What to see on our site: Indian Runner Ducks

Members may be used to the sounds of hens laying … but may not have been aware that we have some resident Indian Runner ducks (unless you have already taken advantage of the eggs which they produce, available from the egg shed).

The four (one male and three females) have moved to a new home, next to the existing chicken runs (behind the egg shed). They are not as tame as hens and prefer to move away (or waddle away) from people: they are quite easy to herd (and in some places they have been used in sheepdog trial herding practice). We have let the ducks out to forage around the site, but you need not worry that they will eat your lettuces … they are after slugs and snails, and, as such, could be very welcome visitors. Have a look at the following clip, which is a good introduction to ducks and what they do.

We have bred from the older pair of ducks and last year used one of our bantam hens to hatch out some eggs. 

We occasionally sell some of our younger females, so if you are interested, send us an email and we will get back to you.

The second clip is an interesting commercial development and although it is not something we plan to copy, in a different setting the value of having ducks around would be very clear.