Country Lore Readers' tips to live by
(Page 3 of 5)
June/July 2003
By the Mother Earth News editors
Then, someone gave me six Muscovy ducks. They did very well the first summer, but that winter coyotes got all but one nesting female. She hatched out 16 ducklings, and the fun began.
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Those little ducklings were hungry all the time. They would hang out in the horse stalls, snapping up every fly they could catch. You've heard the saying, "Like a duck on a June bug," haven't you? It's an amazing sight to see: Little bitty ducklings hunting bugs like cats after mice. These little guys would position themselves in all the places the flies would lay their eggs, and feast on the incoming flies. They made a good-sized dent in the bug population; I haven't had a tick on me since that year, and I'm a tick magnet.
We kept a closer eye on this generation, so we didn't lose any over the winter. It included eight females, who hatched out from 12 to 20 ducklings each the following spring. The coyotes and the cats kept busy, but the females didn't give up. As a batch of ducklings hatched, they all crowded together, not really caring which hen they followed. My females would take up in pairs, two "moms" for about 20 ducklings, then the rest would start laying again. The last batch hatched in August.
We have a small pond, so the ducks never stray very far. However, the pasture borders on a subdivision. I've gone out to feed many an afternoon to see ducks all over the neighborhood. When I start to feed the horses, the ducks will start to fly in, or I will call them with a bell. Usually they are already waiting, as feeding time is 4 p.m. For some reason, my neighbors don't mind the ducks at all, and will come over to chat with me about what kind of mischief they've been up to.
Three things that I didn't know earlier about Muscovy ducks: They are strong fliers, they like to perch on houses, gates, trees, fences and barn roofs, and they are really quite tame.
Also, we have had the West Nile Virus break out in the horse population here; I was fortunate to have my ducks on mosquito patrol until I could get my horses vaccinated.
KATHLEEN CALLAHAN-JORDAN
Radcliff, Kentucky
Chickens' Bug Feast
Any time I am rototiling my garden, I usually let my chickens out of their pen because they follow right behind the tiller, catching any hugs—especially grub worms—that happen to be turned up by the tiller.
When I harvest my corn, I walk among the stalks and push each one over with my foot as I pick the ears. This usually sets the grasshoppers and other bugs to going every which way. The chickens are right there to enjoy this "hug smorgasbord," too.
Each year, some species of bugs flourish. Last year it was crickets, and this year it's grasshoppers. I am the only one around here who has no problem with the annual bugs. When I see an invasion of bugs coming, I just let the chickens out, and they enjoy another feast.
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