We have a variety of heritage-breed, dual-purpose ducks (meat and eggs). We hatched most of our current flock ourselves from eggs laid by ducks we originally purchased from a respected preservation center, so at this point most of our ducks don’t fall into a specific breed but should consequently benefit from what’s called hybrid vigor.

Ducks are prolific layers when they’re in season, and their eggs are larger–with much larger yolks–than chicken eggs, making them great for baking. They also make wonderful sunny-side up eggs, or work well for any preparation for which you’d want a nice, runny yolk. Some people say that some duck eggs end up with a fishy taste because the ducks eat lots of algae and such, but our ducks don’t have access to stagnant water and thus shouldn’t ever lay eggs with such flavors. They seem to find enough to eat throughout the day in the seasonal stream that runs by our barn that they’ll walk right past a pile of grain in the morning, but they like to eat grain before we contain them in the chicken run at night (when the chickens are in the coop) so we don’t have to hunt for eggs every morning. That grain comes from a local farmer who pledges not to use GMO seed or artificial chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Eggs should be available throughout the spring, summer, and fall ($5/half-dozen, $9/dozen–with $1 discount if you return OUR cartons, since our duck eggs won’t fit in a typical chicken egg carton), but the ducks tend to stop laying at all in the winter. Because we’re more interested in eggs than meat at this point, we would only have very limited quantities of duck meat available (though we could probably stand to part with a few every year and/or could make a point of raising a few for anyone interested in duck meat). We could also hatch duckling upon request (with about a month’s notice of when you’d want them.) Whether you want to order eggs or discuss the possibility of getting some of our ducklings or duck meat, please send us an email.