Should be obvious, right? We raise chickens, rabbits, and ducks. We’ve processed members of each of those groups (and Muscovy really does taste like beef!). People with whom we’re acquainted know this…and yet, countless times, they can’t – or don’t – seem to grasp why we won’t eat a chicken sandwich from some popular fast food place, or partake of catered BBQ. For the record: the aforementioned “people” doesn’t include our friends who “get it”.
Tag: Muscovy Ducks
Homemade Desserts: Duck Egg Cheesecake
Do you like cheesecake? If so, you must try it with duck eggs – we did, and there’s no going back!While the seemingly endless supply of spring and summer eggs seems to be over, we recently began finding a few duck eggs in the coop again! While they’re wonderful fried and scrambled, duck eggs are unparalleled for their ability to enhance baked goods: think denser and richer…words made for cheesecake. Continue reading “Homemade Desserts: Duck Egg Cheesecake”
New Farm Denizens: White Chinese Geese
We’ve been considering adding geese to the farm for a while, and have been researching different breeds to find the one that we think will be the best fit. We’re pleased to share that yesterday, we brought three young Chinese geese home.
Why Chinese geese? They’re known to be good guardian animals because they’ll create a racket if they see something that doesn’t belong (this could be a downside if you live close to neighbors), they’re some of the best layers, they can obtain much of their nutrition from eating weeds and pasture greens, and they’re lovely creatures. You know how we like pasturing our animals! Continue reading “New Farm Denizens: White Chinese Geese”
Beware The Super-Broody: These Girls Mean Business
It’s that time of year – the ducks have been laying lots of eggs, and when they’ve laid a clutch, they want to try to hatch them (and they’re exceptionally good at it). When one goes broody, and interesting phenomenon occurs: the broodiness seems to be contagious. So what happens when several ducks go broody and they all want the same nest box? They sardine into it. Never mind that there are other boxes, just as nice, that are available. They want that one special box.
That’s right: three ducks crammed themselves into a single nest box. Our nest boxes are jumbo hooded cat litter pans, normally very roomy for a single occupant. It’s even comfortable for two ducks, should they decide to be roommates. But three is pushing it – see how they’re stacked? Continue reading “Beware The Super-Broody: These Girls Mean Business”
Duck Delinquents: When Girls Stay Out All Night
Pretty much every predator in the area likes duck. We get it. To foil the many animals that lurk in the darkness, we secure the ducks in their coop (or the chicken coop, if they’ve chosen to squat in there) at night. Every once in a while, though, a duck hides when we go to herd them into their coop, and she stays out all night long. Notably, we have never had a drake stay out after curfew…hmm…
Continue reading “Duck Delinquents: When Girls Stay Out All Night”
Like Strange Eggs? Here’s A New One!
Each morning, we collect the duck eggs from the nest boxes in their coop. We time it so that the group is out eating breakfast while we take the eggs; otherwise, we risk invoking the wrath of the broody who’s been sitting in the corner nest (she knows we steal the eggs, I can feel it in her glare). Several of the girls have already gone broody, but this duck has been particularly committed to defending “her” eggs.
There are four nest boxes in the duck coop: three jumbo covered boxes and one small, shallow one. For some reason, some of the ducks prefer the shallow, open one – there are typically at least two eggs in there in the morning. We usually find several in each of the other boxes, with the broody’s nest being the cleanest, beautifully down-lined, and full of carefully hidden eggs. We’ve learned that you can provide the most deluxe, plush nest box, and that’s still no guarantee that the ducks will lay their eggs in it, so offering variety seems to work best – and an egg laid in a nest box has a much better chance of being a clean egg. Continue reading “Like Strange Eggs? Here’s A New One!”