Comparing ducks to chickens... like apples to oranges?

[TracyLovesDucks]

Hey everyone. I am very curious to hear your thoughts on keeping ducks vs. chickens (vs. both if you want to go there). I have never kept chickens, and I've only had my ducks for 1 month. Sometimes I wonder if ducks are higher maintenance because of their water needs... also mine are sooo mischievous. And then I go on to wonder if ducks have bigger personalities than chickens, or if it's just that I've never gotten to know a chicken. Just some silly ponderings. So what do you all think?

 

[Blacksmithchic]

I have seven millie d'uccle chickens, two Cayuga ducks and four Indian Runner ducks. They are mostly apples and oranges in my opinion.

Ducks are very hardy, they don't typically need heat lamps in most climates. They can survive on grass and bugs, with little other feed necessary (although I spoil my ducks and chickens with a very wide diet: brewer's yeast, granite grit, free access to fresh grass and fresh bugs, layer feed for the birds who are laying eggs, flockraiser, un-medicated sratch, and dried mealworms). I keep them in their own, low-built houses every night, and I keep the two breeds in separate houses because they have very different temperaments and wouldn't get along in a confined space. They have a kidie pool to swim in, drown parasites, and clean out their nostrils (important to avoid pneumonia and infections). Many duck breeds (and some chicken breeds) do not brood - they won't sit on a nest of eggs.

Chickens, on the other hand, have very different needs. I keep a light on for them in winter; they are less reistant to the cold than ducks. Ducks have more insulation (since they spend most of their time in the water). Chickens are more susceptible to diseases and parasites, and you should provide a sandbox for them to bathe in to strip parasites off their feathers. They do not require a pool. Their food requirements are different too: many chicken feeds are pre-medicated, so you never want to let a duck eat chicken feed (this means you should never keep ducks and chickens together: you don't want the ducks eating medicated chicken food, and you don't want the chickens to transfer any parasites to the ducks). The chickens do not need brewer's yeast. You will probably have to provide some kind of parasite management at some point; I use a liquid spray I got from the feed store to spray the coop when I clean it out. I do not use poultry dust because it's a harmful chemical to pretty much all forms of life, and toxifies drinking water if it gets in the ground (and we're on a well, so there's no way I'll use that nasty stuff)...plus, if I wouldn't want it in my drinking water, why would I put it on my chickens?

In terms of personality, I've found chickens to be more skittish than ducks...most of that can be alleviated by spending many many hours with them when they are young, and associating your presence with food. With ducks, it really depends on the breed, and the level of attention you give them when they are young...my Indian Runners act like chickens: everything is an emercency to them, everything scares them. The Cayugas are opposite...I can walk up to them and pick them up no problem. I raised all of them from very young babies, but they have very different personalities. Both fit in on my small farm...the chickens wander out in the pasture keeping the sheep company, and the ducks hang out near the house and waddle about entertaining us.

 

[TLWR]

I have 5 ducks, 3 chickens and 2 new ducklings.
We had some crazy weather this morning. Once the storm was done, I went into our back yard (aka river and lakes) and took the 2 new ducklings with me. I walked through the rivers and lakes in the yard and they followed and stopped to play in the deeper ones. Then I scooped them up and put them at the top of a river.... and watched them float down LOL
They were having fun. I was enjoying watching.

And a soaking wet chicken walked over. I scooped her up and I don't think she would have enjoyed the river run nearly as much as the ducklings were.

The ducks... they were out in a much deeper puddle that they can swim in when it rains that hard.

We get 5-8 eggs a day. There are 2 of us. Way more eggs than we can eat. I brought home 2 more ducklings this year because I really like my ducks. I like my chickens too, but to me, the ducks seem to have more fun.

 

[MIster Ducker]

Ducks are my favorite in terms of personality. They are also hardier than chickens, lay bigger eggs, look to you if they are used to you and, they will follow you if they know you. Funny little animals, huh?
Just curious, but what kind do you have?

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

I brought home 2 more ducklings this year because I really like my ducks. I like my chickens too, but to me, the ducks seem to have more fun.

Cute ending

Ducks are my favorite in terms of personality. They are also hardier than chickens, lay bigger eggs, look to you if they are used to you and, they will follow you if they know you. Funny little animals, huh?
Just curious, but what kind do you have?

I have four fawn and white Indian Runners (about 5 weeks old). They are so great! When I go out to visit them, they get so excited and run laps around me. I hunch down to greet them and they nibble at my hair and any zippers that are on my clothes. They let me scratch their bellies and get right up into my face. And when they are preening, they'll actually let me stretch out their wings and touch their feet. I'm in love

Haha, I never expected myself to be writing with such affection about ducks!

What kind do you have? And are you as obsessed as me?

 

[foothillsco]

I have a beautiful green grass yard in the suburbs. I love my yard and keep it very nice. Ducks don't ruin my yard. They just fertilize all over it.

A neighbor had 4 chickens "free range" in her yard and it was completely dirt by the end of the summer.

This was my reason for ducks.

 

[Blacksmithchic]

I'm curious, did you raise them outside from the start? What kind of living set-up do you have (house? pool? types of food?) I'm surprised that they are so affectionate, in my experience (and everywhere I've read about them) they are typically more skittish/neurotic

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

We got them from a friend who accidently let their pair's eggs go too long... they were about 1 week then. Their brooder was in our living room for about 2 or 3 weeks, and my boyfriend and I talked and sang to them a lot. We also took them out and played with them a couple times a week. Then just two weeks ago we moved them outside into an 8'x8' barn. I visit them in the morning to take them breakfast salad, freshen their water, and refill their crumble. Then, I visit them again after work to make sure they have enough fresh water and food to get them through the night. Even though they are growing so fast, they're still babies without a real duck mom, so they get a little extra TLC. I'm sad to say I've only been able to give them bath time once a week, but that's all I have time for and the weather is a bit chilly and windy still. So they have imprinted on us a good deal. Haha, and me on them.

On the downside, I think they are going to be pretty loud

. Also, we don't know sexes yet... one is for sure a female because she is honking/quacking and I've noticed a second one doing the same. Maybe 2 boys and 2 girls? Which I think could work out. I'm hoping for 3 girls and 1 boy.

On the other hand, the duck pair that these babies came from are a bit skittish... and the male is very protective of his duck; he can get a little aggressive (charging at people and nipping at the family dog). It will be interesting to see how the third generation behaves towards us.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

I have a beautiful green grass yard in the suburbs. I love my yard and keep it very nice. Ducks don't ruin my yard. They just fertilize all over it.

A neighbor had 4 chickens "free range" in her yard and it was completely dirt by the end of the summer.

This was my reason for ducks.

Good point! If you have a nice yard or a garden, ducks would be more gentle and helpful.

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

In my experience it does not matter the breed of ducks but how you treat them and how much time you spend with them. I have many different breeds and my runners have always been just as friendly and in some cases more friendly. I spend time with them every day and they love eating from my hands and getting pet. Same with my chickens.

Ducks make a bigger mess but chickens make a more permanent mess. Ducks just get every thing muddy ant that dries up but chickens dig and scratch our yard. I will always have both because they are great in different ways.