This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
edwardian britain
annmarie 2
Posts: 155
in Talkback
I was watching ruth goodman last night on dvd, brilliant they had a problem with snail, slugs getting on their strawberries and eating them... they used white ducks they love all slimey critters wolfed them down problem solved
0
Posts
Ducks are great...........at flattening every plant they walk on and they walk on plenty looking for the molluscs. Also they need water to help them eat and they a really dirty birds. The water very quickly goes a disgusting slimy mess.
Berghill, I must disagree on all points. Ducks properly kept and not overcrowded are definitely some of the cleanest birds you can ever meet (they spend half their time bathing and preening). If they are overcrowded in a small run and with poor conditions, like all animals (humans included) they will become squalid.
They make water very muddy, because they filter mouthfuls of earth in their bills for bugs. They don't make water "slimy". Part of "well keeping" ducks is make sure they have enough running water, or change it daily if they only have little basins (discarded water can always be repurposed to watering plants and need not be a waste).
Light-weight breeds will tread lightly among plants (heavy breeds less so...). Chose ducks wisely. Personally I have lost no plants too my ducks yet. Wish I could say the same about brain-dead human visitors plonking their feet all over the raised beds.
Sorry, but our ducks had the run of an acre of garden with two ponds and a stream nearby. They walked all over the plants in the garden and flattened them. Both ponds they turned into stinking messes and we eventually had to empty and rebuild them.
These were Call Ducks by the way which are not exactly big animals and there were only 3 of them.
Our great big, by comparison hens did far less damage and kept the mollusc population down as they searched out and ate the eggs of these things.
I'm not sure ducks would go down too well in a typical new build, suburban estate either...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm entirely with Berghill on this one. The most ducks we've ever had were just 6 and we've a lot of acreage. Reason why? They're VERY messy and easily cause a slimy stink!
Of course they eat snails and slugs but they're not discriminate feeders. They eat worms too. They like a bit of salad and greens with their snails and that in itself can be a problem if anyone is even half thinking of "garden". Unless of course you've figured a way to keep the ducks off the salad and plants whilst eating only slugs
When it comes to thinking about keeping them in a garden pond and having everything in the garden still lovely, then sorry but it just won't work out. Ducks eat by grabbing a mouthful of whatever: mud, bugs and worms, and then dunking their bills into the water and swishing it around, so keeping their water clean just isn’t possible. They also crap in the water as well as out of it! Incidentally duck poo stinks and there's a lot of it!
there was a segment about exactly that so the owner used
Indian runner ducks & said they are better than chickens as they don't scratch the ground
they did make me laugh trotting around the garden in a close knit like heavies from a tough part of town
That's how the Glesgae ducks get about HappyGrower...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Well, I have 9 ducks in the garden/orchard/veg patch (about 3 acres), and they neither stink nor do damage. In principle they have the run of the whole place, although the garden is divided in different areas so I can close some gates if I want to contain them. I also fence off bits of beds where there are vulnerable things (like lettuce) and that's it. Since they don't fly, a 2 ft fence of chicken wire clamped on bamboo poles is enough to protect a bed or a plant. I make sure they have *loads* of fresh greens every day close to their water and aside from nibbling the odd leaf or flower they didn't damage anything in 3 months of living here with us. They don't go in the pond. They have their own tubs and various basins, with clean water every day. They make all water muddy in minutes, but since it's changed daily it never has a chance to stink. Their litter is entirely changed and delivered to the compost heap at least weekly, and their hut thoroughly cleaned and scoured with wood ash, and thet doesn't stink either.
I caught one of my drakes yesterday to relieve him of a chestnut stuck in his bill (the silly creature) and took a chance to smack a kiss on his pretty head, and no, no stink.
The lady from whom I bought several of my ducks lives practically in town in a 2000 sq m suburban garden which is absolutely clean and stink free. I think she must have had 30-some ducks/ducklings (calls and runners) when we went fetching ours (plus a dog, rabbits and a sheep) and they all had the run of the garden. It was in fact a rather impressive place. I have never seen so many animals in such a small place kept so neatly. No complaints from the neighbours.
Clearly ducks and gardens can be made to be compatible with some creative management, and for me at least they are a fun way to complete my own private ecosystem (slug control and natural high nitrogen fertilizer, plus, of course, fabulous eggs delivered daily in time for breakfast).
It might not work if your idea of pretty garden is the perfectly neat designer dream where every delicate flower and stilish grass clump sits exactly where you put it, but in an informal cottage-ish garden, it works very fine for me. It might also depend on how much time you are willing to spend in managing your flock. Working mostly from home, I can give quite a bit of attention to all my animals, which might be impossible if I were still working 9 hs a day+ 1h commute.
This is a subject on which there is no agreement at all on the internet. Some say ducks are brilliant, some say they are hooligans. So I think one just has to try it out, and see if one's garden and lifestyle is compatible with them or not.