Ducks, ducks and more ducks and a birthday.
We didn’t plan to have ducks.
I thought that having chickens ay GlenMyu would be good to provide us with organic eggs. They would also provide a good home and life for the birds we were to rear.
We have friends back in the UK that have a henhouse in their smallholding. They get a steady stream of eggs throughout the year. My only objection was that I found the cockerel to be quite aggressive and scary. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with this challenge on a daily basis whilst collecting the eggs.
Our friends also have turkeys from time to time. Then the scare factor doubles for me!
Some research - but not enough.
Ruwanthi did a bit of research as we were also trying to grow organic rice at the estate. She came across some articles about Japanese farmers using ducks to keep their paddy fields weed free. The ducks also provided good natural fertiliser for the rice while they were going about their work.
Another birthday!
As one gets older birthdays are more of a challenge when it comes down to marking another year around the sun. The conundrum is exacerbated when you live remotely. This results in limited purchasing opportunities. And being tied to the property whilst the development of the building and land is in progress doesn’t help.
This years birthday present - so easy?
I was delighted in 2019 whilst driving down the hill from Haputale to Beragala that my pondering over a suitable present this year. It was solved when Ruwanthi asked my to stop the car.
After about 20 minutes Ruwanthi returned looking for my wallet to complete the purchase of four duckling. And a packet of duck feed to keep them going.
I was a little bemused as it was another commitment we were taking on without much planning.
A mixed welcome from the dogs.
We arrived back at GlenMyu and the dogs were ejected from their cage. This would become a residence for the ducks until we arranged a more suitable home for them. I really don’t know what the dogs thought of the situation!
The ducks lineage is just like the dogs on the estate being a bit of this and a bit of that. However, we did work out that we had a Muscovy due to her markings.
A name for the duck.
The Muscovy duck is now called Mama Kahlu as she has been prolific providing a stream of new ducklings. Once she decided to sit on her eggs there was no moving her. Our duck numbers grew and grew so quickly that I was concerned that we would be overrun by them at the property!
Still learning - at our age!
We have have learnt a lot over the eighteen months or so that we have had the ducks. We have lost a few; one flew away, two were meals for the mongoose. One duckling went missing mysteriously in the middle of the night. Two ducklings have drowned? ( I didn’t think that this was possible).
A farm animal or a pet?
Ruwanthi has a great relationship with Mama duck. She follows Ru when clearing demanding the worms that are dug up. Muscovys are renowned for being quite friendly and acting like a pet.
At this current time (July 2021) we have Mama Duck and one of her offspring sitting on eggs. You can see from the videos below that Mama is quite comfortable in her endeavour being an old timer now. The younger duck is very protective and hisses as me as I get near.
Maybe my reservation about chickens and turkeys being scary will also be the case with some of the ducks we raise!