There’s never been a better time to go self-sufficient. In our ongoing series, Sally C oulthard shares tried-and-tested tips from her Yorkshire smallholding
THIS MONTH Keeping ducks
One of my favourite parts of the day is putting the Runner ducks to bed. They live in the vegetable garden and share their space and sleeping hut with Wanda, our fantastically unstable but much-loved goose.
Author and seasoned smallholder Sally shares her Yorkshire plot with sheep, horses, hens, ducks, geese, an orchard, avegetable garden and apond
Just as it gets dark, I go and tell them it’s bedtime (chickens will put themselves to bed, ducks need reminding). After a few quacks and honks of indignation, they concede and reluctantly head for their coop, which sits in the corner near the greenhouse. The line-up is always the same. The three Runner duck drakes (all called Steve because they’re impossible to tell apart) go in first, like flower girls down a church aisle, followed by a waddling, stately Wanda, the blushing bride. It never fails to make me laugh.
I’ve kept lots of different breeds of duck over the years – Khaki Campbells, Calls, Muscovies and more. They’ve all been utterly beguiling with their comical ways but some have been more successful than others. Early attempts at keeping domestic ducks on our wild pond failed spectacularly. One too many times, a rogue drake would refuse to sleep in its floating duck house and I’d wake to find nothing but a handful of feathers left on the pond’s muddy banks. I now keep all the ducks safely locked in at night.
As I write this, I’ve got two distinct groups. The first gang are the three Steves, my all-male slug devourers and lawn mowers. They spend hours searching for garden pests and, because they can’t fly, leave the contents of my raised beds alone. Then over with the chickens live a pair of Buff Orpington ducks. Devoted to each other, Terry and June provide me with more eggs than I can turn into meringues and I’m hoping for ducklings this year.
Although not all breeds are mad about swimming, all ducks need access to plenty of fresh water for drinking, digesting food and washing their eyes, bills and feathers. Arigid paddling pool, old sink or washing-up bowl – anything they can submerge their head in – is ideal and they have to be able to easily get in and out. They are gloriously messy – ours throw water around like pre-schoolers – and then stomp and rootle in the muddy puddles they create.
If you want eggs, choose breeds that lay almost every day. Runner ducks, Khaki Campbells and Welsh Harlequins are all impressive layers at more than 200 eggs a year. For the table, Pekins, Aylesburys, Rouens and Muscovies are good options.
Around the garden, Runner ducks are excellent foragers and will keep slugs and other pests at bay. Ducks tend to squash things
