June 11, 2021 - Broody

The one that got away! Hunkered down and guarding her eggs.

Having a diversified farm with both animal and vegetable production has ecological and economic benefits and brings a lot to our farm. We raise ducks for eggs on Orange Star Farm. Ducks produce into the shoulder seasons which is helpful for our business but our ducks also serve as mighty mowing machines! We never need to cut the grass where they are pastured! It saves us time, money and reduces our use of gasoline. Putting them on pasture is also good for them! It gives them access to an abundance of nutrients because they have access to greens, insects, and microbes. And speaking of insects, did you know that ducks love slugs? So they serve the great purpose of keeping the invasive and voracious single footed stomachs in check on our farm.

We herd our ducks out to pasture at dawn and they waddle around pasture and through shrubs, foraging throughout all day. At dusk we herd them back to the duck house where they have a safe and dry place to lay their eggs at night. This time of year, it’s not uncommon for a hen or two to get broody. They’ve started laying eggs and their instincts are telling them to make a nest, fill it, and sit on it so that they can hatch some ducklings. As much as I try to herd all the ducks in at night there is usually one every year who hides her nest so well that I can’t find her.

A lot of love went into the construction of this nest.

The duck pictured at the top has received the honors for this year. She has such good instincts for caring for her eggs and constructed the beautiful nest pictured above. She carved a deep bowl several inches down into the soil and built it up with fresh and dry grass, leaves and down from her own chest. A downy berm to protect her eggs!

Ducks are a JOY to raise for a lot of different reasons, if you’d like to learn more about how we raise ducks and how to use duck eggs you can find more information HERE.