Ducks have long been a favourite feature of our Forest Garden. Many of our shepherd’s huts’ guests write about the joy they bring as they join them by the fire pit in the evening, or simply waddling around the place chatting and laughing amongst themselves. There is something very humorous about a happy duck – they just ooze personality!
When we were in need of bring fresh ducks onto the farm in 2020 we wanted to find a rare breed duck that we could help preserve. It didn’t take a lot of searching before we fell in love with the Cayuga duck. Their feathers are like a shot taffeta green/black in some lights and black/blue in others. Either way they are stunning. They have become part of our logo!
What we love about ducks is their care for one another. Many of our ducks have been raised from eggs and one of the ducks – Dandelion suffers a disability meaning he can’t waddle as far as many of them. The ducks will often separate leaving a friend with Dandelion and then regathering later once he has had time to rest.
Another key character is Miranda( named after Miranda Hart). She is a Cayuga crossed with a runner duck – taller than the others and always in charge. At the end of each day she will be seen at the from of the string of ducks quacking “this way girls” heading for the duck house – and the others will be obediently following her. None challenge Miranda’s authority. If she was human she would have been prefect at school!
So these are our precious ducks. If you order eggs during your stay there is a good chance some of those eggs will be from our Cayugas.
