Every afternoon I let my flock free range and train them to the boundaries of the farm while I closely supervise them. The ducks immediately go into the jungles of tall grass and start consuming hundreds of snails that they find on each blade of grass and on the soil.
The hens are a little bit fussy about where they go to find their dinner.
They prefer clover and small bugs in the short grass areas... at least for now while they get used to free ranging in a limited area.
Every time I count heads to make sure the flock is within the boundaries, I see duck butts.
There is no happier bird than a duck chowing down on nasty crop destroying snails.
The 2 new pullets have their own technique for bug searching. They head for the back of the garden and start their focused hunt for tasty crawling morsels and clovers. These two work the area in a sophisticated grid. Very different from the rest of the chicken group.
If you have a bad snail problem in your garden, get yourself some ducks.
Not only are they effective at eliminating destructive pests but these beautiful birds are fun to watch.
They continually talk to each other in quiet tones. It makes my heart happy to see and hear them. My blood pressure and stress is reduced when I sit and watch them do their happy work in the garden and on the edges of the woods.
After a few hours of grazing they both head to their little water tub and take a quick bath and then head out again to continue eliminating the massive snail population.
They are my super heroes.
Do you have a super hero in your garden?
~
I wish I could let me chickens out in my garden. They were in it over winter, but soon took advantage of the flower beds, etc. I would have lots of Purslane ( a 4 letter word in my garden!!) and bugs for them to eat if only they would let the veggies alone! :)
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