How one local duck farm is making a difference in the LGBTQ+ community

For Selene and Rachel Hagan, a honeymoon trip to rural Netherlands gave them more than beautiful memories—it sparked their passion for owning ducks. In 2019 they built Quacky Feet Farm from the ground up, and now successfully raise, sell and care for over 70 ducks. Keep reading for more on their story and how they give back to the community.

One big quacky family

Instead of a traditional honeymoon in the city of Amsterdam, Selene and her wife decided to visit a community farm. There, they fell in love with the farm lifestyle…especially the ducks.

“We wanted to start a farm, we just didn’t know where to start. After our honeymoon, we figured we might as well start with ducks and see where it goes. Well, 4 ducks became 20, 20 ducks became 40, and now we have around 70 ducks on our farm.”

Selene Hagan, Owner, Quacky Feet Farm

Luckily, Selene has always been one for hitting the books and working hard. When she was younger, her mom said she always had a book or a screwdriver in her hands.

That certainly paid off, since her and her wife were able to build their backyard farm all by themselves. From the barn to the coop to the fences, Selene and her wife built everything they needed to house their new webbed footed friends.

In 2020, Selene and Rachel decided to turn their little farm into a business. They planned to incubate and hatch barnyard ducks to see if anyone would be interested—and the response was overwhelming. After advertising on Facebook and in local shops, people from all over were buying the ducklings. That year alone they sold over 300 ducklings to local farms and families.

Helping the community

As members of the LGBTQ+ community, Selene and her wife Rachel make it a priority to provide a safe haven and a unique learning environment for other members of the community, especially youth.

“I’ve always had a heart for youth. We really want the farm to be a safe environment, where someone can come and be comfortable. They can spend the day with us and learn a skill they can use for their future. Reaching out to the LGBTQ+ kids is very important for us because we know how it feels to feel different or not included. We want them to feel safe in a no judgment zone.”

Selene Hagan, Owner, Quacky Feet Farm

Quacky Feet Farm gives back to their farming community as well. After studying the unique needs of each duck breed, they know their stuff and offer advice to other farm owners who need a helping hand.

Selene has gotten calls from duck owners all the way in Connecticut asking for advice with their injured ducks. She doesn’t hesitate to help however she can. For locals, she’ll hop in the car to meet whoever needs help solving their issues.

You can even catch her on Facebook Live, discussing common duck injuries and how you can fix them at home.

See what all the quack is about

Did you know that ducklings grow 7x faster than baby chicks? There’s a lot of care and upkeep involved with owning ducks that people may not realize. Quacky Feet Farm offers a no questions asked policy if someone buys ducklings from them and realizes it’s not a good fit.

She aims to reduce the high number of abandoned ducks, and even takes disabled ducks under her wing. Waddles and Duck-Duck were both paralyzed from a young age, and now happily spend their days at Quacky Feet Farm. Getting baths, proper nutrition and even lounging in baby rockers during the day.

If you’d like to see what Quacky Feet Farm is all about, they’d love to see your smiling face. You can reach out to them through their website, and follow them on Facebook to keep up with what’s quackin’.

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