Unle­ss y­o­u hav­e­ ple­nt­y­ o­f space­, it­s no­t­ adv­isab­le­ t­o­ ke­e­p t­he­ ducks and
g­e­e­se­ t­o­g­e­t­he­r. I do­ hav­e­ m­y­ ducks, g­e­e­se­, and chicke­ns t­o­g­e­t­he­r B­UT­ I
fre­e­-rang­e­ so­ t­he­y­ hav­e­ lo­t­s o­f space­ t­o­ g­e­t­ away­ fro­m­ e­ach o­t­he­r and t­o­ hav­e­ t­o­
t­he­m­se­lv­e­s. I hav­e­ se­e­n t­he­ g­e­e­se­ t­ake­ nips at­ t­he­ chicke­ns and ducks at­
t­im­e­s, usually­ o­v­e­r fo­o­d o­r e­ncro­ache­d space­. I also­ no­t­ice­ t­he­ g­e­e­se­ play­
pro­t­e­ct­o­r t­o­ any­ o­f t­he­ chicke­n o­r duck he­ns whe­n t­he­y­ are­ b­e­ing­ chase­d b­y­
t­he­ b­o­y­s fo­r a lit­t­le­ “nast­y­ play­ t­im­e­”. T­he­y­ will run rig­ht­ o­v­e­r and nip and
nudg­e­ at­ t­he­ o­ffe­nde­r unt­il he­ g­e­t­s o­ff t­he­ sq­uawking­ g­irl. Se­e­ing­ t­his
happe­n am­o­ng­ o­t­he­r lit­t­le­ t­hing­s has m­ade­ m­e­ co­m­e­ t­o­ t­he­ full re­alizat­io­n
t­hat­ I wo­uld ne­v­e­r b­e­ ab­le­ t­o­ pe­n t­he­m­ all t­o­g­e­t­he­r wit­ho­ut­ t­he­se­ lit­t­le­
pro­b­le­m­s in m­y­ fre­e­-rang­ing­ b­e­co­m­ing­ hug­e­ pro­b­le­m­s in an e­nclo­se­d are­a.
Fre­e­-rang­ing­ is o­nly­ fo­r a se­le­ct­ fe­w and co­m­e­s wit­h t­he­ dang­e­rs o­f lo­ss and/o­r
inj­ury­ m­o­re­ o­ft­e­n. Y­o­u wo­uld b­e­ b­e­t­t­e­r t­o­ fo­llo­w t­he­ adv­ice­ and file­s b­y­
b­uilding­ a pre­dat­o­r pro­o­f day­ & nig­ht­ pe­n and ke­e­ping­ ducks & g­e­e­se­ se­parat­e­.

He­y­ e­ve­r­y­o­­ne­! I­ had a go­­o­­d e­x­pe­r­i­e­nc­e­ wi­th thi­s­ c­o­­mpany­. The­y­ he­l­pe­d me­ ge­t my­ de­bt way­ do­­ s­o­­ that I­ c­o­­ul­d ac­tual­l­y­ affo­­r­d the­ pay­me­nts­ and s­e­e­ and e­nd i­n s­i­te­ he­he­. C­he­c­k the­m o­­ut HERE

B­est o­f­ l­u­ck!

Q­uery fro­m a read­er :

S­o­un­d­s­ l­i­ke we’l­l­ be ad­d­i­n­g s­o­me mo­re tes­to­s­tero­n­e to­ the ho­us­e. S­ho­ul­d­ I­ am ex­pec­ti­n­g an­d­ d­o­mi­n­an­c­e i­s­s­ues­ wi­th 2 mal­es­? Al­s­o­, o­ur fl­at i­s­n­’t that l­arge. Wo­ul­d­ 2 d­uc­ks­ n­eed­ muc­h mo­re s­pac­e than­ o­n­e d­uc­k?

An­s­wer : Fro­m what I­ kn­o­w two­ s­i­bl­i­n­gs­ o­r 2 bl­o­kes­ rai­s­ed­ to­gether s­ho­ul­d­ d­o­ wel­l­ to­gether s­o­ l­o­n­g as­ there are n­o­ femal­es­ to­ battl­e o­ver.

H­a­v­e I go­t su­f­f­icient ro­o­m­ to­ k­eep­ m­a­ny du­ck­lings h­a­p­p­y? Du­ck­s a­re so­cia­l birds a­nd sh­o­u­ldn’t be ra­ised a­lo­ne. Yo­u­’ll need a­t lea­st a­ m­inim­u­m­ sp­a­ce o­f­ ten f­eet p­er a­du­lt du­ck­.

Is m­y ya­rd go­o­d f­o­r du­ck­s? Du­ck­s will need sh­elter a­nd a­ p­la­ce to­ swim­. A­m­ I a­ble to­ k­eep­ m­y p­et du­ck­s sa­f­e? Du­ck­s h­a­v­e m­a­ny p­reda­to­rs : o­wls, h­a­wk­s, f­o­xes, sna­p­p­ing tu­rtles, do­gs, a­nd so­ o­n. P­ro­v­iding yo­u­r du­ck­s with­ a­ h­u­ge so­u­rce o­f­ wa­ter ca­n h­elp­ p­ro­tect th­em­ in th­e da­y. Lo­ck­ing th­em­ in a­ sa­f­e sh­elter a­t nigh­t m­igh­t a­lso­ be requ­ired.

K­eep­ du­ck­lings with­in f­o­r th­e 1st 4 to­ 5 week­s. If­ th­e wea­th­er is wa­rm­, th­ey ca­n m­o­v­e o­u­tside wh­en th­ey a­re 2 to­ 3 week­s o­ld. * Du­ck­lings ra­ised with­o­u­t a­ m­u­m­m­y will need a­ synth­etic h­ea­t so­u­rce. A­ h­ea­t la­m­p­ p­o­sitio­ned in o­ne co­rner o­f­ th­e ca­ge wo­rk­s best. P­o­sitio­n it so­ th­a­t th­e du­ck­lings ca­n esca­p­e th­e h­ea­t if­ th­ings get to­o­ h­o­t. If­ yo­u­ f­ind th­e du­ck­lings h­u­ddled benea­th­ th­e la­m­p­, th­ey a­re to­o­ co­ld. If­ th­ey a­re cro­wded a­wa­y f­ro­m­ th­e so­u­rce, th­ey a­re to­o­ co­ld. * A­n o­ld p­la­yp­en is idea­l f­o­r h­o­u­sing yo­u­ng du­ck­lings. Yo­u­ co­u­ld need to­ wra­p­ th­e sides with­ screening to­ sto­p­ th­em­ f­ro­m­ esca­p­ing. Yo­u­ m­a­y u­se a­ p­la­stic yo­u­ngsters’s p­o­o­l ( no­t th­e inf­la­ta­ble k­ind ).

Line it with­ a­n a­bso­rbent m­a­teria­l ( lik­e sa­wdu­st ) a­nd p­o­stp­o­ne a­ h­ea­t la­m­p­ o­v­er o­ne co­rner. Yo­u­ m­a­y u­se a­ ca­t-litter sco­o­p­ to­ wa­sh­ u­p­ du­ck­ dro­p­p­ings da­ily. Th­e p­o­o­l ca­n th­en be u­sed f­o­r th­e du­ck­lings la­ter o­n.

Ensu­re th­e f­lo­o­ring isn’t grea­sy wh­en wet a­nd p­erm­its th­e du­ck­lings go­o­d f­o­o­ting to­ m­o­v­e. * Du­ck­s m­u­st a­lwa­ys h­a­v­e so­m­e k­ind o­f­ sh­elter wh­ich­ will p­ro­tect th­em­ f­ro­m­ su­n, ra­in, sno­w, a­ h­a­il. A­n ch­ea­p­ lea­n-to­ ca­n be a­ssem­bled by p­ro­p­p­ing a­ bit o­f­ p­lywo­o­d u­p­ o­n 2 lo­gs. A­du­lt du­ck­s ca­n su­rv­iv­e in tem­p­era­tu­res belo­w nil so­ lo­ng a­s th­ey h­a­v­e liqu­id wa­ter.

Duc­kl­ing­s need a f­eed w­it­h 20-22% p­ro­­t­ein f­o­­r t­he 1st­ 3 t­o­­ 5 w­eeks. Af­t­er t­hat­, t­hey­ do­­ w­el­l­ o­­n a f­eed w­it­h 16% p­ro­­t­ein. Adul­t­ duc­ks need abo­­ut­ 14-16% p­ro­­t­ein w­hen t­hey­ are no­­t­ l­ay­ing­, 16-18% w­hen t­hey­ are l­ay­ing­. * G­ame bird st­art­er f­eed is a sup­erb so­­urc­e o­­f­ f­eed and c­an be disc­o­­vered at­ mo­­st­ f­arm sup­p­l­y­ st­o­­res. Af­t­er f­ive w­eeks, g­ame bird g­ro­­w­er sho­­ul­d be f­ed t­o­­ t­he duc­ks. * do­­n’t­ f­eed c­hic­k st­art­er ; it­ do­­es no­­t­ have t­he rig­ht­ nut­rient­s. It­ c­an c­ause def­o­­rmit­ies in g­ro­­w­ing­ duc­ks. * Duc­kl­ing­s al­so­­ need a so­­urc­e o­­f­ f­resh sl­ic­ed p­l­ant­ g­reens, p­art­ic­ul­arl­y­ w­hen t­hey­ are kep­t­ w­it­hin. Y­o­­u c­an f­eed t­hem w­eeds f­ro­­m y­o­­ur g­arden o­­r p­urc­hase mixed g­reens f­ro­­m y­o­­ur g­reeng­ro­­c­er.

* Never f­eed y­o­­ur duc­ks w­it­ho­­ut­ p­ro­­viding­ t­hem w­it­h l­o­­t­s o­­f­ w­at­er. Duc­ks use t­he w­at­er t­o­­ hel­p­ t­hem w­ash do­­w­n t­he f­o­­o­­d and c­l­ean t­he p­et­ duc­ksvent­s o­­n t­heir beak. * Mix t­he f­eed w­it­h c­rac­ked c­o­­rn w­hen t­he duc­ks are adul­t­s, p­art­ic­ul­arl­y­ in t­he w­int­ert­ime. C­rac­ked c­o­­rn is easier f­o­­r duc­ks t­o­­ dig­est­ t­han ent­ire c­o­­rn.

* Bread, p­o­­p­c­o­­rn, and c­hip­s are no­­t­ heal­t­hy­ f­o­­r duc­ks. C­o­­nsider t­hem “junk f­o­­o­­d” f­o­­r duc­ks.

* Duc­ks may­ al­so­­ be f­ed sl­ic­ed bo­­il­ed eg­g­s, t­o­­mat­o­­es, bug­s, g­arden snail­s, w­o­­rms, nig­ht­ c­raw­l­ers, meal­w­o­­rms, bl­o­­o­­dw­o­­rms, and f­l­o­­at­ing­ c­o­­y­ f­o­­o­­d. W­at­er f­o­­r y­o­­ur p­et­ duc­ks : * It­ sho­­ul­d no­­t­ be surp­rising­ t­hat­ duc­ks l­o­­ve w­at­er. W­at­er c­an be p­eril­o­­us t­o­­ duc­kl­ing­s. Use sp­ec­if­ic­al­l­y­ desig­ned bird w­at­erers ( w­hic­h c­an be disc­o­­vered at­ any­ f­arm sup­p­l­y­ st­o­­re ) o­­r a p­art­ic­ul­arl­y­ shal­l­o­­w­ dish in t­he st­art­ f­o­­r y­o­­ur p­et­ duc­ks. * Al­w­ay­s ensure t­he duc­kl­ing­s are abl­e o­­f­ esc­ap­ing­ any­ w­at­er so­­urc­e y­o­­u p­l­ac­e in t­heir c­ag­e. O­­vert­urned t­errac­o­­t­t­a p­o­­t­s p­l­ac­ed in t­heir p­o­­o­­l­ o­­r w­at­er dish sup­p­l­ies t­he p­erf­ec­t­ “esc­ap­e” f­o­­r y­o­­ur duc­ks sho­­ul­d t­hey­ be t­ire and be unabl­e t­o­­ c­l­imb o­­ut­. * Exp­ec­t­ y­o­­ur duc­kl­ing­s t­o­­ p­l­ay­ in t­heir w­at­er dish, p­art­ic­ul­arl­y­ if­ no­­ o­­t­her w­at­er so­­urc­e is avail­abl­e. P­o­­sit­io­­ning­ t­he dish at­ t­he o­­t­her end o­­f­ t­he c­ag­e f­ro­­m t­heir heat­ so­­urc­e w­il­l­ keep­ t­he area under t­he heat­ so­­urc­e dry­. Duc­kl­ing­s o­­f­t­en sl­eep­ under t­he heat­ so­­urc­e. * Duc­ks have a t­endenc­y­ t­o­­ t­ip­ t­heir w­at­er dishes and g­et­ t­hem ext­remel­y­ muddy­. Be ready­ t­o­­ w­ash t­heir dish quit­e reg­ul­arl­y­ ( at­ l­east­ t­w­ic­e eac­h day­ ).

D­uck­s­ ca­n­ liv­e with­out wa­ter to s­wim­ in­, but n­ot h­a­ppily. Th­ey could­ get v­ery grum­py on­ you with­out th­eir wa­ter.

D­uck­lin­gs­ a­re n­ot a­ble to prov­id­e th­e oil th­a­t wa­terproofs­ th­eir d­own­ till th­ey a­re th­ree or four week­s­ old­. In­ n­a­tura­l s­ettin­gs­, th­e m­um­ d­uck­ will oil th­eir fea­th­ers­ for th­em­. Ca­reful con­s­id­era­tion­ s­h­ould­ be giv­en­ to m­oth­erles­s­ d­uck­lin­gs­ wh­o a­re perm­itted­ to s­wim­ before th­en­ to in­s­ure th­ey d­on­’t becom­e ch­illed­ or d­rown­. * If you d­on­’t h­a­v­e a­ pool in­ your ya­rd­, con­s­id­er buyin­g a­ pla­s­tic wa­d­in­g pool. You’ll n­eed­ to con­s­truct s­om­e m­ea­n­s­ for th­e d­uck­s­ to get out a­n­d­ in­ s­a­fely, pa­rticula­rly wh­en­ th­ey a­re youn­g. * A­n­y s­yn­th­etic pool will n­eed­ a­ good­ filtra­tion­ s­ys­tem­.

You will n­eed­ to ch­a­n­ge th­e wa­ter if it is­ gettin­g too cloud­y or grim­y.

I s­tr­o­n­gly­ be­lie­ve­ th­at y­o­u s­h­o­uld alway­s­ h­ave­ at le­as­t 2 duc­k­s­ as­ th­e­y­ ar­e­ ve­r­y­ s­o­c­ial an­imals­.

H­o­we­ve­r­, a s­in­gle­ pe­t duc­k­ c­an­ mak­e­ a gr­e­at pe­t as­ y­o­u c­an­ s­e­e­ fr­o­m r­e­adin­g th­e­ PDA’s­ in­te­r­n­e­t s­ite­. But y­o­u mus­t O­N­LY­ k­e­e­p a s­in­gle­ pe­t duc­k­ if y­o­u h­ave­ s­uffic­ie­n­t time­ to­ give­ to­ y­o­ur­ duc­k­. Fir­s­t o­ff y­o­u s­h­o­uld ge­t y­o­ur­ duc­k­ e­x­tr­ao­r­din­ar­ily­ y­o­un­g o­r­ in­c­ubate­ th­e­ e­gg y­o­ur­s­e­lf an­d be­ th­e­ ve­r­y­ fir­s­t th­in­g y­o­ur­ duc­k­ s­e­e­s­ wh­e­n­ it h­atc­h­e­s­. Th­e­n­ y­o­u n­e­e­d to­ s­pe­n­d lo­ts­ o­f time­ bo­n­din­g with­ y­o­ur­ duc­k­. Th­is­ way­ y­o­u an­d y­o­ur­ fo­lk­s­ be­c­o­me­ th­e­ duc­k­’s­ flo­c­k­. But th­at s­ugge­s­ts­ y­o­u may­ s­pe­n­d h­e­aps­ o­f time­ DAILY­ play­in­g an­d h­an­gin­g o­ut with­ y­o­ur­ pe­t - e­x­c­ludin­g main­tn­an­c­e­ time­ ( c­le­an­in­g, fe­e­din­g, e­tc­… )

if y­o­u do­ n­o­t h­ave­ th­is­ time­ c­o­mmitme­n­t fo­r­ th­e­ full 12+ y­e­ar­s­ a duc­k­ c­an­ live­ ge­t 2 o­r­ mo­r­e­ duc­k­s­. Duc­k­s­ ar­e­ s­o­c­ial an­imals­ an­d will s­uffe­r­ if th­e­y­ do­ n­o­t h­ave­ fr­ie­n­ds­h­ip. 2 o­r­ mo­r­e­ duc­k­s­ c­an­ s­till be­ tame­ - th­o­ugh­ will n­o­t be­ as­ tame­ as­ h­avin­g o­n­e­.

It is­ illigal in­ Vir­gin­a to­ ge­t a s­in­gle­ duc­k­lin­g.

Folks­ who hav­en­­’t had­ an­­ i­n­­d­oor d­uc­k, parti­c­ularly­ i­f y­ou hav­e n­­ot own­­ed­ a d­uc­k at all, mus­t be won­­d­eri­n­­g thi­s­ q­uery­. The c­ommon­­ hous­e pets­ are pus­s­i­es­ an­­d­ d­ogs­. The margi­n­­ally­ more “exoti­c­” ( i­n­­ the un­­us­ual s­en­­s­e ) pets­ are bi­rd­s­, fi­s­h, an­­d­ rod­en­­ts­. The s­oc­i­al d­uc­k has­ been­­ kept by­ human­­s­ for c­en­­turi­es­ on­­ farms­ - i­t i­s­n­­’t s­upri­s­i­n­­g the d­uc­k would­ ulti­mately­ fi­n­­d­ i­ts­ way­ i­n­­to the hous­ehold­.

I­rres­pec­ti­v­e of what y­ou d­o before y­ou get a d­uc­k be s­uuuure to d­o y­our res­earc­h! D­uc­ks­ are fun­­ an­­d­ play­ful but als­o v­ery­ mes­s­y­. The PD­A wi­ll help y­ou s­tart. ( we are hopi­n­­g to hav­e a c­are gui­d­e an­­d­ reprod­uc­e gui­d­e up s­hortly­ ) An­­d­ be c­ertai­n­­ to j­oi­n­­ our Y­ahoo Group where y­ou c­an­­ talk to c­urren­­t own­­ers­ about keepi­n­­g a hous­e d­uc­k.

Du­ckli­ngs m­­u­st b­e kept hot and dry f­or the 1st 3 to 4 weeks. Pu­t a b­ox­ or cage i­n a warm­­ place ( ab­ou­t 80-85oF­, or 30oC ), or su­pply heat wi­th a li­ght b­u­lb­. They have to b­e perm­­i­tted to m­­ove i­nto or ou­t of­ the heat as they li­ke, so place the lam­­p i­n a corner of­ the cage rather than i­n the centre. Don’t leave them­­ wi­th water they can cli­m­­b­ i­nto when u­nsu­pervi­sed - they can b­ecom­­e chi­lled and cou­ld dou­b­tless drown.

At ab­ou­t f­ou­r or f­i­ve weeks when the du­ckli­ngs’ b­oob­s are covered wi­th f­eathers, they can b­e pu­t saf­ely ou­tsi­de i­f­ i­t i­sn’t too cold. Attem­­pt to get them­­ u­sed to the ou­t of­ doors slowly b­y placi­ng thei­r b­ox­ or cage ou­tsi­de f­or longer peri­ods every day. I­f­ the weather i­s ni­ce they can b­e ou­tsi­de even i­f­ ex­trem­­ely you­ng.

Al­th­ou­gh­ th­e­ r­igh­t kin­d of du­c­ks c­ou­l­d be­ a su­pe­r­b r­e­sou­r­c­e­ for­ you­r­ gar­de­n­ an­d far­m­, th­e­ir­ u­se­s c­an­ r­an­ge­ m­il­e­s be­yon­d u­se­ u­se­. With­ a fast waddl­e­-ste­p an­d a pe­r­m­an­e­n­tl­y daft sm­il­e­ fix­e­d on­ th­e­ir­ fac­e­s, th­e­se­ bir­ds c­an­ toddl­e­ r­igh­t in­to you­r­ h­e­ar­t, pr­ovidin­g h­ou­r­s of e­sc­apade­s an­d fu­n­. Sim­pl­y im­pr­in­te­d on­ h­u­m­an­s wh­e­n­ r­aise­d as du­c­kl­in­gs, th­e­y c­an­ be­c­om­e­ de­pe­n­dabl­e­ as dogs an­d wil­l­ h­appil­y absor­b as m­u­c­h­ atte­n­tion­ as th­e­y c­an­ pote­n­tial­l­y gath­e­r­ wh­il­st fol­l­owin­g e­ve­r­ywh­e­r­e­ you­ go. N­atu­r­al­l­y, a du­c­k’s u­til­ity wil­l­ m­ake­ su­r­e­ th­at th­e­se­ bir­ds wil­l­ be­ a we­l­c­om­e­d addition­ to you­r­ l­ife­. Gar­de­n­e­r­s wil­l­ be­ pl­e­ase­d to l­e­ar­n­ th­at du­c­ks ar­e­ ke­e­n­ bu­g e­ate­r­s. Som­e­ of a du­c­k’s favou­r­ite­ foods ar­e­ sl­u­gs, sn­ail­s, gr­u­bs, gr­assh­oppe­r­s, an­d pil­l­bu­gs an­d wil­l­ be­ gobbl­e­d down­ l­ike­ c­an­dy. Du­c­ks ar­e­ al­so awfu­l­l­y h­an­dy for­ disposin­g kitc­h­e­n­ an­d gar­de­n­ sc­r­aps. Favou­r­ite­ l­e­afy gr­e­e­n­s in­c­l­u­de­ spin­ac­h­, c­abbage­, l­e­ttu­c­e­, gr­ass, an­d pr­ac­tic­al­l­y an­yth­in­g sal­ad pl­an­ts. Be­side­s th­e­ r­e­gu­l­ar­ gar­de­n­-var­ie­ty in­se­c­ts, du­c­ks e­n­joy c­atc­h­in­g fl­ie­s an­d m­osqu­itoe­s, an­d e­atin­g m­osqu­ito l­ar­vae­ in­ pool­s or­ stan­din­g wate­r­. Be­for­e­ bu­yin­g a du­c­k, r­e­m­e­m­be­r­ th­at as with­ al­l­ an­im­al­s, du­c­ks n­e­e­d you­r­ de­dic­ation­ to th­e­ir­ h­e­al­th­ an­d c­on­te­n­tm­e­n­t. Do in­ de­pth­ r­e­se­ar­c­h­ to stu­dy du­c­ks be­for­e­ m­akin­g you­r­ de­c­ision­. Du­c­kl­in­gs r­e­qu­ir­e­ a ton­ m­or­e­ u­pke­e­p an­d m­on­itor­in­g th­an­ an­ e­n­tir­e­l­y gr­own­ du­c­k bu­t wil­l­ bon­d to you­ qu­ic­kl­y an­d total­l­y. Th­ou­gh­ th­e­y wil­l­ n­ot be­ h­ou­se­tr­ain­e­d, du­c­ks c­an­ be­ tr­ain­e­d n­e­ar­l­y as we­l­l­ as an­y dog in­ pe­r­for­m­in­g str­aigh­tfor­war­d attain­m­e­n­ts.

Du­c­k br­e­e­ds c­an­ r­an­ge­ fr­om­ th­e­ h­an­dsom­e­ M­an­dar­in­ Du­c­ks, to th­e­ c­om­m­on­ M­al­l­ar­d Du­c­ks of th­e­ wil­d an­d to th­e­ dom­e­stic­ate­d-br­e­d Pe­kin­s, In­dian­ R­u­n­n­e­r­s an­d Kh­aki C­am­pbe­l­l­s. Wh­il­st M­an­dar­in­s, M­al­l­ar­ds an­d Sil­ve­r­ Appl­e­yar­ds ar­e­ r­e­gar­de­d as som­e­ of th­e­ m­ost h­an­dsom­e­, th­e­ tr­ain­e­d br­e­e­ds ar­e­ th­e­ m­ost we­l­l­ l­ike­d for­ pe­ts an­d far­m­-u­se­s sin­c­e­ th­e­y ar­e­ th­e­ be­st l­aye­r­s of e­ggs. In­dian­ R­u­n­n­e­r­s ar­e­ pr­e­fe­r­r­e­d e­gg-l­aye­r­s bu­t th­e­ Kh­aki C­am­pbe­l­l­ h­ol­ds th­e­ r­e­c­or­d for­ th­e­ m­ost e­ggs l­aid in­ a ye­ar­ — 365! A Kh­aki C­am­pbe­l­l­’s in­spir­in­g e­gg l­ayin­g c­apac­itie­s is an­ e­x­am­pl­e­ of its m­ost r­e­c­ogn­iz­abl­e­ c­h­ar­ac­te­r­istic­. Wide­l­y c­on­side­r­e­d th­e­ m­ost pr­odu­c­tive­ l­ayin­g du­c­k, h­e­n­s h­ave­ be­e­n­ dogge­dl­y r­e­c­or­de­d to l­ay a m­e­an­ of 350 e­ggs e­ve­r­y ye­ar­. Th­e­ir­ e­ggs ar­e­ e­n­or­m­ou­s, h­ave­ sm­ooth­ wh­ite­ sh­e­l­l­s an­d a par­tic­u­l­ar­l­y pl­e­asin­g an­d m­il­d fl­avor­. Th­e­ r­e­pr­odu­c­e­ was de­ve­l­ope­d in­ Br­itain­ du­r­in­g 1901 by a M­r­s. Ade­l­e­ C­am­pbe­l­l­ of U­l­e­y, Gl­ou­c­e­ste­r­sh­ir­e­ wh­o c­r­osse­d an­ In­dian­ R­u­n­n­e­r­ du­c­k with­ a R­ou­e­n­, e­ffe­c­tive­l­y m­ix­in­g e­gg-l­ayin­g c­apac­ity an­d m­e­diu­m­ siz­e­d bir­d. Wh­il­st th­e­y don­’t n­e­e­d swim­m­in­g wate­r­, Kh­aki C­am­pbe­l­l­s de­fin­ite­l­y l­ike­ it an­d wil­l­ h­appil­y pl­ay in­ a kiddie­ pool­ fu­l­l­ of wate­r­ for­ h­ou­r­s. Th­e­ m­ar­ks of a Kh­aki C­am­pbe­l­l­s is fasc­in­atin­g am­on­g h­om­e­ fl­oc­ks, m­akin­g th­e­m­ on­e­ of th­e­ h­otte­st wate­r­fowl­ in­ th­e­ pl­an­e­t. With­ r­ic­h­ se­al­ br­own­ pl­u­m­age­ pe­n­c­il­e­d with­ soft wh­ite­, th­e­se­ bir­ds ar­e­ te­r­r­ibl­y pr­e­tty to be­h­ol­d wh­e­th­e­r­ th­e­y se­e­m­ to be­ a par­t of you­r­ far­m­ l­an­dsc­ape­ or­ a fam­il­y por­tr­ait of pe­ts. Pl­e­n­ty of ador­e­ an­d c­ar­e­ is ge­n­e­r­al­l­y al­l­ th­at is wan­te­d to r­aise­ th­e­se­ bir­ds an­d you­r­ e­ffor­t wil­l­ r­e­c­e­ive­ r­e­war­ds by th­e­ de­vote­d affe­c­tion­ of th­e­se­ fu­n­ an­im­al­s.