Best duck breeds for garden?

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Hi everyone!

I am planning on getting 3-4 ducks this spring. I am wondering, what is the best/your favorite duck breeds? I know this will depend on my personal needs, so I will give a bit of info on our situation. We live in Maine, so it can get pretty cold.

I am mostly getting them to let into the garden to keep slugs and snails down. So what breeds are good foragers?

Thanks!

 

[Isadora]

Indian runners are excellent foragers.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Indian runners are excellent foragers.

I read “foragers” as “fingers”

 

[SilverBirds]

Runners are known for being great foragers.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Yardmom]

Runners are also more on the skittish side as well. Anconas are calmer and good foragers. I personally try to keep my ducks away from my garden as they can also it the vegetables. They will quickly clear any and all ripe tomatoes.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Hi everyone!

I am planning on getting 3-4 ducks this spring. I am wondering, what is the best/your favorite duck breeds? I know this will depend on my personal needs, so I will give a bit of info on our situation. We live in Maine, so it can get pretty cold.

I am mostly getting them to let into the garden to keep slugs and snails down. So what breeds are good foragers?

Thanks!

What do you plan on having in your garden?

I have a fence around my garden and don’t let them in during garden season, just late fall to early spring. Depending on what you’re gonna have you may need to have some kind of protection around certain things. My ducks looooooove using my berry beds as literally beds. You also probably won’t want to let them in your garden until things are bigger and more established. Ducks are clumsy and wether it’s on purpose or not will stomp or lay on anything. Mine have snuck in while everything is large and flourishing and didn’t do too much damage.

I have heard that runners are great foragers. I don’t have any of those, I have pekin, khaki, welshie, cayuga and saxony and they’ll all seem to love foraging. They’re all also cold hearty. In my opinion/experience you can’t go wrong with any kind of ducks you choose.

 

[Candyjablonski]

Indian runners are excellent foragers.

I have those and they are great foragers!