Ducks or Chickens? Pros/Cons - Page 4

Trust me, come spring time they are all heading to auction

I second Holly, when you look at the larger picture, chickens will lay more eggs. Theres no way a Khaki Campbell or a Runner could outlay a White Leghorn.

Layer bred ducks *on average* lay longer into the cold months than chickens. Layer ducks *on average* are effective layers longer in life than chickens in terms of years. Layer ducks *on average* are less prone to getting egg bound.

Ducks on the whole are more cold hardy than chickens, and less prone to disease.

Duck breeds, like chicken breeds are not all created equal.

Runners were the tops in layers in the 19th century until the campbell was bred, then the welsh harlequin was developed from sports of campbells, and metzer has developed a new line of hybrids that are supposed to top the production charts. I have all 3 and a few individual hens of different breeds for variety but I'm still waiting for my first eggs to hit the ground. Most of my bevy was hatched in july and august.

I suppose the greatest pro to ducks is the flavor You can get chicken anywhere but duck is special. Duck eggs also have unique nutritional benefits that chicken eggs do not-- they are considered superior for baking, they are often non allergenic to people with chicken egg allergies, and some cancer doctors reccomend them- also larger than chicken eggs.

If you're strongly considering ducks, I strongly suggest you get a used copy of storeys guide to ducks on amazon. I got the older edition for $2 plus shipping. All told for less than my gas to go check it out at a library. A read through that will give you the entire low down on ducks and should be plenty of information to come to a reasonable conclusion.

I have ducks and chickens. My ducks (Swedish) outlay any chicken I've known of except a commercial hybrid layer (and Swedish are not even primarily egg producers). The ducks have removed all the snails, slugs and weeds from my garden without making it look like a lunar landscape (unlike chickens). Ducks interact with you more - they look you in the eye. They are curious and inquisitive. They are fairly nice to new members of the flock (unlike chickens). They handle the heat and cold better than chickens. They get fewer parasites. You can herd them where you want them to go (unlike chickens). They are more work by far, but I find them more rewarding and loveable.

Did you actually keep the ducks as egg layers? And how do you determine bird smarts? My ducks put themselves to bed at night just fine. They can distinguish my "I've dug up some worms" call for them.  Also, my drakes will warn the ducks of any aerial predator, even if that predator is the size of a quarter in the sky. When he calls out a warning they run for cover under their kiwi bush.

And in the past month out of 5 ducks I am getting 3-4 eggs a day. 2 of them are still young and just starting to lay.

As for the efficient layer comment, are you telling me that an 8lb chicken is more efficient at laying than a 5lb duck, when that same duck will lay a larger egg?

My ducks go to bed before my chickens

My production red will stay outside until it is pretty darn dark! She will also stay outside when it is POURING rain. I mean the kind of rain that soaks her to the skin. She is the only one that will.

My chickens go to bed at dusk. My ducks have been known to come quacking at the front door for treats at midnight if they aren't locked up, lol.
My ducks probably eat more than my chickens, but they get most of their food from foraging, so I don't have to feed them as much. They are much better layers than even my leghorn. It's gotten cold and there isn't much sun. My leghorn hasn't laid in 3 days (8 months old, should be laying every day). My ducks are still kicking out an egg every day. If I didn't like my chickens so much, I would sell them and just have ducks. I'm still very seriously considering thinning down my chickens to only my favorite half a dozen or so and getting 3 more ducks and a pair of geese in the spring.
Although to be perfectly honest, if they had a breed of turkey that could lay anywhere near as much as ducks or chickens I'd rather have turkeys.

My ducks don't want to go to bed at all! I got so sick and tired of having to chase them in every night that I just started leaving them out. If you aren't in by dark when I shut the door, your gunna sleep outside. I'm hoping that with temps hovering around -35C (-31F) some nights they'll learn that its much warmer inside with the geese. So far no such luck.

Yes

My ducks are the opposite, like chickiebooboos ducks, they don't put themselves to bed, they often get lost on the other side of the bale stack and the drakes are too busy breeding the females to worry about a hawk.

My ducks haven't layed since October, the chickens slowed down with the shorter days and cooler temps but never stopped completely.

8lbs chicken? A Leghorn hen is only about 4lbs, a Khaki Campbell female is about 5lbs.

I believe buff orps and other breeds of chickens can reach 8lb or more. The breeds of ducks you listed that you raised are nearly all heavy breed ducks. Pekins and rouens were bred for meat. I wouldn't raise a cornish x and expect high egg yields.

It's ok to have your opinion about ducks and not like them, but don't spread misinformation to someone asking a question about chickens and ducks. The bottom line is a laying breed duck will out perform a laying hen more often than not. The flip side to that is the duck will most likely be messier and louder.