Ducks eat Mesclun Mix.....and Cilantro?, by Kira

I have read that if you put ducks in your garden they will eat the bugs,
and even slugs and snails.
Ducks will also eat the weeds. How great does that sound?
Pretty darn good to me.
This was a great opportunity for me to try, seeing as how the chickens have had their way in my garden twice.
There is already damage done.

So my findings:

Ducks eat weeds.
Ducks eat bugs.
Ducks eat mesclun mix.
Ducks eat cilantro
Ducks nibble at leaves on taller plants such as pepper plants
Ducks also crush a lot of plants under those big clumsy duck feet.

A few things to take note of however:
Most of my plants are not mature size yet, so the plants they were eating were young and tender.
They may not nibble on mature plants.
Our ducks are very skittish so they would dart from place to place if startled,
tromping on what ever was in their path.
Also they are Rouen ducks. Maybe some breeds are better than others for tending the garden.
There may be some sort of ratio for how many ducks suit a certain size area.
I put all ten of my little ducks in.
They are about five weeks old, so they are not that big,
and my garden size is about four hundred square feet.
This was the ducks first time outside.
Everyday that the coop door has been left open, they have chosen to stay inside and play in their container of water and chase each other around.
So maybe they were not picky about what they were eating.

We want to seek out a heritage breed dual purpose duck to keep.
I will be sure to keep the garden in mind when choosing a breed.
I would like to let the ducks roam the gardens to eat the weeds and pests;
but not my salsa ingredients and salad.


And yes, I still find ducks ridiculously cute!