Ducks

Indian Runner ducks were the second animals on the farm; the first was a dog named Chessie. We still have descendents of our original breeding pair, which we named Bogie and Bacall. These ducks are various shades of brown, from tan to chocolate. Two years ago we added Fawn and White Runners to the mix.

Unlike most ducks, Indian Runners are upright. They look like bowling pins with orange webbed feet and are quite a sight to see. They are excellent foragers and their eggs make excellent bread. Half of our flock spent the summer in a pasture, never bothering to return to the small pond where they spent their childhood. Some of these ducks hatched out eggs that were in nests in our hedgerows. In late summer these ducks were funneled into a garden to assist with slug and snail control. This appeared to be beneficial, and we will continue to explore their use in gardens, particularly those that contain more robust crops that will not be damaged by their trampling and pecking.