The message
from Chookie contains these words:

In article , HC wrote:

Have you thought about a couple of ducks? They don't scratch in the
garden and will eat snails etc as well as give you some eggs. A bit
dish for water (or small tub) sunk into the ground makes a good swimming
hole for them too.

My younger son is 3 months old, so he won't be drownproofed for a couple of
years. I thought ducks had to dabble their food, resulting in a fair
bit of
mud around?

They don't have to dabble their food, but they will creat a fair
amount of mud whenever it rains. Also, their pooh is very copious wet
and smelly compared with hens. and iirc, more likely to be a source of
salmonella which your baby could ingest. For the same reason, duck eggs
are less safe for babies and toddlers to eat unless they have been
cooked at a high temp for at least 10 minutes (as in a cake). You
wouldn't (safely) feed a baby a soft-boiled, poached or scrambled duck
egg.

The number of eggs laid per year by ducks is tiny compared with the
number laid be a professional egg-laying hen..look it up.


Janet

Janet