I have always been fascinated by ducks and other wildfowl. As a child, one of my favourite books was The Story About Ping. I’m bewitched by the rather naughty duck on Farmer Brown’s farm and the star character in Giggle Giggle Quack.

As a child I was lucky enough to have several pet geese, whom we trained to come and find us for food when we called “Geese-geese! Geese-geese!” I named my first goose “Don’t Know” so that when people asked me its name I replied “Don’t Know”. It was my idea of a joke back then.

So when I was visiting Coombes School I was delighted to see the resident ducks and the hands on infant project about these birds.

The ducks are kept right outside one of the Year 2 classrooms. Imagine being able to look out of the door to this sight:

The pathway along the side of the duck run, was covered with children’s chalk drawings.

The ducks have a large area in which to roam amongst fruit trees and grass. As you can see, they have their own little temporary pond too. They need a safe place to roost at night, away from interested foxes.

The children have to look after and handle the ducks. This includes incubating eggs and raising ducklings.

The children kept duck diaries and wrote about their experiences of looking after the ducks.

It may appear a daunting challenge to have livestock in a school. There are costs involved such as setting aside a suitable fenced area, ensuring shelter, paying for feed and organising the cleaning and care routines. But the interest and joy that children show suggest that the effort is worth it. This Youtube clip from The Coombes School may help inspire you!

Finally, if you worry about aggressive ducks or geese, there is a simple test to find out whether they are faking their aggression or are really mad. When a duck comes flapping and hissing towards you, stick out your foot, with a welly boot on it. An aggressive duck will peck the boot. The one that’s faking aggression will back off. I was taught this whilst volunteering at Slimbridge, headquarters of The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust many years ago.

2023 Update

This blog post was originally published in July 2010. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of visiting lots of schools and early learning and childcare settings that have kept a variety of livestock, mainly hens. Often, the animals have been wonderfully cared for and are clearly an active part of a class or nursery’s curriculum. Sadly this has not always been the situation. Please do consider your experience and ability to truly look after any animal and give it the best life possible.

With Avian Influenza rife in the UK, you must check local and national guidance and ensure you comply with this around poultry.