Ducks or Chickens? Pros/Cons

[animalsRawesome]

Quote: What has ya un-sure? Maybe I or someone else could reply to your worries... I have chickens, and used to have ducks. I won't be biased, I promise

 

[blondiebee181]

Honestly I think it comes down to how much time you have and how many you want. If you only want a few ducks, they probably aren't going to cause you that much more stress than chickens other than the fact that you do have to be mindful of the water phenomenon.....otherwise their care and maintenance is basically the same and as long as you only get a few, you can even brood them together as chicks. When they are adults, however, they must both at least have seperate housing even if they share a run. As I said before, I only have 2 and they are easy to care for, but they do require lots of water, and good drainage so you avoid muddy messes but they live with my chickens, share a run, go to their own house at night, eat the same food, adn are wonderfully entertaining.

Also as with all things new...learning is a process that no amount of discussion can ever fully prepare you for. My advice would be to dive in and try a couple. If you like them, you can always add a couple more....

 

[mjanderson437]

So I've read through this thread and have a question. Don't yell at me, I'm just asking... does anyone have a large enough pond that they just let their ducks be loose always rather than penning them at night? Or does it depend on the duck breed - are some more 'wild' and better at this type of survival? We have 2 ponds totalling about 6 acres. We have had mallards for 13 years now and last year was the first time we had to get more since the original group. We feed them but other than that, they are on their own. While I'm sure there are some losses, we have never had the entire group decimated. Just curious.

 

[blondiebee181]

I've heard equal pros and cons to this arguement. I personally would not because I do not want to risk losing any myself, but some people are okay with survival of the fittest. It also depends on how many ducks you plan to have on the pond...and what kind of predators you have. As to good breeds other than mallards, I think most ducks will take to the water in defense, it is an instinct. Even mine would run to their kiddie pool this summer when one of the chickens would deide to chase her.

 

[Adorkable]

The ducklings definitely went up on the cute-o-meter when I started putting them in the bathtub at 3 days old

. Again they are a LOT more work then baby chicks. I thought starting with 6 ducklings wouldn't be too much, but boy was I wrong! 6 is definitely way too much for me... I should have started with 3 or 4.

Chicks pretty much take care of themselves as long as you keep feed and water in front of them and keep piling on fresh bedding when it gets too mucky. They scratch in the bedding and stir it up for you which keeps the smell down quite a bit. Ducks make a HUGE mess with their water. It seems like they just sit at the waterer and play with it. They take some water out and drop it right in front of the waterer just to make a mess lol. Ducks are also 2x as big as chicks (the same age) so that means their poops are bigger as well. Their poop is also very wet and the pine shavings (which is what I use as bedding) get matted down and it's a pain to keep clean and dry

. Honestly my 6 ducklings are in a 5 1/2 x 2 1/2 foot brooder, and I have to clean it 2-4 times a day and change their water several (at least 4) times a day. I have already gone through almost 18 cubic feet of pine shavings in 3 1/2 weeks!

If you don't have a lot of time (or resources) to dedicate to them while you are brooding I would have to recommend chicks, but if you don't mind being a slave to them then try 3 or 4 ducklings lol.

As far as when they are full grown I can't speak on that yet because I don't have any full grown ducks. However, I think if you really REALLY want ducklings and you love them enough then it becomes a labor of love and is definitely worth giving them a try. Just know that it will be a LOT of work and they are totally dependent on YOU to keep their home clean and keep em in fresh food and water! They thank me everytime they see my head peeking into the brooder and they look at me like this:

 

[triplepurpose]

So I've read through this thread and have a question. Don't yell at me, I'm just asking... does anyone have a large enough pond that they just let their ducks be loose always rather than penning them at night? Or does it depend on the duck breed - are some more 'wild' and better at this type of survival? We have 2 ponds totalling about 6 acres. We have had mallards for 13 years now and last year was the first time we had to get more since the original group. We feed them but other than that, they are on their own. While I'm sure there are some losses, we have never had the entire group decimated. Just curious.

Muscovies are ideal for that type of situation, especially if you live in a warm climate (Muscovies are a tropical/subtropical duck unrelated to all other domestic ducks and without as much insulation). See this article: http://journeytoforever.org/farm_poultry.html. They are savvy and self-reliant and adults can fly to escape predators, like wild mallards, which is something most domestic ducks cannot do. Muscovies have not been overbred and are very similar to their wild ancestors. They can reproduce very well entirely on their own. This means that they hide their eggs well, just like wild bird, so good luck if you want them as laying ducks, but the ducklings grow very fast and make a fabulous meat birds at 3 months old. They are actually so adaptible and resilient that they can be a feral nuisance in some places--so if you do let yours roam freely, please be responsible about it. And if you are going to keep ducks and a drake together be prepared to deal with the results (eating them or selling ducklings)--I got my original ducklings for free from a grateful couple who started with three pet ducks roaming their property and were overrun with over fifty ducks of all ages after two years! However, all of this is a blessing to those looking for a self-reliant, sustainable, delicious meat bird.

We love our muscovies. Ours roam freely most of the day, on most days, and forage a lot, and get fed greens and fruit in addition to pellets, keeping feeding costs very reasonable. The only thing that keeps me from letting them just roam freely all the time is the need to keep them out of our extensive commercial vegetable gardens, and the traffic in the driveway on CSA pickup day. If I had more open acreage with a stream or pond, fewer neighbors, and better protected gardens I wouldn't pen them at all and never have to clean a pen or fill a water tub again, and feed them a handful of pellets once a day, just enough to keep them hanging around.

 

[blondiebee181]

The ducklings definitely went up on the cute-o-meter when I started putting them in the bathtub at 3 days old

. Again they are a LOT more work then baby chicks. I thought starting with 6 ducklings wouldn't be too much, but boy was I wrong! 6 is definitely way too much for me... I should have started with 3 or 4.

Chicks pretty much take care of themselves as long as you keep feed and water in front of them and keep piling on fresh bedding when it gets too mucky. They scratch in the bedding and stir it up for you which keeps the smell down quite a bit. Ducks make a HUGE mess with their water. It seems like they just sit at the waterer and play with it. They take some water out and drop it right in front of the waterer just to make a mess lol. Ducks are also 2x as big as chicks (the same age) so that means their poops are bigger as well. Their poop is also very wet and the pine shavings (which is what I use as bedding) get matted down and it's a pain to keep clean and dry

. Honestly my 6 ducklings are in a 5 1/2 x 2 1/2 foot brooder, and I have to clean it 2-4 times a day and change their water several (at least 4) times a day. I have already gone through almost 18 cubic feet of pine shavings in 3 1/2 weeks!

If you don't have a lot of time (or resources) to dedicate to them while you are brooding I would have to recommend chicks, but if you don't mind being a slave to them then try 3 or 4 ducklings lol.

As far as when they are full grown I can't speak on that yet because I don't have any full grown ducks. However, I think if you really REALLY want ducklings and you love them enough then it becomes a labor of love and is definitely worth giving them a try. Just know that it will be a LOT of work and they are totally dependent on YOU to keep their home clean and keep em in fresh food and water! They thank me everytime they see my head peeking into the brooder and they look at me like this:

AWWWWW!!!!!

Yeah, you are brave getting 6 at once....I only got 2 and they were plenty of work to keep mommy busy, lol. I will give you a couple tips that helped...elevate their water if you can and set it inside another larger container that can catch the liquid that spills out their bills when they dabble, and this wull cut down on some wetness. Also, axe those pine shavings, they are worthless in my opinion, and start using wood pellets. They aren't any more expensive (I don't think) and waaay more absorbent ergo less smelly.

 

[Adorkable]

AWWWWW!!!!!

Yeah, you are brave getting 6 at once....I only got 2 and they were plenty of work to keep mommy busy, lol. I will give you a couple tips that helped...elevate their water if you can and set it inside another larger container that can catch the liquid that spills out their bills when they dabble, and this wull cut down on some wetness. Also, axe those pine shavings, they are worthless in my opinion, and start using wood pellets. They aren't any more expensive (I don't think) and waaay more absorbent ergo less smelly.

Thanks so much for the tips blondie!

I think I've got the water management under control. I'm using an old plastic coffee container inside of a rubbermaid container to catch the water. It's working out pretty well. Only thing is that I have to refill it several times a day which doesn't really bother me too much being that I have a lot of time to dedicate to them so I pretty much stalk them all day.. think I have a picture. Ah yes here they are having 'coffee' with me in the morning lol.



I agree that the shavings are useless for ducks. They work well for chicks from my experience. Hmm I'm not familiar with wood pellets, so I had to look them up. Is that the same thing they use as pellet fuel? They won't try to eat them? Where can i buy them? Sorry for all the questions, but yah i'm a duck newbie lol.


EDIT:
Did a bit more research and found out that Equine fresh is what I should be looking for, and I can buy them at Orscheln and Atwood farm stores. Definitely will be giving them a try next time we go to Orscheln. Thanks again Blondie!

 

[blondiebee181]

Thanks so much for the tips blondie!

I think I've got the water management under control. I'm using an old plastic coffee container inside of a rubbermaid container to catch the water. It's working out pretty well. Only thing is that I have to refill it several times a day which doesn't really bother me too much being that I have a lot of time to dedicate to them so I pretty much stalk them all day.. think I have a picture. Ah yes here they are having 'coffee' with me in the morning lol.



I agree that the shavings are useless for ducks. They work well for chicks from my experience. Hmm I'm not familiar with wood pellets, so I had to look them up. Is that the same thing they use as pellet fuel? They won't try to eat them? Where can i buy them? Sorry for all the questions, but yah i'm a duck newbie lol.


EDIT:
Did a bit more research and found out that Equine fresh is what I should be looking for, and I can buy them at Orscheln and Atwood farm stores. Definitely will be giving them a try next time we go to Orscheln. Thanks again Blondie!

No probs! Yeah, you want the horse-stall type pellets, not the stove burning kind. They use them alot as small animal bedding like rabbit and guinea pig, I love it. I used a cardboard box as a brooder and lined it with a black garbage sack, so changing th litter is a little easier when al you have to do is gather the litter up in the center of the sack and then dump it ( i compost it, because it is great on the garden)

 

[Ali707]

What has ya un-sure? Maybe I or someone else could reply to your worries... I have chickens, and used to have ducks. I won't be biased, I promise

I am a little unsure with raising the chickens and ducks together, with separate sleeping areas, and about the noise. I would like to get female ducks so that I can have benefit of the eggs, but everyone says how loud they can be especially the females. Since I will have chickens (hens only), I don't really want to deal with a drake harassing the hens. There seems to be a training period with the ducks to put themselves to bed at night. We have a lot of night time predators, and it also seems like I should get three and not just two. In case something happens to one.....? They seem to get really lonely from other stories I have read.

I was leaning towards Cayugas but then thought well maybe I will get them later after I get the chickens all settled in, but some have said that raising duckling and chicks together will allow better integration of the two.

I know me and I will eventually get them noise or not, but would it be better to get them now and raise them together? Or does it not really matter much one way or the other?