Let's start with the fact that ducks produce rather large eggs. Larger than chicken eggs.
Then I shall also mention that for people who are allergic to chicken eggs, there's a chance that duck eggs can be a suitable replacement that is edible.
On a grander scale, ducks are excellent at creating ponds. This is one of the big reasons why I started keeping ducks. Ponds are important not only because every organism needs water to survive but because they help slow and store water in places where it can be used by people and animals, alike.
In order to create ponds, all ducks have to do is be ducks. They go where water is and use their bills to turn dirt and water into mud. As they continue pooping, this little spot gathers their droppings, and then more water comes along, until it turns into a puddle. This is one way that low-lying spot that naturally gathers water can become a pond.
The other way is the method we use over in our food forest, which is by starting with a big hole.
The pond in the photo is our new location. The pond in the video is the first pond we did. Learning to create ponds definitely has a steep learning curve and though it is a labor of love, it also helps to store plenty of water for the ducks, geese, and chicken (only one chicken currently!) can use to bathe, drink, or play in.
It's worth noting that the neighborhood cats who live around here also come to the pond to drink water. Song birds will also visit sometimes to bathe as well.
Ponds assist in accomplishing city goals for reducing water runoff and also help to slow and reduce the amount of stormwater entering the drainage system. As the pond water level fills up and the plants become bigger and bigger, we'll be able to store more and more water right here at home where we can all use it.
As the trees and plants grow, they'll send roots out into the pond, adding more structure to the pond edge, and keeping the water clean. Any water that leaks out of the pond will be cleaner, carrying less soil and pollutants with it as well.
In this way, ducks live their best duck lives right here where I am able to see them from the window. They turn their waste products into apples, persimmons, rhubarb, bamboo, figs, and raspberries.
The pond is completely unlined allowing all of the plants full access to the nutrients that are left by the birds and keeping the pond from stagnating and smelling. Soon, the trees will begin to shade the pond edge, preventing evaporation from the heat of the sun, making this process faster and more efficient while providing overhead coverage to protect the birds from flying predators.
The more water we harvest into the pond, the less water flooding the streets during heavy rains and the happier the ducks, geese, and plants will be.