This is a comprehensive and attractive lifestyle guide to keeping ducks and geese -- from what to consider before buying them, how to house them, their welfare and even egg selection. It includes a detailed section on all of the common breeds of duck and goose, enabling you to make the right decision about which ones to choose. It features extensive information on planning and welfare, helping you to ensure that you have the right type of space and housing, and guidelines on how to deal with any eventuality, such as telling the neighbours, going away on holiday and cleaning. A lavish lifestyle section provides recipes for using the rich eggs, together with activities for all of the family including quill making, fairy stories and folklore and how ducks can help with sheepdog training.
Keeping Ducks and Geese fuses contemporary lifestyle design and an authoritative text, to appeal not only to those who already keep waterfowl, but also to those who are thinking of having them or even just aspire to the self sufficient lifestyle they represent.
Introduction
Brief History
Understanding Waterfowl
Planning & Commitment
Choosing a Breed
All About Geese
Breeds of Geese
Breeds of Ducks
Where to Start and Where to Buy
Environment
Feeding
Eggs
Breeding
Welfare
Lifestyle
Useful Addresses and Further Reading
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Index.
Chris and Mike Ashton are leading writers, breeders and administrators in the British Waterfowl world. As well as winning numerous British Waterfowl Association Awards for their ducks and geese, they have both chaired the BWA Standards Committee and Mike is currently the chief judging examiner for the BWA. They are both regular contributors to specialist magazines and have written two books on the subject.