Cleanest Duck Breed (Is There Such a Thing?)

[laughingdog]

My mallard breed ducks are very aggressive and attack my chooks as much as can catch and corner, same they do to scovy that are three times sizes. your chook breeds you have will attack your ducks. at best you'll need better bigger area for both to accommodate ducks. why not just simple seperate pen, especially if mallard types (they just need feeder and waterers made of milk jugs , holes in just so large so ducks can get head in do drink n clean head and not tossand play/bath). you'll find ducks so much simple and easier than chooks. mine have no pens or fences, just bushes and my also loose dogs to protect etc (my animals axtually completely free to come and go no fences, just a busy hwy they were taught not to go on, but ducks do fly over).

 

[Learningstill]

So I'm hoping to get some ducks in the near future, and am trying to figure out what breeds would be good for me...

I love the faces of the muscovies, and the runners are absolutely adorable, but I plan to keep the ducks with my chickens, so it would be nice if I could avoid a total mess. I only plan on getting two or three ducks at most, but I was wondering if anyone who had experience with different ducks knew of a breed that seemed to make smaller messes...

The four things I'm looking for in ducks:

1. Cleaner. From what I hear, ducks are notoriously messy, so if I can, I'd like to avoid the messiest breeds...

2. Soft feathers. I've pet a couple of ducks, and they've always felt so soft, which is part of the reason why I want to get ducks. If the breed has soft feathers, it's a definite plus!

3. Something odd about their appearance is always a plus (Muscovies have the red faces, and runners stand up straight. My favorite chickens include araucanas, who have no tails, and modern game bantams, who look like raptor-birds... I'd like ducks that fit in with my misfit chickens)

4. Nice temperament. I love my chickens, so I want to know that any ducks I put in with them won't cause my birds too much trouble.

Any tips on what breeds would best fit my coop?  Thank you very much for your time!

I'll take a stab at these standards... We have mallard, campbell, saxony, welsh harlequin, and appleyard. (Excluded are our appleyards as they are still babies)

1. I am not sure what your standards are for cleanliness, but if you are thinking water mess we have noticed that our welsh, khaki, and saxony are not as big on swimming as our mallards. However, some individuals like the water more than their same breed buddies. As far as poop, they stay on the ground, so there is never poop on things unlike our chickens tendency to climb on things and decorate. . Their poop is more liquid like, so it washes away quicker than the chicken. They do not dig in the ground like chickens, but they will use their bills in muddy or puddled areas and disturb the ground that way. They remove flies, slugs, etc from your yard which makes me feel better

2. I think every breed has silky feathers, because they use oil from their oil gland to keep them that way.

3. Dutch hook bills have the most funky bill. Saxony kinda have a strange bill like the hook bill, but not as dramatic. Cayugas have black-green feathers. Many breeds can have crests which are little poof balls on top of their heads. Welsh babies can be sexed the first days of life by their bill color.

4. As far as temperament, the all the breeds we have are sweet natured. However, there always is a drake which is more aggressive than another of the same breed. I would have to say that our campbell drakes are the biggest horn balls of them all. The saxony and appleyards are a heavyweight bird, so probably would not be the best risk to take with your chickens.

Personally, I would choose the welsh harlequins.

 

[Janel Dykstra]

I'm hoping to start 15 chicks and 4 or 6 ducks in a 98 square foot shelter, 1,250 square foot run, with free range time at the end of the day on the mowed half of our 3 acres, which is near our wilderness with a 6 inch wide creek (weasle risk). I'm avoiding all roosters and drakes, because roosters could kill a neighbor kid (or just generally attack people), and drakes kill chicken hens because of their corkscrew (one love encounter will kill a chicken).

Barred (Plymouth Rock), Wyandotte, Australorp, Brahama, possibly Barnevelder are calm chickens I'd like to try, a couple (or three of some) each. Rhode Island Red and Welsummer chickens are less docile, but I would like to try 2 or 3 each, if possible.

I would like cuddliest, best egg-laying pet ducks possible. I know ducks are more individualistic so it's hard to tell, but I would like to make sure my ducks are no so high strung as to make it difficult to integrate. If they are loud at night, will that stress the chickens out? Will it hurt their health? Or is this something people do all the time and is ok? What breeds do you recommend?

Also, is it important like with chickens that ducks not be broody if you want them for just eggs?

 

[SolarDuck]

I'm hoping to start 15 chicks and 4 or 6 ducks in a 98 square foot shelter, 1,250 square foot run, with free range time at the end of the day on the mowed half of our 3 acres, which is near our wilderness with a 6 inch wide creek (weasle risk). I'm avoiding all roosters and drakes, because roosters could kill a neighbor kid (or just generally attack people), and drakes kill chicken hens because of their corkscrew (one love encounter will kill a chicken).

Barred (Plymouth Rock), Wyandotte, Australorp, Brahama, possibly Barnevelder are calm chickens I'd like to try, a couple (or three of some) each. Rhode Island Red and Welsummer chickens are less docile, but I would like to try 2 or 3 each, if possible.

I would like cuddliest, best egg-laying pet ducks possible. I know ducks are more individualistic so it's hard to tell, but I would like to make sure my ducks are no so high strung as to make it difficult to integrate. If they are loud at night, will that stress the chickens out? Will it hurt their health? Or is this something people do all the time and is ok? What breeds do you recommend?

Also, is it important like with chickens that ducks not be broody if you want them for just eggs?

I have Muscovy ducks and mine are very cuddly, I wouldn't say they are the best egg layers out of any duck but they are pretty good for eggs, and I don't think loud quacking would really bother your chickens, but Muscovy ducks do not quack and are quite quiet so you wouldn't have to worry about it.
Some duck breeds that a lot of people get if they are getting ducks exclusively for eggs are Golden 300, Khaki Campbell, and Welsh Harlequin, as breeds like this lay A LOT of eggs.