Chicken vs. Duck

[BantyChooks]

I don't get it...

Sorry. Ralphie is a duck hater, and would like nothing better than to get his hands on a duck's throat, lol. That picture is a duckling with its head on a railroad track, and he loves to antagonize me with it.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Sorry. Ralphie is a duck hater, and would like nothing better than to get his hands on a duck's throat, lol. That picture is a duckling with its head on a railroad track, and he loves to antagonize me with it.

Thank you. I understand now.

 

[duluthralphie]

I don't get it...

ROFL!! It is a running joke between the two of us...I love turkeys for all the obvious reason...She does not...... she loves DUX for God only know what reasons....I do not... So we "snip" at each other..All in good humor amongst friends..

 

[duluthralphie]

Sorry. he loves to antagonize me with it.

This I do...I don't hate dux. I consider them a virus to be erradicated.....like Polio!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

I have it on good authority that Ralphie loves guinea hens, and would just love the readers to send him some.

This may not be the best place to post but I didn't feel like it fit well anywhere else.

I currently have chickens. My goal is dual purpose so that we have meat and eggs with a self-sustaining goal.

Some of my research has shown that some people prefer ducks. I've never eaten a domesticated duck or duck egg. I have tried wild duck and thought it had a "gamey" taste.

If you prefer one over the other, why? If so, what breeds do you prefer? These questions refer to chickens and ducks as I'm leaning toward a hybrid chicken of my "own" creation as I add dual purpose breeds. (I'm not looking to create a breed but to eliminate inbreeding and the need for bringing in new bloodlines constantly.)

What is your general location? Can you put that in your profile? It's very helpful so folks can give climate appropriate advice. A lot depends on your climate, how much land you have available, and how much time you have available.

I have had ducks (mallards) in the past, and enjoyed them. But, I got rid of them before freezing weather set in b/c I didn't want to deal with their sloppy behavior over the winter. I love ducks, find them to be quite personable. I don't care for fried duck eggs. Find them to be rubbery. I don't bake that much. Ducks are awesome at managing slugs and snails. I've often thought that a Rent-a-Duck program would be a great money maker. (JK) They require special management: specifically, they need enough water to rinse their nares, and they are happiest if they have enough water to dibble around and swim in. I don't keep ducks because they are sloppy. If I did get ducks, I'd get Khaki Campbell or some of the newer sex linked hybrids.

Chickens: My goal is to be self sustaining with chickens: Breeding a flock which has small combs, lays colorful eggs, and has non feathered feet. I brought in a lot of breeds last spring. Should be able to sell some nice sex linked chicks from these birds, and should not need any new blood for many years to come. If you want to breed a nice hefty carcass, I suggest that you add some Dixie Rainbow aka Pioneer. These birds do well on free range, grow out to a nice size by 12 - 13 weeks, and the pullets make nice layers of huge eggs. I bought some a few years ago, and still have Pioneer blood in my gene pool.

So, a lot of your breed choice depends on your location. Warm climates: big floppy combs are fine. Cold climates: stick to pea, rose and walnut combs.

 

[duluthralphie]

I actually did love my Guineas...My neighbors did not.....Nor did the USDA vet that saw them visiting my Neighbors.. I would have had ticked off neighbors, and been kicked out of the NPIP program had I not sold my Guineas.

They were sometime aggravating..(read most the time) but always entertaining in their weird pack animal actions.


I have several people around here raising toads. We are adding a secret breed into them this year to remove the single comb. We will be going cushion comb on them. However, they are way too large for most people and the eggs are cream/brown.


BTW lazy Gardener is right. Where you live makes a huge difference on birds. Even a small micro-climate change can make a difference, the soil type and so forth.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I live in Southern Indiana. I'll see if I can update that on my profile. Thought about getting a few ducks to trial and see how they do here. I'm not really sure what kind I would want though. I do bake enough (most of the time) to use up a decent supply.

We also have show Cattle, feeder pigs, Nigerian Dwarf goats, dogs, cats, and two guides pigs.

Our kids love water and dump/play in enough most of the year to free-range ducks! Lol

We don't actually free range our poultry though due to a very prey driven rescue dog. She respects their coops and runs though.

 

[BantyChooks]

I live in Southern Indiana. I'll see if I can update that on my profile. Thought about getting a few ducks to trial and see how they do here. I'm not really sure what kind I would want though. I do bake enough (most of the time) to use up a decent supply.

We also have show Cattle, feeder pigs, Nigerian Dwarf goats, dogs, cats, and two guides pigs.

Our kids love water and dump/play in enough most of the year to free-range ducks! Lol

We don't actually free range our poultry though due to a very prey driven rescue dog. She respects their coops and runs though.

Definitely welshies... great starter ducks that rival Leghorns in their egg production and are just gorgeous to boot. Super calm too. You'll fall in love with 'em.

Ralphie will now have a panic attack... he can't stand cute.

 

[duluthralphie]

Definitely welshies... great starter ducks that rival Leghorns in their egg production and are just gorgeous to boot. Super calm too. You'll fall in love with 'em.
View attachment 1203803
Ralphie will now have a panic attack... he can't stand cute.

Nothing cute here to see...move on....