Waterfowl grace many homesteaders ponds and yards. Geese are used to weed orchards, and make great watchdogs. Ducks are used for meat, eggs and of course pets. Ducks and geese have a way of tilting their heads to look at you that makes them seem to be much more intelligent then other birds, and the little fluffy yellow ducklings and goslings are adorable.
We have a small flock of Indian Runners. Indian Runners are
prolific egg layers. They originated in the East Indies, but
their egg laying qualities were developed in Europe. Indian
Runners have a upright slender appearance, and are quite small
only averaging about 4.5 lbs.
Indian runners are used extensively for training sheep dogs
because of their ability to move around quickly unlike most ducks.
You may remember seeing some Indian Runners in the movie "Babe".
While they may be good egg layers and excellent runners, they are
not suited for meat production.
Indian runners will set on eggs, they make a nest of 6 to 8 eggs,
and set on them for 28 days. The resulting little fluffy yellow
ducklings are the cutest thing you ever saw.
Domestic Geese come in many varieties and colors. We chose the
Toulouse Goose. Toulouse geese have a broad, deep body and are
loose feathered giving them a large appearance. They are dark
grey on the back, gradually shading to a light gray edge with
white on the breast and the abdomen. Toulouse geese were
developed in southern France near the city of Toulouse. They are
considered a superior meat bird in Europe but the demand for goose
in United States is not very high. Geese will lay about 50 eggs
per year, if not inclined or allow to brood the eggs. Our Toulouse
geese love to get out and flap their wings in the morning and
sometimes even fly out of the pen to visit us! Geese are very
territorial and will lower their necks and hiss at strangers. The
flapping wings which are very strong and stout beak can inflict
many bruises on the unwary visitor, which, along with the racket
they produce, makes them excellent watch dogs.
Our gander is an African Goose named Jake, Jake comes to us from a
fellow spinner who gave him a home for 14 years. Jake is happy
having two girls of his own, and hopefully some goslings.
African Geese are noted for the distinctive knob on the base of the
black bill. The coloring is similar to the Toulouse shading to
brownish rather then gray. The head is a light grayish brown with
ash brown neck back and slightly paler breast and underside.
They are supposed to be good layers, although we may never know with
Jake, and are not used for meat production much because of the dark
pinfeathers. They are a very graceful beautiful bird.
Ducks
White Peking ducks are a favorite farm duck, they will mature in
about 8 weeks to a 5-6 lb duck. These ducks are so heavy bodied
they cannot fly, but they love to be in the water to swim and dive.
We usually raise 6-12 Peking ducks each year for the Animal Farm.
Geese
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