On 20 Oct 2003 16:44:08 -0700, (Mark) wrote:

I'm thinking of getting half a dozen ducks.

#1 -- It would be cool (to a geek like me)

A great idea, as long as your neighbors don't mind a half dozen ducks
walking around. Like the other person said, runner ducks are great
bug eaters and egg layers. They're basically walking bowling pins
with webbed feet lol. They're not great for meat, but since you're
naming them I don't think that's what you intended.

Has anyone here done this? Do they eat seedlings and other stuff
you'd rather keep in the garden? Is this, for some reason, a
phenomenally bad idea?

I've heard they ravenously eat borage. They will hunt down and
devour nearly every slug in your yard. However, every predator around
will stake a claim to your yard, including raccoons and coyotes, so
try to keep them safe. Ducks are not "property aware" and will go
anywhere they please, including the neighbor's doggie yard heh..
Mixing ducks & geese can sometimes be a good idea, since the ducks eat
the slugs and the geese have a little more attitude (ie "protect"
them).

My former scandanavian neighbor used to have ducks and geese walking
all over the place. I used to scare them off with the dog when they
crossed the line, but that was long before I started gardening and
thus didn't appreciate their beneficial nature at the time.

Dan