Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504210026
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The ducks flittered about, deftly sidestepping their pursuers and taking refuge under vehicles, with loud quacks the whole time.
They were almost as nimble as rabbits.
But finally they were herded together for a picture-taking session.
This scene occurred in preparation for what is believed to be a first in the Roanoke Valley - Water Fowl Days today through Saturday at Holdren's Country Store on Gus Nicks Boulevard in Vinton.
Keller Poole, owner and operator of the store, said the duck show will feature more than 1,000 baby ducks of about 20 different breeds.
They will be for sale and viewing.
"We want to educate people about them," Poole said. The show will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Poole said that if the show goes well, he plans to repeat it next year with a bigger supply of ducks and perhaps some geese and other fowl.
In an advertisement for Water Fowl Days, Poole claims a first.
"Never before in the history of the Roanoke Valley has anyone ever attempted" a program of this type, the ad said.
Andrew Marsinko, a poultry breeder in Blue Ridge, will be the chief educator at the program, along with Peter Sawyer of Purina Mills. They will give advice on the care and feeding of ducks as well as general lore about the many breeds of ducks and their habits.
Marsinko said there are about 60 breeds, and most of them come in many different colors.
Ducks come in different sizes, also, he said, such as heavyweight, medium weight, lightweight and bantam.
The best known, he said, are Pekin and Rouen, both heavyweights. Both are primarily raised as food.
Marsinko said duck as a food - either meat or eggs - is not much in demand in this area.
But it is available in some Oriental and other specialty restaurants.
Duck eggs are even less in demand, he said, but they can usually be bought at farmer's markets and in health food stores. However, the price is generally somewhat higher than chicken eggs.
"Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs," Marsinko said, "and richer."
The best egg producers are the Runner and Campbell breeds, both lightweights.
"They will lay eggs the year-round," he said.
Ducks generally are fed the same food as chickens, Marsinko said - ordinary feed and cracked corn, along with duck pellets, which are high in protein. Wild ducks also eat grains, along with grass and bugs. Marsinko said wild ducks also will often eat small fish, but mostly they are vegetarians.
One of the cardinal rules in feeding ducks in captivity, he said, is never feed them medicated food.
"It will either kill them or sterilize them," he said.
Marsinko said it is difficult to treat a sick duck, because by the time the illness is identified, the duck has died.
But they seldom get sick if they have plenty of proper food and water.
"They don't get sick easily," he said. "They are more hearty than chickens."
Another bit of advice from Marsinko concerns baby ducks that may have appeared in many households at Easter.
Don't try keep them in the basement.
"If you have a tub of water for them, they will drink it and play in it and make one whale of a mess," Marsinko said.
It is best to keep them in an enclosure outside or in an enclosure with a screen wire floor with a tray underneath that can be cleaned.
If the new duck owner tries to keep it in a cardboard box with water, he said, the result will be a mass of soggy, smelly cardboard.
by CNB