never stored duck eggs in fridge but have kept MANY chicken harching eggs in the fridge, no problem, keep in the bottom as a crisper drawer. Not below 40 deg. F, They Do have to be turned daily no matter the storage. Easiest is to store in a carton set on an angle, change carton angle daily/

I agree with the runner duck recommendation, though my true love is the Muscovy, which is MUCH LARGER and quieter. I purchased runner ducks, a couple of years ago, built their pen right into the side of my main vegetable garden. Let them roam in the garden, during the winter, with success. They did hunt bugs and slugs very well. But when I let them out into a fairly mature garden... HOLY DEMOLITION CREW! They were picking cucumbers, hollowing out immature muskmelons and uprooting onion plants! I had to put them up in their pen and only let them roam in the pasture, outside the garden, where they feasted on grass hoppers, etc. Having said that, I still say that ducks are WONDERFUL creatures! They are my favorite fowl, and we raise turkeys, two breeds of heritage chicken, and have raised guineas. I've gone back to Muscovies simply because I like to eat duck, and the Muscovy produces a much larger carcass. The Muscovy is much calmer than the runner duck. But it is also much larger. It would squash a lot of plants if allowed in the garden. We too, enjoy duck eggs. They are really large, and very good eating. George Tahlequah, OK

He is only getting back his half. My half is reserved for some special plants I am growing that I am afraid if the heat goes off they will die. I like just walking out in the garage and having something blooming. It cheers me up in the winter. I am going to look at habitat for humanity tomorrow if the second attempt at running the electric goes well. I am going to look and see what kind of attic fans and counters they have. John gave me a double sink to put in there today. I told him I could not hook a drain to one side and fill it with potting soil and then pull the plug adn drop it back in the storage bin underneath to keep bugs out of it and all I need is a sprayer on it and it will work. I need to see if the poles I heard they have there are the right size. If they are and I can get a good deal on them I can use them to replace the shorter poles and get it level with out making it short. Sold a couple more things today so maybe I can get the wood to close in the ends and I'll be good I think. I was getting discouraged because I knew the money had to come from somewhere other than the shop to finish it and so sold some things on craigslist and some of them came through. I wish they all would have I would have a couple hundred more to work with. John has some shop lights for me too. Its looking better again. If I don't have problems with the electric again in the morning all will go well and I can have time to get my stuff mailed out if I don't have to work. Other wise I will take off the next day and get them out. Thanks for supporting me in this. It means a lot to me. I think Patty is enjoying JD sniffing all my flowers. He keeps asking why they don't have this one or that one. I guess they will have some soon. She is getting stuff together to build one for herself as well.

The only ducks I've ever seen in a market are frozen Long Island ducklings. (Technically, that's a White Pekin duck, same variety as the one in the AFLAC commercials.) The following recipe is for that sort of duck, not for a wild duck. Purists will insist that you cook the duck breast and the duck legs separately, cooking the legs medium well and the breast rosy-pink rare. This recipe from The Joy of Cooking is simpler than that, and will produce juicy breast meat with crispy skin. Ducks have an enormous amount of fat under the skin. This recipe allows most of that fat to escape. Don't discard the fat! Store it in a clean jar in the freezer. It's great for making roux and frying potatoes. --The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the duck to thaw. Take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge, still in its plastic wrapper, about 3 or 4 days prior to cooking. If it's still frozen, put it in a pot in the sink and run cold water over it for a while. Not much meat on a duck; one duck feeds two adults. You can cook as many ducks as your pocketbook allows and freeze the cooked ducks in individual Ziplock plastic bags, to be nuked as you need them later.. I'll often cook a few ducks at Christmas and have it available for people to sample, in addition to a turkey or other bird. Duck is sweet and rich. It's most definitely a splurge, but a worthwhile one. This takes about 4 hours to cook, but you're not doing anything most of the time--it's a very easy recipe, and the results are spectacular. Crispy Roast Duck ( from The Joy of Cooking) 1 duckling, 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 lbs, thawed Salt Preheat the oven to 250˚ and place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Remove the duck from its plastic wrapper and rinse under cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Rub a little salt in the cavity, and sprinkle a little on the skin. Remove any excessive fat from around the opening and the neck. With a sharp paring knife or a skewer, make 20 or 30 small incisions in the skin into the fat. Hold the knife parallel to the skin so you penetrate the skin into the fatty layer, but you don't want to penetrate the flesh. If you have a v-rack for a roasting pan, place the rack in the pan and place the duck, breast side down, on the rack. (But if you don't have a v-rack, don't worry. Just place the duck breast side down in the pan.) Place the pan in the oven and roast for 3 hours. Yes, three hours. Every hour check the duck and prick the skin a little more to let more fat escape. After three hours, drain the fat out of the pan (don't discard it; it's great to cook with) and turn the oven up to 350˚, and turn the duck breast side up. Roast for another 45 minutes. Remove to a platter and let the duck sit for 10 minutes before carving. You can make a gravy out of the juices and bits in the pan if you want. If you don't have a v-rack, you can cook the duck without one but the skin won't be as crispy. It'll still taste great, though. Serve with whatever wine you like; the meat is hearty enough to stand up to a full bodied red like a Pinot Noir or Cabernet, but if you prefer a lighter red like a Zinfandel or a good white, go for it.