Blues skies and blue ducks

I was on Facebook last week in one of my groups and saw an ad for a couple of Blue Swedish ducks. Of course I have said here that the duck experiment is over. But how can you say no to a couple of beautiful birds who have just lost the rest of their flock to a raccoon and need a new and safer home? The next day I headed off to South Knoxville to pick up the urban ducks from a very nice, worried owner. They rode to their new home silently in a dog crate, as if they took car trips every day and enjoyed the scenery.

If you’ve owned chickens, you know that integrating new chickens in a flock is difficult. Frankly, chickens don’t want newcomers and can be pretty nasty about it. Ducks, on the other hand, seem to be pretty laid back about new friends. I brought this pair home and put them in the duck coop for the first day to get used to the sights and sounds of the farm. That night the other ducks came in, quacked a bit, and went to sleep. On Day 2 the whole group went out together happily to free range and do what ducks do.

One thing I’ve learned about ducks is that they are so friendly, have such big personalities compared to chickens. Our two new ladies are seven months old. On the second day, they started laying eggs! Talk about great guests. They have fit right in, even letting Webb herd them with the others into the duck pen at night. We certainly have a mixed flock now, with four breeds of ducks. If you would like to buy eggs, please contact me via Facebook or Instagram. We have plenty!