New Guy Here. Duck House on a Mint Patch?

[BumblebeeAcres]

Hi everyone. A couple of years ago I bought this old farmhouse with the intentions to start a small organic farm. So far due to financial restrictions, I just have a bunch of small hand dug veggie patches but I feel I am getting closer and closer to taking the plunge into something bigger.

At the moment in my veggie gardens though I have a terrible problem with earwigs. Not a common garden pest, I know, but in my opinion, the worst. They spend their entire nights eating just about everything. Numbers have decreased a bit after an all out assault with veg oil traps, newspaper traps, beer traps, and natural dish soap attacks. If I can't even deal with the pest problem I have here with 9 or 10 small veggie patches, how am I ever supposed to deal with the potential problems when they are on a larger scale.

So I was at a strawberry u-pick talking to the owner about a week ago and he said he did not know a whole lot about earwigs, but he did know a thing or two about ducks. After some research I am starting to realize that I need ducks. Pest patrol? D-Team? They will certainly have some cool team name.

I've narrowed it down to Khaki Campbell, Indian Runner, and Muscovy Ducks. I have never eaten a duck egg, but I'm sure I'll be into them. Hoping to find 6 or 7. Probably 2 Muscovys, 2 Runners, and 3 Khaki's. They will be free range. I just drew up a house design yesterday, so I will soon be getting to work on that. Been trying to find a flatter spot on my very large, but wonky property. I'm noticing that the old mint patch is seemingly a perfect candidate. It is a nice large rectangle. Something was fenced in there at some point because I tore the fence out of the ground a year or so ago.

The mint is useless. It's a very wild tasting variety that gets all rusty around the start of the summer every year. I'll happily chop it down, but it will certainly return. Took we a while to get to the question in my title, but here it is.. Is mint okay for ducks? Think I'll have any negative effects. I can think of one positive right of the bat, I will have some **** fine smelling ducks.

The plan is to plunk their house in the patch, and also build a caged in area which will also be on the patch.It is basically just mint. We all know how invasive mint can be. They will spend their days wandering around the property, but at nights they will certainly be fenced in as we have just about every bird killing predator in the area.

I appreciate and replies and any advice for a soon-to-be duck owner.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Kevin565]

. I think with some your plan could defiantly work.

 

[ChickInDelight]

My ducks spend lots of time in my mint patch, but I think it is because it is close to the hose and the ground is sometimes damp.

My Pekins have big butts and squash stuff in the garden. They really like to stay around the house.

I bought the Indian Runners to eat bugs in the garden area. They are built to eat bugs without ruining gardens.

 

[veronicasmom]

The plan sounds like a good one. A few things. I'd make sure I only got one drake out of the 6 or 7 you want. My muscovies are AWESOME bug patrol. But you will have to keep their wings clipped. Don't know about the KC, but the runners we have and have had don't have clipped wings, but they don't fly. They are just as damaging to my flower gardens as any other duck I've had. They make nests in it, tromp over the plants and generally wreak havoc in there. I don't care at this point, but someday if I want it fixed it will have to be fenced, I've never seen the muscovies in there. So they may destroy the mint for you very quickly.
It is JMO that ducks need water. I know some say that they only need enough for head dunking and drinking, but if you've watched ducks playing in a pool, you know how much they love it. So, plan your placement so it is easy to fill pans/pools. And dumping them is easy too.
So, have fun and love to see pics of your new ducks when you get them.

 

[newbyduckmom]

Even something as invasive as mint won't stand up to flat footed ducks! LOL My ducks cleared the weed patch where we put the run in a couple of weeks - down to bare ground!

I did wonder about the taste of your duck eggs if they have lots of mint at their disposal. However, my ducks don't touch my herbs so maybe they do not like strong tasting plants.

 

[Amiga]

I got my runners because Bill Mollison wrote, "you don't have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency."

Here are my random thoughts.

Ducks are fabulous! And are not low-maintenance.

I get nervous about free ranging ducks, we have a bunch of predators here, and foxes do not wait till nightfall, nor do hawks or stray dogs. At least consider some temporary fence, and some way to keep a presence near them.

The ducks get to romp in the tea garden, where there is bee balm and apple mint, and not a hint of that in their eggs. They also enjoy nomming the comfrey. I restrict their access to the tea garden certain times of the year to protect the plants. They will eliminate the mint over time.

Muscovy boys on runner girls sounds to me like a recipe for disaster. Some drakes are absolute brutes. Duck sex is not a very tender activity in any case, but some drakes are downright nasty, and kill ducks. We don't have a drake at this point. Not that we won't ever, but we don't need one and I am not ready to start a breeding program.

Consider adopting rescues. There may be a number of them around you, see what you can find.

I agree that a kiddie pool, uphill from gardens so that the fertilized water can be dumped onto either compost or garden beds is a good practice. I have a small channel going to the grape arbor and two other beds downhill from the day pen.

And lest I forget,

 

[BumblebeeAcres]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

No worries about the water. I certainly intend to give them a pool to play in. Great idea about pouring it on the compost heap. That just happens to be right next to the mint patch.

I like the sound of them destroying the mint. That is for sure. The rust has spread to other related mints that do taste good.

"you don't have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency."

Man I just love that guy.

I'm a sponsor at the local SPCA and I've never seen a duck there. A little place like Nova Scotia I suppose. I would rescue if I could.

I am hoping to go drakeless. A bunch of pretty ladies just wandering around doing their thing sounds better IMO.

This really is an experiment. If they crush everything that would suck. We'll see.


They are built to eat bugs without ruining gardens.

Sounds good to me.

I started taking the mint down today with a scythe. I will certainly keep everyone posted. : )

Thanks.

p.s. any other pointers or things I should know that I may not have run into during my googlefest?

 

[Amiga]

Similar to Joel Salatin's advice about chickens, ducks can run through gardens certain times of the year (depending on the crop), but leaving them on too long (this number varies) results in squooshed vegetables.

The ducks stay off the garlic once it is four inches tall, can go back on until the buckwheat cover crop comes up, can play under the hazelnuts any time, and so forth.

Temporary fence is a wonderful thing. I have a few gardens that are duck friendly, and some that are too tender for more than the occasional romp. I have them regularly patrol outer perimeters, as we go on slug walks together. I spent beaucoups of time with them growing up, so they are pretty good at staying together and near me, 80% of the time. A nice long rod or staff (thy rod and thy staff) are helpful, as is learning enough duck language to be able to communicate, "really, this is where you need to go."

I cut my oats and field peas with a scythe . . . .is yours American or European style? I am just beginning to learn about it. Mine is European, and I am learning how to peen the blade. That is going pretty well.

My runners respond quite well to peas. If I need to be sure they don't take the long way around, I get a small bowl of peas and they stick right close.

This forum is a great place to learn and share. Please keep us updated. We are all learning, and have learned, and want to share. We are heartbroken and joyous with one another, and our opinions sometimes differ widely.

Water management is key, especially with ducklings. Really. Remember this.

 

[BumblebeeAcres]

Thanks so much Amiga. I will look into some kind of temporary fencing for sure.

My scythe is also European. Certainly the way to go. A very very useful tool to say the least. Especially since I let the majority of my lawn go to seed this year. The grass was about 5 feet tall before the wind knocked it down. Won't be doing that again!!

 

[annestanton]

What sort of plants can we put in the pen for the ducks to munch on, they not been out in the garden yet only managed to pop their heads through the gate then run back in