Springtime Delicacies

One of the many things that we look forward to in the spring,
is duck eggs.
Every spring we find duck eggs along the bank of the pond on an almost daily basis.


Not this spring, however...
no... this spring there have been no...
and will be no duck eggs.

Why?
Because drakes don't lay eggs!
And it seems that all we have left of our domestic ducks after winter's end are males.
The females disappeared through attrition.
It seems they are much more susceptible to predators.

I know that the ducks on our pond are all males
as they all have a curly feather above their tales...
a sure sign of manliness amongst ducks.


Also, there are no ducks missing neck feathers.
Females end up with patches of feathers missing around their necks during mating season,
as that is where the males hold on to them with their bills.

As you can see... all necks are fully feathered,
and all tails are delicately curled!


We do have one pair of mallards who may reproduce,
however mallards don't tend to lay eggs willy nilly like our domestic ducks do.

Perhaps we'll end up with mallard ducklings,
but....
there'll be no eggs to eat this year.
Sad.
Because duck eggs make the best cakes.
A cake made with duck eggs rises beautifully.

We do, however have morel mushrooms this year.


The old scraggly apple tree in the orchard that I refer to as the witch's tree...


grows a yearly crop of morels around its base.

I worried that Ginger and MaryAnn might eat them as they have access to this area.
Luckily, they were there...intact.


I picked them before MaryAnn decided to flop down for a belly rubbing.


While you are sniffing around there, Ginger....
would you keep an eye out for more mushrooms, please?


One of these Sundays, we will have
morel, leek, and asparagus omelets
for Farm Breakfast.
Yum!

Comments

jaz@octoberfarm said…
oh man...morels!!!!
Lady Jane said…
Sorry about your ducks. That seems so sad to me. Love to see MaryAnn and Ginger. They do like their belly rubs.
This N That said…
Interesting post..I didn't know all that about ducks...Maybe the Mallards will come thru?? I'm not a fan of mushrooms..It's mostly the texture I'm not fond of..Rubber bands...Happy Thursday xxoo
deodar said…
My two duck ladies have commenced to laying again. I have a niece who is a vegetarian and she loves to get the duck eggs, apparently they are higher in protein.
jerilanders said…
We've got an equal amount of drakes, versus hens. But although the hens are sitting, their eggs keep disappearing from right under them...I don't get it. So we may not have ducklings this year either.