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Healthy ducks with the opportunity to free range and forage daily can easily live to be ten to twelve years old. However, hens only lay eggs for up to four years. This means we're continuously adding new girls to our flock to keep eggs in stock for our family and for our customers who frequent our farm stand. Older ladies are never culled; rather both laying and non-laying ducks (and males) are an integral part of our farm's pest management and rotational grazing programs. Geese accompany our ducks as watchers of the skies for hawks, excellent weeders in pastures and lawns, and they're happy to graze on forage left behind by the horses and sheep.
New Jersey is traditionally considered a wet climate so we are host to many snails, slugs, pill bugs, and more. These insects naturally inhabit our growing spaces but are favored by ducks. The flock is regularly turned out into our garden, orchards, and pastures to help control these insects. As for pasture rotation, the flock is the last group to rotate through each plot. They blow apart manure piles looking for insects, grazing leftover grasses and weeds leftover from the sheep and horses, and leave their droppings while foraging. All of this benefits the soil. A portion of our property is considered a wetland and also includes a stream. These make waterfowl a perfect fit for our farm microclimate.
New Jersey is traditionally considered a wet climate so we are host to many snails, slugs, pill bugs, and more. These insects naturally inhabit our growing spaces but are favored by ducks. The flock is regularly turned out into our garden, orchards, and pastures to help control these insects. As for pasture rotation, the flock is the last group to rotate through each plot. They blow apart manure piles looking for insects, grazing leftover grasses and weeds leftover from the sheep and horses, and leave their droppings while foraging. All of this benefits the soil. A portion of our property is considered a wetland and also includes a stream. These make waterfowl a perfect fit for our farm microclimate.
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DO DUCK AND GOOSE EGGS TASTE THE SAME AS CHICKEN EGGS?
Duck eggs taste pretty much the same as chicken eggs. The eggs and yolks are larger, more orange in color, and they have a richer nutrient level. Many people also like them better for baking. As for goose eggs, they are significantly larger in size, thicker in consistency, and folks have reported they are ideal for hard boiling.
HOW LONG DO DUCK EGGS STAY FRESH?
Duck eggs keep for about 2 weeks if kept cool and for about 6 weeks refrigerated. Duck egg shells are thicker than chicken egg shells so they stay fresher for longer.
HOW DO YOU EAT AND/OR COOK A DUCK OR GOOSE EGG?
The exact same way you would eat and prepare a chicken egg. Continue to eat your eggs scrambled, over-easy, etc. In recipes, just be sure to account for the size difference (we count one duck egg as the equivalent of two chicken eggs when baking, and one goose egg as four chicken eggs or two duck eggs).
ARE YOUR DUCKS AND GEESE FREE RANGE?
We spend a lot of time chasing our flock home from the far corners of our property. We believe they are happiest, and better egg layers, when they’re free to roam. They spend their day outside foraging for food, swimming in the stream, and sleeping in an open pasture among the tall grasses, just as nature intended. They perform all of their daily activities under the protection of our livestock guardian dogs who keep them safe from predation.
ARE YOUR BIRDS GIVEN ANTIBIOTICS OR HORMONES?
Our ducks and geese are not given any antibiotics or hormones. They are also not given any medications nor chemicals to enhance productivity. The eggs are laid naturally.
DO YOU EAT YOUR DUCKS AND GEESE?
We are a vegetarian homestead which means none of our flock members are used for meat. We do not consume our birds nor do we sell them for consumption.
DO YOU BREED AND SELL YOUR DUCKS OR GEESE?
Each spring our available ducks are posted on our social media sites. We breed and often sell Sebastapol and Cotton Patch geese in an effort to help repopulate these multi-purpose breeds. Occasionally Magpie ducks are available.
Duck eggs taste pretty much the same as chicken eggs. The eggs and yolks are larger, more orange in color, and they have a richer nutrient level. Many people also like them better for baking. As for goose eggs, they are significantly larger in size, thicker in consistency, and folks have reported they are ideal for hard boiling.
HOW LONG DO DUCK EGGS STAY FRESH?
Duck eggs keep for about 2 weeks if kept cool and for about 6 weeks refrigerated. Duck egg shells are thicker than chicken egg shells so they stay fresher for longer.
HOW DO YOU EAT AND/OR COOK A DUCK OR GOOSE EGG?
The exact same way you would eat and prepare a chicken egg. Continue to eat your eggs scrambled, over-easy, etc. In recipes, just be sure to account for the size difference (we count one duck egg as the equivalent of two chicken eggs when baking, and one goose egg as four chicken eggs or two duck eggs).
ARE YOUR DUCKS AND GEESE FREE RANGE?
We spend a lot of time chasing our flock home from the far corners of our property. We believe they are happiest, and better egg layers, when they’re free to roam. They spend their day outside foraging for food, swimming in the stream, and sleeping in an open pasture among the tall grasses, just as nature intended. They perform all of their daily activities under the protection of our livestock guardian dogs who keep them safe from predation.
ARE YOUR BIRDS GIVEN ANTIBIOTICS OR HORMONES?
Our ducks and geese are not given any antibiotics or hormones. They are also not given any medications nor chemicals to enhance productivity. The eggs are laid naturally.
DO YOU EAT YOUR DUCKS AND GEESE?
We are a vegetarian homestead which means none of our flock members are used for meat. We do not consume our birds nor do we sell them for consumption.
DO YOU BREED AND SELL YOUR DUCKS OR GEESE?
Each spring our available ducks are posted on our social media sites. We breed and often sell Sebastapol and Cotton Patch geese in an effort to help repopulate these multi-purpose breeds. Occasionally Magpie ducks are available.