Considering ducks!

[Kristylo14]

I am seriously considering getting ducks. We already have 5 chickens (hens) and will be getting 2 more this spring. I would love to get ducks. I've done research and read about drakes and female ducks. I don't want to get too many to start with so I was considering ordering from a place that sex them beforehand so I can get 3 females. Also, because I only have female chickens and I read that that's a concern with male ducks as well??? I live in a place (upper Michigan) in which it gets down to -20⁰ in the winter and we get a LOT of snow so I know the requirement of having a protected run for them (as I do with the chickens) and for keeping a source of water for them throughout the winter.
I'm just posting to ask, if you have or have/ had ducks in the past, did you enjoy them? Were/are there certain things you do not enjoy about them?
How, in general, do they compare to owning chickens?
We have a really cool natural pond on our land that they'd be able to joy in the summer (at least and maybe in winter if we provide some man-made tool to keep it from freezing)

 

[sourland]

Ducks have great personalities and are really amusing. They can also create quite a mess, but are worth it.

 

[Kristylo14]

Ducks have great personalities and are really amusing. They can also create quite a mess, but are worth it.

We have quite a bit of land and with few ducks I'm not too worried about the mess. Our chickens are also free range so.....oh well! One of the things I love the most about our chickens is watching them be their weird selves. Thanks for the input!

 

[Canadian Wind]

As Sourland said. And yes, MESSY! Even with free-ranging, don't think of taking a walk through the grass barefoot. IF you have any grass left, lol! We didn't need to mow ours all last year. Of course, you don't usually mow mud...

I love my ducks. They are my babies and my friends. I love nothing more than sitting down (carefully to avoid poop) and watching them, letting them come over and poke at me, or even climb onto me.

They eat more than chickens, though, so consider that in your costs for them. Depending on the breed, some lay as much, or more, as chickens. And you could always get an all-female flock, as with your chickens, to avoid drake problems. There are some very pretty females (Welsh Harlequin being my favourite, after Muscovy, of course).

 

[Kristylo14]

As Sourland said. And yes, MESSY! Even with free-ranging, don't think of taking a walk through the grass barefoot. IF you have any grass left, lol! We didn't need to mow ours all last year. Of course, you don't usually mow mud...

I love my ducks. They are my babies and my friends. I love nothing more than sitting down (carefully to avoid poop) and watching them, letting them come over and poke at me, or even climb onto me.

They eat more than chickens, though, so consider that in your costs for them. Depending on the breed, some lay as much, or more, as chickens. And you could always get an all-female flock, as with your chickens, to avoid drake problems. There are some very pretty females (Welsh Harlequin being my favourite, after Muscovy, of course).

Thank you! I'm really looking for the resons why I should or shouldn't get ducks at this point. And just general advice with the fun and the struggles of raising them. I really appreciate your insight. We have about 40 acres of land that is for the most part (as in the pond area) fields. I know the yard won't be off limits to my free ranging ducks and chickens but I'm guessing they will prefer the fields (and garden area lol ) for the most part. My dogs and kids will be dominating the the yard areas. The dogs have accepted the chickens as our outdoor family and won't bother them at all (except for eating their poop).

 

[Yardmom]

Ducks can be harder to get in at night, especially when a pond is involved. Special food at night can help encourage them to come in.

 

[Kristylo14]

Ducks can be harder to get in at night, especially when a pond is involved. Special food at night can help encourage them to come in.

Thanks! I read about that too. I figure I'll have to implement a little training into that process and maybe some strategically angled run?

 

[ruthhope]

Ducks don't scratch up the ground like chickens do. They just stomp around and create mud when it rains or round their water. Duck poop is less offensive than chicken poop and doesnt have to be composted before putting it on your veggie patch or your rose garden.

If they are to mix with your chickens you must not have an adult drake. Any ducklings that turn out to be male will hsve to be rehomed before they are 20 weeks old. Ducks have opinions on matters such as going into their coop and might go in like clockwork for weeks, then suddenly one decides no they are not going in at night. I have found that reluctance to go in at night is generally an indication that the reluctant one is being bullied. So then I partition a safe place for reluctant one or put a dog crate for the reluctant one to sleep in. That has always resolved difficulty getting my ducks or my son's ducks in their coop at night.

 

[Kristylo14]

I am seriously considering getting ducks. We already have 5 chickens (hens) and will be getting 2 more this spring. I would love to get ducks. I've done research and read about drakes and female ducks. I don't want to get too many to start with so I was considering ordering from a place that sex them beforehand so I can get 3 females. Also, because I only have female chickens and I read that that's a concern with male ducks as well??? I live in a place (upper Michigan) in which it gets down to -20⁰ in the winter and we get a LOT of snow so I know the requirement of having a protected run for them (as I do with the chickens) and for keeping a source of water for them throughout the winter.
I'm just posting to ask, if you have or have/ had ducks in the past, did you enjoy them? Were/are there certain things you do not enjoy about them?
How, in general, do they compare to owning chickens?
We have a really cool natural pond on our land that they'd be able to joy in the summer (at least and maybe in winter if we provide some man-made tool to keep it from freezing)

Please let me know if I am going into this with an abstract sense of how it will be with chickens + ducks! I'm into all the pros ans cons.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I think what you see as cons really depends on your own personality. For example, I have a cousin who hates ducks because of the mess. I love my ducks and I find them less messy than my chickens because I have got how I water them without it being messy down. I take two gallon buckets and for awhile I had them on foot trays, but I found that I like the round rubber feed tubs as tractor supply better for the higher rim. Set the 2 gallon bucket inside the rubber tub and the tub catches everything they splash out for the most part. I also like to layer pine pellets under their pine shavings because the pellets are awesome at absorbing moisture. Outside I made a small pond for them so that takes care of swimming. I also think with ducks the more coop space you can provide the better.