Chickens vs ducks ???

[okiegirl]

We have our chicken coop almost done (about 8 x 10 slant roof sturcture) with a 4 x 10 chicken run (covered) and a large probably 20 x 50 run around area (not covered).

We want the chickens for the same reason as most; eggs and meat. Well, hubby started looking at the "cute little ducks, awww, how sweet... they are cuter than the chickens, can't we just get ducks instead?"

so my question, I read on here that ducks egss, while taste good, stink while cooking. I've also read they are fantastic for baking.
are ducks better or are chickens better? I have a small hard plastic koi pond liner that I could put in the large run around area so the ducks could have a little swim around place.

suggestions?

don't know anything about ducks, still need to do some reading. I'll probably get RIR's, Buff Orp's, Barred Rock's and possibly White Rock's, only about 5 of each.

 

[paddock36]

As far as the eggs go we really didn't notice much difference other than the shell is stronger. We ended up with two because my DS wanted a duckling and pulled on mom's heart strings to get them. The duck hens are the noisy ones instead of the males. As far as you pond idea I would use something you can empty on a regular basis because otherwise you will just have an icky, smelly duck soup pond. The fun part about ducks is the babys will imprint to you when babies and follow you all around. I think that's why my son wanted them.

 

[okiegirl]

Quote:
would it help with duck yuck in the pond by putting some fish in?

 

[squeakyballs]

Don't ducks eat fish? I might be thinking of turtles though

 

[okiegirl]

oh, I thought fish ate duck poop... ? now, you've got me wondering

 

[my1stchicks]

Ducks will eat the fish if small enough so you would have to be able to empty the pool.
I have both chickens and ducks, just got the ducks, and so far I have to say I love the ducks! They are messy though but they always look like they're smiling at me

I read that their eggs smell also but only a couple of people have said that so don't know yet.
I would just get what you really want, maybe try both.

 

[okiegirl]

is there a breed that co-exist with chickens well? and.... don't fly away.

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
I'm not sure about co-existing with chickens, but none of the domestic breeds of duck fly EXCEPT Muscovies, Hookbills, Calls, Australian Spotteds, and (correct me if I'm wrong) Black East Indies.

Which doesn't really matter because, for egg production, you'd want to go with an Indian Runner or a Campbell, which can outlay many breeds of chickens (and neither of which fly).

And I LOVE my duck eggs. I do a lot of cooking and baking, and duck eggs are a bit more oily than chicken eggs, they're thicker, and have bigger yolks. I especially like to use them in cheesecakes and quiches - or just fried with toast for breakfast!

 

[poltroon]

Our Khaki Campbells can fly, but they always just circle around and come back, and wait patiently for me to let them back in again.

We have ducks and chickens and they've shared the same run. Mostly they ignore each other.

The one suggestion I'd have is that the larger the run, the better, so that there's dry ground away from the duck pool, and to avoid feather-footed chickens if you're planning to show them.

 

[my1stchicks]

If you do get one that flys just clip it's wing, very easy to do and doesn't hurt the bird.