Are ducks more or less work than chickens?

[Chubbicthe2nd]

My husband wants to get ducks. Right now we just have heritage chickens that free range and are very little trouble. I was wondering how much work are ducks by comparison?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ducks are messy, on both ends. Be prepared for that. Everything will be wet, and water has to be changed daily, sometimes multiple times. Bedding will be wet, ground will be mucked up. I personally think they are more work. A couple can be okay, but more than 2-3 you need to be sure you can accommodate them, and have enough room for them.

 

[Jenbirdee]

yes, they are messier and wetter, but they are worth it. And in someways, they are much easier for nine years of ducks. I haven’t had to deal with any kind of parasites, but two years of chickens and I had to learn about dusting with Permethrin and deworming and bumble foot surgery, etc

 

[Jenbirdee]

Oh, by the way, if you do get ducks, and you put them together with your chickens be forewarned - one Drake needs five girl ducks, and even then he will sometimes mount a chicken which will severely injure or kill a chicken ducks have equipment that roosters don’t

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I know I am going against the grain here, but from my experience it all depends on how you manage them. I think where people get messy duck issues is kind of the same frame of mind people have with pigs being dirty. Pigs actually are very clean animals, but people put them in a pig pen that’s too tiny, dump scrap foods into the mud and don’t clean things then they wonder why the pigs stink. On the other hand pigs when give proper space and pasture are no dirtier than any other livestock. For me my ducks are less work than chickens because their poop is wet so I don’t have big duck poops sitting around my lawn like with the chickens. They also can’t jump up on things and poop like chickens do. For waterers I use a 2 gallon bucket from tractor supply and set it in a rubber feed pan. The rubber tub catches any water they splash and it’s easy to dump. I even keep it in my coop and paired with the pine pellet bedding (absorbs liquid) I don’t have wet messy bedding issues my coop is actually very dry. You can use a kiddie pool if you want, short stock tank or make a little pond for them to swim in. I use the duck poop water to water my garden so there is no waste. Duck poop isn’t like chicken poop where it needs to compost for awhile. I have a little pond that I bought a small utility pump for and all I do is set the pump in the pond with the end of the hose in the garden. You can use the pump to drain a kiddie pool or whatever you like. I have already drained the duck water into a water tank by putting the pump hose in then used the water to water my lawn. It’s super easy if you do it right.

Bucket I use:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fortiflex-flat-back-bucket-2-gal-capacity
Rubber pan I keep it in:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/double-tuf-rubber-pan-with-handles-3-gal
Utility pump I use:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...3BXG4qc_42vwXe3yFS5OGfkksbCF3b2QaAtLoEALw_wcB

Pine pellet bedding I use:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My muscovy are free range. They still mess up the water buckets daily, and they do roost, so they can leave piles that are slippery when stepped in. I did keep mallard based ducks many years ago. They were about the same degree of messiness because they were confined to a run. It does depend on how you keep them. Where I just keep chickens I can just top off the water buckets. With ducks I have to dump and wash them daily.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

My muscovy are free range. They still mess up the water buckets daily, and they do roost, so they can leave piles that are slippery when stepped in. I did keep mallard based ducks many years ago. They were about the same degree of messiness because they were confined to a run. It does depend on how you keep them. Where I just keep chickens I can just top off the water buckets. With ducks I have to dump and wash them daily.

I’m on the other end of the spectrum where I only have mallard derived breeds. I use well water so I dump everyone’s waterers daily including the chickens otherwise a an orange film from the iron builds up quickly. Dumping the buckets and scrubbing them is not anything extra for me chore wise. I free range the ducks and with my setup I have had multiple people who had chickens prior comment on how clean my ducks are compared to their chickens.

 

[p4PaDuck x2]

My husband wants to get ducks. Right now we just have heritage chickens that free range and are very little trouble. I was wondering how much work are ducks by comparison?

Get ducks they are the sweetest things and they make a mess with water and poo a lot but I have found the following

They never get worms
Very unlikely they get dieseases
Make less feed mess
Way friendlier
Males are more gentle than roosters
to the hens
Eggs are healthier
Vey consistent laying patterns
Very good layers

 

[p4PaDuck x2]

the pros by far out weigh the cons

 

[McChooky]

Run water lines out to their pen or be prepared to carry water all day. (Most if us don't have a pond!) They're also harder to protect than chickens be forewarned (hence the phrase they're "sitting ducks")