Are ducks easier to raise than chickens?

[jmc]

Greyfields & Bossroo:

Great thanks. I knew there had to be some FAVORABLE replies!!!

Well how about Khakis? Are they nervous, skittish things in general, or is that a non-answerable question.

Both your answers may be moving us to the quacky order than the clucky one!!

Hope you're still with this thread

 

[greyfields]

I've never had khakis, but my neighbor does. They lay a lot obviously. I wouldn't say they are any more/less than any other breed really. Whatever breed you select, it really makes no difference in the long run. I'd pick simply on apperance.

I raise Silver Appleyards. I like looking at them. They are pretty to me. I enjoy the fact that I have Silver Appleyards and stare at them sometimes while drinking a coffee or beer. I would also like to raise Saxony's and Welsh Harlequins someday. They are pretty to me.

The other breeds don't 'speak' to me so I doubt I would raise them. It doesn't need to be a complicated decision, but a simple one. Your choice is truly inconsequential, with the exception of Call Ducks which are seriously screamers and can induce headahces in me.

 

[Bossroo]

The Khakis are to the duck as the production Leghorn is to the chicken. They will in most instances outproduce the chicken with 300-340 extra large eggs with a very rich almost orange yolk. They are more efficient converter of feed to egg than the leghorn too. My wife, 3 kids and myself enjoyed the Khaki eggs every morning cooked every way that you can think of. They are super good in baked goods too. I enjoyed their appearance and alert behavior yet they are not flighty. Anually I kept 3 of my best layer hens per drake in seperate pens for production of replacement breeders/ layers. We sold the extra eggs as fast as they were layed and was always asked for more. I kept the Pekins for meat production. They are the number one meat duck in China, Orient, and US. The feed conversion to meat is extreamly efficient in a very short time. My uncle ( Father M... , taught religion and ethics at College of Notre Dame prior to his death.) enjoyed the Khaki scrambled eggs for breakfast and Pekin roasted duck for dinner. He would always request that menu whenever he was to come for a visit. I would also recomend that you keep each group of hens plus drake in seperate pens to keep the pease. This makes life so much easier. Some of the hens will lay their eggs in a nest but most will lay here and there. The drakes fight each other as all of the drakes in the group chase a single hen in order to breed her all at once . Some of the hens become the worse for wear and tear. As for shelter some will use a coop others will not as they are extreamly hardy and will stay outside in sub zero weather or even a blizzard.

 

[greyfields]

Another thing to keep in mind is how many eggs you eat. My household maybe goes through 600 eggs per year and we produce very good eggs. If you plan to get like 10 ducks to start, you are going to have a serious egg problem... the problem being you'll get sick of eating them and you'll have to start raising pigs just so you have something to feed the eggs to.

 

[moodusnewchick]

Muscovies are way cool. I have meat muscovies and I don't think I'll be parting with them. I love the tail waggle, the eyes, the perpetual smile of curiosity...and I can catch them easier than the chickens. And the fact that they hiss is just too darn funny and great at the same time.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I sell my duck eggs for eatting. $3.00 a doz. And use them for making pancakes, waffles, cakes; pretty much any baking item. I also give some away to a family who is in need.

 

[Emzyyy]

Muscovy's are beasts they tolerate snow very well. My neighbor had a couple w/ ducklings who slept in the snow fine w/ their mother they we're a couple months old. I had a duck for 9 years until our neighbor's new puppy got him last spring he would of lived much longer. Yes I do think they easier to care for.

 

[ChickenToes]

I have Khaki Campbells, Cayugas, and Mallards.

The females are loud. Ducks are extremely messy and I think their poo smells worse than a chicken's. But as long as things are kept clean, the smell should not be a problem. My ducks have shown a total disdain for their coop. They would rather sleep outside in the cold and wet.

All my ducks are 11 or 12 weeks old. The Cayugas are pretty big, the Khakis are smaller, and the Mallards are tiny compared to the other two. I have no idea if the Mallards are males or females, they never make any noise unless they are really frightened, and that almost never happens.

I find the Cayugas and Khakis to be the most friendly, but that doesn't really mean anything. It all depends on how they are raised.

 

[jmc]

Thank you again, this is great!

We have 18 mouths to feed daily here at the monastery, so we can use lots of eggs!!

I have one 36 x 36 run (1296 sq. ft.); I could poss. subdivide it.

I've read, however, that one drake for six hens is ok, so I wonder why people often seem to do 'trios' (one drake two hens) or like you mentioned Bossroo, a 'quaternery' of one drake THREE hens. Can't you be fine with the 1:6, or maybe 2:12.

We DEFINITELY want a self perpetuating flock. We have a Hovabator 1588, which I guess we'd need to use for hatching, as most duck are lousy brooders--correct (Maybe muscovies excepted..........)?


Edit: By the way, Emzzy (sp?), I've been meaning to compliment you on the names of your parakeets. That is a RIOT.

 

[conny63malies]

Quote:
it hard to incubate duck eggs, i tried twice with two 0 hatches. It would be easier to get a muscovy hen or two and whatever camphell eggs you need 2x and let the muscovies do the brooding.You always can eat some scovies sine they are great meat ducks and would love to eat ny leftover food.