To duck, or not to duck

I know my description says that we run a small organic farm, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we are starting to run a small organic farm. We've only lived here for year and so far the only thing I've gotten growing is a small garden. My husband got laid off right when we moved in, so we are still struggling to get back to where we were. We live on 8 acres and only own a push mower. Our backyard is currently a nature preserve, entirely by accident.

So the opportunity has come up for us to acquire some Khaki Campbell ducks. We are still in the deciding phase on this. As we have 7 acres of nature preserve behind our house, we are concerned that the ducks will be eaten by predators before they have much of a chance to grow up. So, we are looking for low-cost portable fencing. The current thinking is to get some deer fence, some wooden stakes, and some 5 gallon buckets to fill with cement. We figure it will cost about $50 for the set up.

Then, the next question is do we really want ducks? We like duck meat, so that's good. I have, however, heard bad things about duck eggs. So, when I was in the city Thursday I bought some duck eggs at Whole Foods and we had them for breakfast this morning. Everyone thought they were good scrambled, but the fried eggs I made didn't go over so well. The kiddos thought they were too strong and hubby thought the yolks had no taste. (?!) I thought the yolks were definately thicker than chicken yolks, but I didn't think they were bad. So, it looks like the ducks are a go.

I have no idea where we're going to put them come winter, though. Anyone with good ideas about keeping ducks, let me know!