Last year our youngest son endeavored to raise Pekin ducks. He got in his mind that he wanted to try to populate our pond with these feathered friends. He waited patiently after he and my husband ordered six of them from our local farm store in Ekins. The day they finally arrived I went to town and picked these tiny birds up. We were able to surprise him with their arrival after he got home from baseball practice. He was enthralled.
He is affectionately known to us as the “duck dad.” Once the ducks had outgrown their small space in our garage, we moved them into a small pen with a homemade pond. Once they lost all their baby feathers, they graduated to the big pond in our cattle pasture. After two of his Pekins fell victim to a varmint, we set up a pen by the pond to put them up at night. A third duck was killed one night when our daughter was home doing chores and forgot to put them in. During a flash flood thunderstorm, another duck simply disappeared. Then there were two – a drake and a hen.
In early March, his lone hen began to lay an egg every day. We were using them for baking and other cooking methods. One day, our oldest son let the ducks out of their pen onto the pond in the late afternoon. While he was close by, two large birds (hawks maybe?) swooped down and snatched both ducks. He was horrified. He threw rocks and shrieked loudly, and one predator turned loose of our female. The drake was dead. Our youngest son was devastated. My poor heart was broken for him.
The female left behind was distressed. Our son was shocked to see she had laid three eggs the following day. These eggs were immediately put into an incubator. We later added several more. In the meantime, our friends generously gave our son another drake to keep her company. I have started calling them Romeo and Juliette.
The two adult ducks really enjoy each other’s company and so far, they have been safe on their pond. We patiently waited until the exciting day when our ducks began to hatch. We candled them and discarded eggs that were not viable. When the first “pip” appeared, we were anticipating them right away. After a few days, we had some little hatchlings. Today, our son is the proud “duck dad” of five ducklings. They all have such funny personalities. When one was struggling to walk, he did some water therapy until the duck was strong enough to begin walking normally. Patience is his virtue. They are now taking up residence under a heat lamp in our garage.
Farm kids are resilient. They learn to overcome all kinds of hardship and adversity through some of the most basic things on a farm. We have watched him care for his “big ducks” and his “babies” with a lot of devotion this spring. What an amazing circle of life it is. From cows to goats and chickens to ducks, I have learned about poultry and livestock life cycles right along with my children. What a wonderful world it is, neighbor.
Jody Harris is a freelance communications specialist, gardener, ranch wife and mother of four. She and her family raise Angus beef cattle and other critters on their northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate of Missouri State University. To contact Jody, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
