We have been keeping chickens for their entertainment capacity, and also for fresh eggs, for 10 years now. Over those 10 years, we've lost a bunch of our dear girls to owls, hawks, and one year, a stray dachshund, and every year, we get more babies and expand the flock a few heads more. When we moved to Vermont, we re-homed all but three of our flock - they'd been with us since the beginning, and we just couldn't part with them! So my dear husband loaded up his car with one of our dogs, two black Silkie hens, and a bantam Cochin rooster. They all did well on the 12 hour trip, and quickly adapted to life in Vermont. That was back in 2018. Fast forward to spring of 2019 when I added 5 bantam babies to the flock.
The babies kept me on my toes - constantly checking for pastey butt, clean water, plenty of food, clean bedding, etc. Those babies, along with my three dogs, took up most of my free time - so I am not sure what I was thinking when, come June, I decided to add 4 ducklings to my urban homestead! After much research, I chose 4 Cayuga ducklings. They were absolutely adorable!!
The babies kept me on my toes - constantly checking for pastey butt, clean water, plenty of food, clean bedding, etc. Those babies, along with my three dogs, took up most of my free time - so I am not sure what I was thinking when, come June, I decided to add 4 ducklings to my urban homestead! After much research, I chose 4 Cayuga ducklings. They were absolutely adorable!!
I realized, after a very short period of time, that ducklings are messy!!! I'd read the stories, but didn't believe it until I saw it with my very own eyes. Soon, all four ducklings had outgrown the brooder I had - so it was time to move them to the garage, where I constructed a larger 'pen', still with the heat lamp (they were still too young to go outside totally on their own).
Next, I had to figure out a permanent outdoor coop for them. The chicken coop I have does NOT have a ramp going into the coop - so technically, the ducks could house there; but I really wanted them to have their own place. After much research, I opted for the New Age Pet Eco Choice Fontana Chicken Barn.
It runs around $200, and it is made of a very durable plastic, so it is super easy to clean. You put it together yourself, which was a really easy process - from pieces to finished product in a matter of minutes!
I purchased a plastic kiddie pool from Tractor Supply, and the ducks were all set to free range in the backyard with the chickens:
At some point during the late fall, something scared the ducks while they were in their coop, and they will not go back in; instead, they have decided to sleep with the chickens and protective roosters in the original chicken coop... oh well... all's well that ends well, I guess!
About 2 weeks ago, in early February, I opened the nesting box lid to find my first duck eggs! I was so excited - they were HUGE! (especially when compared to my bantam eggs!) I can't wait to start baking with these eggs:
To end out this blog post, I thought I'd add a video of the girls paddling in their pool. Enjoy!
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