2023-2026 FLOCK OF FIVE
For 2023 we started off with another five ducks, one each: Buff (Buffy), Rouen (Bandit), Welsh Harlequin (Quincy), Magpie (Maggie), and a Black Runner (Spare). Spare was our extra duckling—one of the four we’d ordered had died, so to get a replacement for that one we had to get a buddy to ship along for warmth & companionship. We chose the Indian Runner, which can look like a bowling pin when standing tall, therefore, “Spare” was her name.
I’m writing this in August 2026—I’m a little behind on updating the ducks. We’ve had these now for 3 years. For the most part this flock has been a nice group of ducks, overall more quiet than some we’ve had. Egg production from them has been decent, but not exceptional. These ducks weren’t particularly chosen for their egg-laying abilities, but more for “calmness”.
These ducks were calm for the most part until Spare, the Indian Runner, became quite the nuisance and noisy. She would start quacking loudly whenever we got near, then she’d get the others all riled up. At one point, I recorded her quacking to use as the ringtone on my phone. (As it turned out, when the phone rang and I was home, I had a hard time knowing whether the phone was ringing or the ducks were quacking—I soon removed that ringtone!)
Eventually we had it with Spare and she is no longer with us. The four remaining have been pretty nice and generally consistent layers.
EGGS - EGGS - EGGS
Generally these ducks have been good producers–not the best, but good. In the past 2-3 months, Bandit, our Rouen duck has been the egg-laying winner. It’s easy to know which eggs are hers because I saw her lay one once and they are so much larger than the others they really stand out. A couple of her eggs this year were just over 5 oz! Bandit has been laying slightly more than the average output of the other three ducks.
Now that we have our freeze-dryer and a better way to preserve eggs, we were able to save enough eggs during their laying months last year to get us through the four months or so during their molt. We had 16 dozen freeze-dried eggs prior to their molt, and used 13 dozen of those before they began to lay again. We never had to buy eggs! We were also able to take the freeze-dried eggs on camping trips, which made for easier packing. This plan worked out well for us, and at this time we have 15 dozen eggs to get us through the next molt.
FUTURE PLANS
We know from past experience that egg production is reduced quite a bit during the ducks’ fourth year, which for these ducks will be the upcoming lay season (2027). Planning ahead, if we keep these four ducks we likely won’t have enough eggs to get us through the year and to include freeze-dried eggs for the following molt season.
We decided to get new ducklings this summer (2026) and retire the older duck “family”. We’ve found someone in the area who will give them a new home.
Our new brood of ducklings should arrive tomorrow! Stay tuned!