our windows!! Grow lights everywhere...he’s waiting this year because last year was such a bust. Today he was brush hogging where we want to plant the new 15 acres of mixed grasses hay...it was snowing terrible on him. Poor guy. But, I got to take my baby goat kids on their first walks today!! They did pretty good!!! I was sooo proud!! Mammas bawlEd the whole time. Goats are sooo dramatic!! I’m glad Blanca duck hisses backpack at him with his ‘chicken face’!! My drakes were such letches!! Wanted it all the time!!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Well @Duckfarmer1 you said "Chicken", so i say "deal with this":
The first greens on our little plum tree:

And the the Roma Apple tree's buds area about to open:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

And here's another episode of "Duck Gardeners", i tilled the veggie bed behind the house and as soon as they heard the tiller, the ducks came running:

 

[Texag87]

So far it hasn't been too bad here, even with too many drakes, But Erpelchen, btw. his name means "Little Drake" in German but he is a really big boy, just oversteps any red line: He is rough to the girls, he doesn't stop even when the poor duck is about to die, he is the fence breaking expert, he bites the other drakes… He is like that bad guy walking through town with that "just call me chicken" face. Blanca Duck hisses at him whenever he want's "it".
It seems we are almost through with winter here The forecast predicts a brief frost for the upcoming weekend and then just some close calls, so i may be able to start planting (potatoes) at the end of the month.

If we don’t have Potatoes in the ground by Valentine’s Day , it’s too late. Grasshoppers and fire ants will get them before they get big enough to dig. All the trees are already budding out here. The ducks were so happy this evening chasing all the bugs.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Well @Duckfarmer1 you said "Chicken", so i say "deal with this":
The first greens on our little plum tree:

And the the Roma Apple tree's buds area about to open:

Nothing showed up on here!! Ugh!! I want to see green!!