Love my ducks but... chickens have their finer points...

[FenDruadin]

First time having chickens--just got my shipment of silkies this week. I've had ducks for years, raised ducks, hatched ducks, love ducks but... I think I'm falling in love with chickens.

* The babies are quieter than ducklings. I keep forgetting they're even in the house.
* The babies are Waaayyy less smelly than ducklings. I keep forgetting they're even in the house.
* The brooder has to be changed waaaayyy less often than with ducklings. I keep forgetting they're even in the house.
* They're actually snugglier than ducklings--they settle in and fall asleep in my hand and then don't want to get up when I put them back in the brooder. Which is the only reason I haven't REALLY forgotten they're in the house.

Maybe the duck forum isn't the right place for this but... am I alone in thinking chickens may be EVEN cooler than ducks??

I will say this *against* chicks--I lost one of them the very first night, and I rarely lose ducklings in a shipment. So my experience backs up what I have heard about ducks being hardier than chickens. Also, when the brooder was full with my silkies and their packing peanuts (who all went to a large farm to have a real mama--he had a broody chicken who had been sitting on infertile eggs for a couple months--and he knew they would all be roosters and wanted them anyway), the packing peanuts were kind of hard on the silkies--pecking at them, and at one point dragging one of them through the water by the foot. But they never drew blood or caused serious damage.

Anyway. I don't know how I'll feel about them as adults, but so far I'm pretty happy with my little ones. Of COURSE I plan to continue raising duckies too. I love them too much to give them up!

 

[AnnaLease]

Yes, I agree that chicks are WAY easier to brood (and keep) than ducks, but my calls are WAY more entertaining to watch. They make the chickens seem boring (sorry for the insult, chickens, but it's the truth).

 

[becky3086]

I don't know. I guess I will just keep hatching more of each until I figure it out.

 

[javajanie]

My sister in law got ducks right after I did. I've had ducks and chickens the whole time. She wasn't crazy about the chickens. Kept telling her how awesome they are. Then this Summer, her daughter wanted chicks. So she got a 1/2 dozen. She loves them! Enjoys them way more than her ducks. Me, I love them both, but man, my ducks are a bigger pain, but so cute. I keep them around purely for entertainment purposes. I never want to brood another duckling though!

 

[evansacres]

It's funny this came up because I was just thinking the opposite

I have my ducks and they free range, my brother-in-law has chickens and he has about six speckled sussex that are free ranging our property right now. One of the roosters came after me the other day, while I was feeding my ducks...I was NOT impressed...Oh and one of the hens pecked me when I went to move her...The chickens and the two roosters are scratching in my flower bed and ruining my flowers. My ducks have NEVER made that much of a mess of things, although they did pick off and eat the blueberries earlier, but they NEVER touched the plant itself. The ducks did eat some tomatoes out of the garden, but let's face it there were lots and again they only took the good ripe ones

I've only brooded ducks once and they were great. My BIL always has chicken eggs in the incubator and they drive me nuts with the peeping and cheeping after they hatch. However, there is no question that they are extremely cute

I have come to the conclusion though that I am not a chicken person.

 

[agregg15]

Duckies have their finer points as well. They have bigger and tastier eggs, their poo makes great fertilizer, and they provide hours of entertainment (not to mention their personalities.) Sorry I just had to put in a good word for my duckies.

 

[secuono]

Ducks grow up faster though, ready to go out long before any chick could. Sooner ready to eat them, eggs are bigger, too. They don't make a mess with their food, mine eat every bit they possibly can.

Idk which is best, lol. Both have their better qualities.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

My ducks are big lovers, they are sweet. Dont waste ANY food at all. Easy to herd into a pen for the night. Lay VERY tasty eggs. And are very funny. And my moms chickens waste food. Peck my anckles all the time. And Are always mean to my poor ducks. I dont really like chickens NEARLY as much as I like my ducks. The only thing I dont like about my ducks is they eat a TON!! But that wont make me stop raising them.

 

[Tivona]

As far as the babies go I have to admit that ducklings are more like yucklings for sheer messiness and smelliness compared to chicks. But, I really like the adult ducks way more then the adult chickens. All the chickens I've had over the years were always so mean to at least one or two of their own. Constantly, never stopping with establishing the pecking order. It was so sad to see them pulling out feathers or just pecking on each others owwies. I did have one really ehh hrmm horny drake that had to go but he was the only adult duck to cause the flock misery. The ducks just seems to be so much more peaceful. And that is nice to see. Also the ducks cause way less damage to my garden the the chickens have in the past.

 

[FenDruadin]

Great conversation! These are all excellent points. So, how long exactly till I CAN put the chicks outside? Are they in the house till next spring?

Anyway, I guess we'll all just have to keep raising them both, for the best of both worlds!