A defector from Chooks to Dukes

[Miss Lydia]

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https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=601619&p=2 go down to post 20

 

[goosedragon]

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Yes more winter hardiness with ducks.
Also all waterfowl tend to make a mess with water they love wetlands which humens consider messy. The higher the duck/water ratio the more the mess.
Google for omega 3 content, I think it is higher in ducks.
Flax seed is the usual supplement for both ducks and chickens to up the omega 3 in the eggs but it is usually hard to find in a feed store.
Easy is tricky chickens take 3 weeks to hatch ducks 4 weeks. Ducks usually have higher hatch rates than people with incubators.

Runners were bred to be marched out of small villages in India to forage for their food in the sticks where there were more preditors so they are more alert and flighty, those that were not got eaten. Ducks tend to consider people as preditors [which we are].
Ducks were seasional layers because they migrated. Daylength told them when to migrate. and they had to court, breed, lay eggs and hatch them during a short window because any duck not ready to migrate in the fall was a dead duck. The more they were domesticated. the more they changed. they got too heavy to migrate, or even fly. the number of eggs increased because they were no longer on a tight schedue. Basically all domesticated ducks [except muscovy] are highly modified Mallards changed by domestic breeding. I see others have addressed most of the processing problems but not only does a duck have more and finer feathers than chickens they usually molt twice per year which leaves pinfeathers to be delt with. Important waterfoul have a oil gland at the top base of the tail if you eat that you will find it very bad tasting so remember to remove it, Chickenpluckers usually forget to warn you about that oil glan.
This will get you started, post more questions as they come up. ~gd

 

[goosedragon]

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Some time after the days start getting longer around 12/22 practically the start of 2012. at the soonest