DESPITE the current tough economic climate Creedy Carver's James Coleman has just enjoyed his most successful Christmas ever.

"It has been exceptionally busy this year," he said.

"We weren't expecting it, especially since many people put their orders in late. However, duck seems to have been a popular alternative to turkey."

When James joined the family firm at the age of 18, it already had an excellent reputation for producing high-quality, free-range chickens.

But James has put his own stamp on the farm by building up a highly successful flock of free-range ducks, which are now found on the menus of some of the country's leading restaurants.

James, now 29, keeps around 16,000 ducks on an eight-week cycle and is planning to expand the 82-acre farm, in the tiny hamlet of Upton Hellions, just outside Crediton, in order to rear even more.

"The farm has been in our family for generations, — we have occupied the land for over 100 years," said James, who lives a few miles away from the site with his wife Melanie.

"I grew up on the farm and always knew I wanted to end up working in the family business.

"After completing my A-levels at Blundell's School I was offered a place to study agriculture at the University of Reading.

"I knew it was a really good course, but I decided that my time would be better spent developing my own area of the family business instead.

"I thought that it was more worthwhile to concentrate on the specialist project than studying a conventional farming course that I wouldn't necessarily end up using — although I'm sure three years at uni would have been good fun."

James decided to branch out into ducks when he realised that there was a niche in the market.

He said: "I wanted to offer something different from chickens, and the turkey and goose markets are very seasonal.

"I noticed that there weren't many places offering free-range ducks for sale, especially in the Devon area. So I started converting old and unused pig-rearing sheds we had on the farm into duck sheds.

"Once they were ready, I gradually started introducing more and more ducks to the farm — around 50 every other week."

James carefully rears his ducks to be of the highest quality. He said: "The breed I chose derives from the Peking strand, which I sourced from Lincolnshire. But since I rear it so specifically it is essentially Devon free- range. They have a unique texture and tasty flavour.

"They grow at an incredible speed, and a conventional farmer might send them for slaughter at five weeks, but I slow the process down and send them for slaughter at eight weeks. This improves their quality.

"I feed them low-energy seed, which is also free from additives and genetically modified ingredients, and give them plenty of space to roam around in, so they burn a lot of energy out in the field."

According to James, the secret of his success is the time and effort he puts in to the ducks' welfare. He said: "The birds arrive on the farm as day-old ducklings. They stay in the barns until they are three weeks old.

"This is their most delicate time and temperature is carefully controlled by means of special gas heaters, to make life as comfortable as possible.

"They are given a new bed of straw every day to keep them clean. When they are hardy enough they are moved to open barns and given three to four square metres each.

"They go straight to the specially designed ponds we have set up for them and spend all day playing in the water. On a sunny day this is a beautiful sight."

In place of a sheepdog, James uses his 'duckdog', border collie Zeus, to round up the birds in the field.

There is a processing plant on site, which slaughters, cuts and packages the ducks, so they do not have to travel any distance in cramped transport.

"I don't believe in hanging the bird for any length of time after slaughter," said James. "It reduces the shelf life of the product and makes it less presentable."

The birds are sold to wholesalers and restaurants up and down the country. Locally Creedy Carver ducks can be found on the menu at The Jack In The Green at Rockbeare, near Exeter, The Beer Engine at Newton St Cyres, and The New Angel at Dartmouth, owned by celebrity chef John Burton Race.

Meanwhile, in London James supplies his ducks to Gordon Ramsay's Maze and Claridges restaurants, W1 brasserie, owned by Gary Rhodes, A-list hotspot The Ivy and Kensington's popular Whole Foods Market.

"It's amazing how well the ducks are going down in the capital," commented James. "I went to London recently and was shocked to find my picture on the wall of the Whole Foods Market. I knew the company was running some kind of meet the producer feature, but I had no idea I would be on display on the shop floor!"

Despite bigger companies buying large quantities of Creedy Carver duck, James is still happy for customers to come direct to him.

"No order is too small for us," he said. "We are just happy for as many people to try our duck as possible."

So how does James like his duck to be served?

"I believe that if you have a good-quality duck, then its natural flavour and taste should be enough," he said. "Therefore the less seasoning you give it the better. The best way I suggest people serve Creedy Carver duck is roasted, with locally-produced vegetables and a light gravy.

"Too much fancy sauce can ruin a good duck."

Details: 01363 772682 or visit www.creedy carver.co.uk.