Yes, I prefer waterfowl over chickens (not offending anyone) but a lot of ducks lay more eggs than chickens, they are more intelligent and don’t tear up the ground. Have you considered getting ducks? Domestic ducks don’t require a pond.
I don't have any, I keep around 20 breeding show-winning ducks and geese, as well as 250 mallards and around 200 pheasants. What do you keep? Are you from the UK?