DUCKS FOR FUN
Why I Started Keeping Ducks
I, Colin, live on a farm in the Scottish Borders. A few years ago Mum and I decided to rear some ducks for the Christmas market, and so I purchased a book on keeping ducks. In it was a picture of some exhibition Aylesburies and that was the start. I received a pair for my Christmas -1998 was a memorable year – from then on my family were never stuck for presents. After visiting the local poultry show in February I received 3 pairs of Call ducks – silver, apricot and mallard – for my birthday. Now, a few years later, we have a few more and we are all hooked on ducks.
When we started, the Aylesburies had a pen with a small burn running through it. The Calls, however, only had black tubs sunk in the ground for water, not that they were worried. As long as the water was clean they were happy.
We have now cleared out a small overgrown burn and built a number of pens along it with dams of various sizes. These can be emptied whenever we want. The photo on the left was taken before any work was started: the one below is the current view – much more picturesque. You can just see the ducks flying down to the bottom dam as they are let out in the morning.
We are forever adding a new hut or dam to improve the setup. It is great to watch the ducks enjoying themselves!
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Steinbacher geese
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