While traveling on Berkshire Road, people may have noticed there are some new neighbors in town - of the feathered variety.

Marnie Uliasz and her husband, Mark Hill, moved to Sandy Hook three years ago when they purchased the former Bon-Air Poultry Farm property that had operated in town more than 100 years ago. Little did they know, within a year's time, they would be starting their own farm of sorts that would grow to have over two dozen ducks and one very talkative goose.

"We didn't plan on this, that's for sure," Ms Uliasz said between chuckles. "I'm from Bridgeport and Mark is from Bethel."

The two, along with son Jett and daughter Darla, unintentionally embarked on their first adventure into farm life during a trip to Tractor Supply in New Milford, where they left the store with six small ducklings.

"We fell in love with them. They have a lot of personality," Ms Uliasz said.

The family got their ducks in a row, as the saying goes, and used the red barn on the historic property to shelter their new additions from predators and the elements. They also gathered some small plastic kiddie pools and filled them with water for the ducks to swim and bathe in.

Then they began researching as much as they could online about what it takes to raise ducks and reached out to the agricultural department at the University of Connecticut for guidance.

Now, two years into their endeavor, their flock has grown exponentially. The majority of their 31 ducks are classified as Khaki Campbells, while some other breeds include Pekins, Golden Cascades, and Swedish Blues. Among all the ducks, Ms Uliasz says, is also one "fancy" French Toulouse goose named Ducky.

Between his excited squawks and honks, Ducky has established himself as the leader of the group and does his best to usher his smaller quacking companions to where he thinks they should all venture to next.

"They mostly stay near the barn, but they do go by the road because they don't know any better and want to eat the grit," Ms Uliasz said.

With Route 34 traffic in such close proximity, she says they have gained a lot of attention by people passing by who see the ducks waddling through the yard.

"People will stop and talk to the ducks and to us about the ducks," Ms Uliasz said. "We're turning into 'the duck family.'"

Since the ducks and goose roam freely, they mainly forage on grasses, flowers, and bugs. Despite losing some of her planted flowers to the ducks' appetites, Ms Uliasz says, "They are great for getting ticks out of your yard."

Ms Uliasz also helps supplement their diet by giving them organic pellets, and Darla is always ready to lend a helping hand and give them plants to snack on.

In addition to the endless entertainment of watching the ducks quack and play throughout the yard - and the hilarious site of Ducky the goose meandering up to the kitchen windows and peering in - the ducks have been a great benefit to them for their egg production.

Each female duck lays about an egg a day, Ms Uliasz says, which has begun totaling more than the family can keep up with to eat on their own. She has begun selling the eggs by posting on the Facebook page for the group Newtown Neighbors Unite, as well as supplying eggs to Taproot in Bethel.

"They are popping out eggs left and right, so we are more than happy to help supply someone else with eggs," Ms Uliasz said.

People have even begun stopping by their home, seeing the sign in their driveway about the duck eggs, and she has brought eggs for her coworkers in town, too.

Her children help collect the eggs each morning from the barn, and Jett says each egg is so large it barely fits in the jumbo-size chicken egg containers they store them in.

Compared to chicken eggs, Ms Uliasz says, "They are richer tasting and have double the protein."

Duck eggs also stay fresher longer due to a thicker shell and are good alternative for those who are allergic to chicken eggs. She has even heard that duck eggs have alkaline benefits, which inspired her to have her father, who was diagnosed with colon cancer, begin incorporating them into his diet.

LocalHarvest, an online organization to aid farmers, reports "Duck eggs are an alkaline producing food, one of the few foods that leave your body more alkaline, which is a great benefit to cancer patients as cancer cells do not thrive in an alkaline environment. Chicken eggs are an acid food, leaving your body more [acidic]."

Ms Uliasz is proud to not only continue the Bon-Air Poultry Farm's legacy in her own way with the flock of ducks she has now, but she has also begun embracing her new title as "the duck lady" in town.