Introducing your New Ducks and Geese into your Existing Flock

When getting new ducks or geese to add to your flock, always take into consideration the introduction process. Waterfowl have their own pecking order just like chickens do, though typically not as violent. There will be ruffled feathers and possibly some blood, but death is highly unlikely.

Do not introduce day-old birds to 1-week old birds right away. Keep them separated for several days until the younger ones are a bit stronger and know where the food, water, and heat are located.

If the older birds are 2-weeks old or older, then there can be a problem. We suggest waiting until the younger birds are at least 8-weeks old before introducing them to the rest of the flock.

When it is time for the introductory process, there are many ways to start. Ideally, you would want the younger and older birds side by side in separate pens for about a week. This way they get used to each other’s presence. After about a week, make an opening connecting the two pens. If you do not have a way to so this, let the younger birds have the “home field advantage” by moving the older birds in with them.

Observe them frequently for the first 24 hours. If there is any bullying on the elders’ part, then separate them, but keep a way for them to see each other. You do not want them to be able to physically interact, but at least see the others.

If you are forced to separate them, try again in about a week. You will need to continuously repeat this process until they are able to tolerate each other. They do not have to be the best of friends, but if they are at least not trying to kill each other or constantly picking on the younger birds, then consider it a success.

Keep in mind that acceptance is not always instant and may not happen for a while. You can have two flocks in the same pen for several months or a year before they finally integrate with each other.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Metzer Farms

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Metzer Farms! We hope that 2018 has treated you well and that 2019 will be even better! Here is a short video of most of us here at Metzer Farms wishing you all a happy holiday season!

Christmas Project 2018

Merry Christmas everyone!!

We are in the business of ducks. As with all things, however, it’s good to step back and do something else. That’s how we came up with this little craft project.

The story behind this is quite funny really. We were talking about the yard work needing to be done over the weekend when Ashley mentioned the buckeye trees in her backyard that occasionally beam her guests on the head. Not knowing what a buckeye is, I investigated and found Ohio’s football team, trees, various recipes, and some crafts.

We loved it!

So, a few Friday’s ago while John was out of the office (cats and mice come to mind), we put together a small crafting party and made some buckeye sculptures. Ashley got really creative and used some pomegranates from her yard as well.

The photos of our little sculptures do not show them at their very best as I didn’t take them until...yesterday. By now the nuts had dried and shriveled. Yes, you are supposed to dry them out first so that this doesn’t happen, but we still had a lot of fun!

Do you do little crafts like this? We randomly had a plethora of nuts that needed to be thrown away and it turned into a fun little project. Show us what you make!

Supplies

- glue gun

- buckeye nuts or anything else you can find

- wire

- ribbon

- scissors

- wire cutters

- glue

- construction paper

- imagination

Directions

No real directions. Just do something fun!

Christmas Egg Recipe - Yorkshire Pudding

Happy Holidays everyone! This time of the year is all about the food (and the presents, but a lot has to do with food) and here we have an idea for you to do with your holiday dinner.

Yorkshire pudding and popovers are timeless side dishes. For those not familiar with the dishes, both characteristically use chicken eggs, but Yorkshire is typically cooked in beef drippings in a pan while popovers are cooked in a buttered muffin tin. The true difference between the two is debatable as the batter is the same and you can use the fat drippings in a muffin tin and butter in a pan. Therefore, you can call this recipe whatever you like, but for us we’ll call it Yorkshire pudding.

Why are we even talking about this, you ask? Notice the mention of chicken eggs in the above paragraph? Well, what happens when we use duck eggs instead of chicken eggs? And instead of drippings from a beef roast, what about using duck fat?

We decided to give it a try.

When mixing the batter with the recipe below, I forgot to take into account that duck eggs are typically 33% bigger than chicken eggs. The original recipe called for 4 large eggs, so I used 4 duck eggs. Wanting to be economical, I decided to crack the eggs into my 2-cup measuring cup that already had 1 ½ cups milk in it. The eggs almost made the milk overflow!

Lesson learned.

What this also meant is that there was too much egg in the resulting batter, but the result was rather yummy. Much more eggy than what I know Yorkshire pudding to be, but it still tasted great at breakfast with some jam and hot chocolate.

If you make these with your duck eggs or even some duck fat, let us know! We would love to know how they come out.

~~~

Yorkshire Pudding with Duck Eggs

Ingredients

• 3-4 duck eggs (in case you want a more eggy texture, use 4)
• 1 ½ cups milk (I used 2%, but use whatever you are comfortable with)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• ½ cup duck fat, butter, or veggie oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix the eggs, milk, flour, and salt well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Divide the fat, butter, or oil evenly in the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin. Place inside the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until it just starts to smoke.
   1. If using a pan, use the whole ½ cup in the pan.
3. Quickly pour the batter into the wells ¾ of the way up and bake for 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door as it can cause the batter to deflate. (Do turn on the oven light if you have one. Watching these guys fluff up is fun!)
4. Once golden brown, serve immediately. (I made these the night before work and brought some to share with the office. They are not as good the next day, but still tasty.)

Rouen Ducks

The Rouen has gone by a few contested names. Initially it was named after “Rhone”, an area in France known for its food and wine (though what part of France is not known for its local cuisine!) during the early 1800’s. “Roan” was its name for a while as it referenced the mixing of colored and gray plumage. It’s believed that the name “Rouen” was finally selected by the people of Normandy for the city of Rouen.

The Rouen breed was the national standard for a meat bird until the Pekin was introduced in 1873. The Rouen was then added to the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection in 1874.

Rouen ducks come in two varieties: the regular utility duck, which we have, and the large Standard duck, which we do not.

The Standard Rouen is much larger than our Rouens at about 9-10 pounds. They are the only Rouen of the two types that are successfully shown at fairs and competitions. Their bodies are much larger in length and depth to the point they almost drag on the ground. As their keel drags on the ground, they are more difficult to keep clean and they do much less foraging than a utility Rouen.

Our utility Rouens are bought for many purposes. Averaging at 5-7 pounds, they are known to have excellent meat. They are great egg layers at about 140-180 eggs per year. Their fertility is about 89% and they make excellent broody mothers. For those interested, about 35% of females lay bluish eggs.

And if none of that interests you, many people buy them as they make great pets. While their personalities are quite calm, the reason most buy them as pets is due to their vibrant coloring. While the female has a mottled pattern of various browns for her plumage and a dusty orange bill, the male is the showstopper with his gray body, white collar, green head, and yellow bill. Finally, both males and females possess a vibrant blue stripe on their wings.

Do keep in mind that the coloring of the male is dependent on age. The Rouen male will look exactly like the female for roughly the first 12 weeks of life. At week 12, their gray bodies, white collars, chestnut chest, and green heads will slowly start to come in over the course of about 3 weeks.

It is due to their coloring that many can easily mistake Rouens for Mallards. Truly, the only differences between a Mallard and a Rouen are that Rouens are bigger and flightless. For those wanting the aesthetic of a Mallard, but don’t want them to fly or need to trim their wings, a Rouen is the best answer.

One thing the Rouen has over the Mallard, however, is that they are not restricted within the United States. Florida has banned the importation of Mallards as they do not want them breeding with their native black duck. This means that any Floridians looking for a substitute for the Mallard should be quite happy with a Rouen.

Rouen ducklings!

Breed	Temperament	Weight	Egg Production	Mothering	Bluish Eggs	Egg Size
Rouen	Calm	5 - 7.25 pounds	140-180/year	Good	35%	80-95 grams
Fertility	APA Class	Foraging Ability	Conservation Status	Our Show Quality	Flying Ability	Origin
87%	Heavy	Good	Plenty	Not for Exhibition	Maybe	France