New ducks! New chicks! Read all about it!

Ducklings and chicks live in perfect harmony at Hope Grows. They arrived yesterday, and are settling into the brooder together. The 30 ducks are much larger, but they get along with the other 300 chicks--live and let live seems to be the motto. If they do become bullies, we figure the worst the chicks will suffer will be blunt blows (bad duck bill joke)...and it'll build character.



This year we're trying out 30 Pekin ducks--making the farm more diverse, and way cuter overall. We'll brood them with our broiler or meat chicks (raising Freedom Rangers) this year for the first two weeks, and then put them out to pasture as well...perhaps with a kiddie pool.



According to the literature, the ducks should grow up to full size in the same time as the broilers (about 9 - 10 weeks), so look for it on the farm availability list around the first of May.



Until the moment of deliciousness, we relish in the cuteness. We know it may seem weird, but it is entirely possible to love something--to think it's cute, to talk to it in stupid baby voices (which we may or may not actually do), to care for it, to make sure it's happy and healthy--and then eat it. Eating itself can be a tremendous act of love--for the land, for health, for community, for good taste--especially when what you eat comes from us.



By the way...ducklings "cheep" just like chickens do. Apparently the quacking comes later. Oh, and while we're looking at pictures, here's an update on the growth of our new laying hens. At over three months old now, they're past the awkward, bad-hair, teenage phase and have moved into a phase more graceful...



Arianne