Indian Runner Ducks

[carolineholding]

Not strictly hen related but i thought you lot might be able to help me -you usually can

After a mild wet winter I'm drowning in slugs, my hens do like to eat them (although they aren't too keen on the large orange ones) but if I let them loose in my veg plot they'll eat my veg as well as my slugs.

I understand IRDs are particularly good at polishing of slugs and snails without taking an interest in your crops. Can anyone here confirm this to be the case? Also I know they need a source of water and we do happen to have a pond in the field but worryingly the pond contains not one but two different types of water lily! they're very beautiful and I think they've occurred naturally which is rare (pretty sure no one planted them here as this site wasn't residential before we moved here). So what kind of effect do ducks have on a pond they use? Would there be a risk they would damage the water lilies? Originally I wanted to get ducks instead of hens but I was worried about them damaging the water lilies.

hope you can help, thanks

Caroline

[Two_Sheds]

My first google post got me this:

"Ducks eat plants and can go through quite a few water hyacinths and water lilies in a season. Don't expect to keep ducks and beautiful water lilies together. "

[Two_Sheds]

I'm drowning in slugs, my hens do like to eat them

Are you making use of slug "hotels" to help you find them?

I have several around my plot, they are simply planks of wood or sheets of black plastic (old compost bags) laid on the ground.
During the day the slugs gather underneath them, and it's a very quick job to scoop them up and dispose of them.

You also want to do some night-time patrols, that will get you a LOT in one go. Torch + bucket of salt water + tongs or rubber gloves to pick them up

[chris]

The ducks will eat your veg, I know a few people who thought the same - bought some ducks who munched through their crops as well as the slugs.

[lottie dolly]

some wild ducks made a nest on a vaccant lottie plot a few weeks ago,they were eating the nearby veg of other plots,thankfull,not mine,

[kathyd]

I'm in the same boat Caroline - I adore ducks, but don't want to introduce them into our newly-built wildlife pond for the same reasons as you - I don't want them to eat all the plants and pondlife, and destroy the pond! However, I've decided to get a couple anyway, and to provide them with a separate small pond of their own which we can drain and clean every few months, because apparently they make the water filthy very quickly. And I'll be keeping them out of the veg patch at critical times of year too - they'll only go in when I've got crops covered with netting (ie early on in the season to protect from cats and chickens), and when the beds are empty or covered with a mulch eg during winter - although my hens did destroy all my red clover green manures last year, so may even have to rethink that one! But I am determined to get some ducks!

[petal]

In the late autumn, when most crops have been harvested, I fence the brassicas off and let the ducks loose in the veg plot. They will demolish the remaining vegetation, any left behind pumpkins etc and rummage in the soil for slug eggs. Surplus males put weight on rapidly.... yum. There the girls and one drake stays -with their moveable house- think sturdy with ducks..... (a giant dog kennel) until spring then the oH rotavates and any remaining slug eggs and bad things get munched. Think of the poo!!!Then they go on the grass, hunting for leather jacket larvae.
Ducks rock! oh and best pond is a sand pit from early learning centre - you can tip disgusting water out and refill regularly. I personally do not like indian runners as they are sex mad fiends. we have call ducks and a couple of rouen ,plus some commercial white for eggs.