{February 20, 2011}

Duck Ducks! There are four ducks lined up in that row, even though you can't see them all. Plus there was also another duck off to the far right...guess she didn't want to be in the photo. We got Muscovy ducks after Ryan read about ways to reduce mosquito populations given that last summer we were literally inundated with them (and also with ticks). Seeing as how we already had guineas (for the ticks) and chickens, adding more fowl to our flock was relatively easy. Muscovies are known for their superior mosquito eating prowess and will eat their body weight in them daily. I found a super nice couple--whom I'd also gotten some chickens from--that had five ducklings available and bought them all. After much debate, the kids and I agreed on naming them after the iCarly gang...Spencer, Carly, Freddie, Sam, and....Shay...because there is no other female lead character. When they were young we could easily tell them apart because of their markings. As they've gotten older the only one we know for sure is the same duck is Carly. We're pretty sure about Freddie (shown in the front) and Spencer (behind Freddie), however Sam and Shay now look alike so we just interchange their names at will. Not that it matters, of course, as they could care less what their names are. Muscovies are interesting ducks. They do not quack but they do pant and wag their tails like a dog does. Although ours are friendly they're also a bit skittish and prefer not to be petted. Spencer seems to tolerate it far more than the rest do, however. He also "nibbles" on your arms and hands with the very tip of his bill which is super cute. And they definitely lived up to the hype about reducing mosquitoes. As soon as we started letting them free range over the summer, we went from not being able to go outside without being attacked from a ton of mossies within a few minutes, to forays lasting over an hour with nary a mosquito in sight. Course at the end of the driveway (where the ducks do not go) meant you'd still get eaten alive, but at least the area around our house was clear. So for that I'll forgive them for the huge amounts of poo scattered all over the frozen tundra and the "whoop!" followed by nervous waddling any time we get too close (seriously, you'd think they would have learned by now we're not going to hurt them).

On to the pic...{click to view full size}