One thing in our garden that we have to get used to again, is the abundance of snails and slugs!
And they grow big up here
As Bill Mollison ( co founder of permaculture ) says, and Mike loves to quote
"You don't have a slug problem....you have a duck deficiency!"
Enter my new best buddies
Five Indian Runner ducklings, picked up locally this morning
......they're the best slug and snail devourers of the duck family, and they live for all the tasty slimy treats they can get.....plus they don't like their greens and have no claws for scratching! Oh and there's the eggs too!!
They're still a week away yet before I can introduce them to our local delicasies. But that won't stop me dreaming of the day they will join me in the garden, helping me get rid of all those nasties!
Although with them positioned by my bed tonight, with a light on for some warmth, I wonder how much dreaming I'll actually be doing!
Anyone what to have a bet of how many nights I'll last before I relocate them??
12 comments:
Oh they are soooooo cute!! (maybe not through the night)
I didn't know about ducks liking slugs and snails. Very interesting info.
Man they are cute! To top it off they are great pest control? Winners for sure!
Seriously between the duckling and the lambs and the cake and the sweet flowers I am going into a cuteness coma!
:-)
Then thankfully I was cured by the slug.
My baby girl ( whose birthday was Fri 13th) turned 20 so yes those years will fly because I don't know how my babies are now adults, I just turned around and boom it happened!
I love your farm adventures, it's our retirement dream, so good health willing we will do it too. Roll on spring.
Hey, i've got a question for you: how do you keep stoats and fferrets from killing your ducks? We had ducks last year and they're great fun, but a stoat came 'round and chewed their necks through. Ducks, apparently, when attacked simply sit down, whereas chickens scream and run, so there's loads of chickens here but no ducks any more. I was IN THE HOUSE whilst they got killed. Didn't hear a single quack.
We put up two DOC250 stoat traps. Caught three stoats but there's still a family of them nearby. Looked into stoat proof fencing but that's serious construction because they can dig half a metre down, can climb anything that's got texture and are known to climb trees to then JUMP over the fence. Thought of poison, but our dogs run free around here... And children. And apparently they travel 10 km easily.
How do you keep your ducks alive and your stoats dead?! I'd love to know. Really.
Cute cute cute! I guess, one night...
Wow those slugs are enormous. When i had ducks in a commercial glasshouse they ate all the green!! lettuces everything.. it was so disheartening. Hope yours do what you say they will
Oh so cute and handy too! Hope the nights are bearable!
Hey Maria :)
This is our first time with ducks, even though there are stoats around, from the look of the huge array of birds and wildlife that occupy this pennisula...stoats aren't as much as a problem as they sound for you. My neighbour has had ducks without problem, so this is reassuring, that and the breed we chose. The indian runner ducks, call alarm and run when they are spooked, they don't waddle and stay put like other breeds.
But I have heard that running Guinea Fowl with ducks is a good way to prevent attacks. The Guinea fowl are commmonly used in american farms as a alarm to livestock and people for snakes, predators etc. They hunt in packs and are great at eating fast moving insects, such as ticks crickets, spiders etc and actually enjoy hunting out mice, rats and are even are known to hunt down and kill snakes! So they may be possibility? Though they are loud and are much like cats...they'll roam all day, all over the place and just come back for a bit of food.
Also I have heard of floating duck houses that are moored in the middle of a dam....could that be a possibility?
that is some massive slugs you have there! it all sounds so idyllic then I remember those slugs! :o) you are awesome and inspiring x
These look so cute. We've just looked at the pictures in class.
So so so cute. Good to know there is a duck that doesn't eat your produce and helps with the pests. I bet their 'outgoings' will be pretty good for the garden too!
Hmm, that's interesting... Ours were Indian Runners cross-bred with Khaki Campbells. I might read up more on pure Indian Runners then.
Thanks for the tip.
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