http://www.npr.org/2016/05/07/477037...uck-duck-booze

By Sarah Birnbaum.

First half:


On Vergenoegd Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, about a thousand Indian runner ducks parade twice a day into a vineyard to rid it of pests. It's a remarkably orderly scene.

Unlike your typical waddling duck, these ducks don't sway back and forth. They run quickly in a straight line.

Every morning at 9:45 a.m., they emerge from a gate and zip around the gleaming white manor house - even sticking to a manicured gravel path. They run in formation. Their beaks all point in the same direction, their bodies all turn at the same time -- like they've worked on the choreography beforehand.

The previous owner of the wine estate, John Faure, is a bird lover and brought them over from Asia. They have been at the estate for at least 30 years..

The history of the breed goes back much further. According to the Livestock Conservancy, runner ducks have been used in Asia for thousands of years to glean snails and insects from rice paddies.

The Vergenoegd ducks have a similar job. They eat the snails and insects in the vineyard.

Denzil Matthys, the duck caretaker at Vergenoegd, says the ducks help make the farm sustainable. "We try to keep a pesticide-free farm by using the ducks," he says. "They help us not to use poison on the farm."...

(snip)



Lenona.

On Sun, 8 May 2016 12:36:15 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

>
>http://www.npr.org/2016/05/07/477037...uck-duck-booze
>
>By Sarah Birnbaum.
>
>First half:
>
>
>On Vergenoegd Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa, about a thousand Indian runner ducks parade twice a day into a vineyard to rid it of pests. It's a remarkably orderly scene.
>
>Unlike your typical waddling duck, these ducks don't sway back and forth. They run quickly in a straight line.
>
>Every morning at 9:45 a.m., they emerge from a gate and zip around the gleaming white manor house - even sticking to a manicured gravel path. They run in formation. Their beaks all point in the same direction, their bodies all turn at the same time -- like they've worked on the choreography beforehand.
>
>The previous owner of the wine estate, John Faure, is a bird lover and brought them over from Asia. They have been at the estate for at least 30 years.
>
>The history of the breed goes back much further. According to the Livestock Conservancy, runner ducks have been used in Asia for thousands of years to glean snails and insects from rice paddies.
>
>The Vergenoegd ducks have a similar job. They eat the snails and insects in the vineyard.
>
>Denzil Matthys, the duck caretaker at Vergenoegd, says the ducks help make the farm sustainable. "We try to keep a pesticide-free farm by using the ducks," he says. "They help us not to use poison on the farm."...

I have Indian Runners here, plus some Muscovy dusks and geese. Indian
Runners are extremely common, so I don't know why he needed to go to
the trouble of importing them. I use poultry for pest control and it's
a practice that's been around for millennia. Very effective!