Building Unity Farm - The Ducks

As the weather begins to improve (we’ve even had an afternoon above freezing - wahoo!), the ducks are beginning to wander farther from their duck house.   This week, they discovered the rain cistern that collects runoff from our farmhouse roof.For hours, they’ll bathe, preen, and drink their fill of the circulating rainwater.  They’re very social and tend to travel in groups.  They’re calm and have learned to recognize us as helpful rather than threatening.We have 10 ducks at the moment -2 Chocolate Indian Runner ducks2 Fawn Indian Runner ducks2 Welsh Harlequin ducks2 Swedish Blue ducks2 Rouen ducksThey spend the day wandering the farm yard, finding insects in the compost pile, eating the tender sprouts of any greens they can find, and playing in puddles.   As dusk approaches, we walk near them and they know it’s time to return to their duck house, a 4x8 building with food, wind protected warmth, and hay bedding.   We keep their water sources outside the duck house to reduce the mess.   Ducks can turn any pasture into mud.They have a heated 50 gallon stock pond and a 5 gallon waterer in the 14x10 foot pen built around the duck house, caged on 5 sides to prevent predators from reaching the ducks at night.    A duck house with 3 square feet per duck seems about the right density.Our large pond is about 50 feet from the duck house and the surface is still covered with ice and snow.  It’s 6 feet deep so water is still circu...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs