Adios Duckies

I'm all for learning through trial and error. I will swallow my pride and admit that the ducks were an "error," on my part but a cute one at that. Last week I took the ducks out to the canal behind our pasture and turned them wild. I'm sure they will wander home from time to time, but I doubt they will want to leave their water oasis for a permanent trip back to the chicken coop.

Originally I hoped that the ducks would be a great alternative to pesticides in my garden because they are major bug hunters. I hadn't realized what stinkers they would be...literally! Bless their cute little hearts, they are just gross! Their instinct for water causes them to swim in the water dish, which isn't a real neighborly thing to do when they are sharing with the chickens. Anyhow, I feel happy as I lay in bed at night and hear them quacking in sync with the crickets and frogs. A happy ending after all.

p.s. if you're interested, I've heard that guinea fowl are great garden grazers - they eat the bugs and not the garden