Ducks or Chickens?

[debilorrah]

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QUIET???? Good grief woman, they are "call" ducks for a reason. They are loud enough for other ducks to hear and lure them in for hunters.

 

[debilorrah]

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Brooding ducklings is FAR messier than chicks. Adults not so much, at least not that I notice and we have 12 ducks. The babies are messy because they are in a brooder and they alternate eating and drinking. Eat, drink, eat drink, eat, drink, so the food and water gets all over the place, along with the poop which is bigger.

12 sq ft? No more than 3 medium sized ducks.

 

[JulieNKC]

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They need some sort of water dish deep enough to stick their bills in up to their nostrils, and be prepared to change it a lot. They will have it muddy and gross within hours, at most. I'm not sure what the official size requirements are, but they like to wander around very much. Is the 12 square foot space only for at night?

lol, well, i'm sure i could work with muddy waterers

Yes, besides for laying eggs, they probably won't use the coop except to sleep at night. which brings me to another question; do they need perches?

how affectionate are ducks usually?

Mine sleep on the floor of the chicken coop. I read somewhere that muscovies may use a roost, but not the mallard derived ducks. Mine will come up to me for treats, but won't come closer than a few feet. They hate being touched. 2 were brooder raised, 1 by it's momma. None of them will let me pet them, they'll come close to eating out of my hand but that's about it. If you want friendly, I'd go with chickens.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

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QUIET???? Good grief woman, they are "call" ducks for a reason. They are loud enough for other ducks to hear and lure them in for hunters.

Lmao! Maybe it's all in how you look at it? To me, I don't hear so well. Quiet to me!

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

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QUIET???? Good grief woman, they are "call" ducks for a reason. They are loud enough for other ducks to hear and lure them in for hunters.

Lmao! Maybe it's all in how you look at it? To me, I don't hear so well. Quiet to me!

You guys crack me up!

 

[Chickenrandomness]

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lol, well, i'm sure i could work with muddy waterers

Yes, besides for laying eggs, they probably won't use the coop except to sleep at night. which brings me to another question; do they need perches?

how affectionate are ducks usually?

Mine sleep on the floor of the chicken coop. I read somewhere that muscovies may use a roost, but not the mallard derived ducks. Mine will come up to me for treats, but won't come closer than a few feet. They hate being touched. 2 were brooder raised, 1 by it's momma. None of them will let me pet them, they'll come close to eating out of my hand but that's about it. If you want friendly, I'd go with chickens.

you ducks sound like the 2 broods of chickens i've had! none of them liked me very much. i actually got my second brood to eat treast out of my hand! but that was it

 

[duckluv]

Depending on the breed and how much time you spend with them as ducklings, they can be quite calm. My two calls, who I got as month-olds, are still a bit skittish but will hop into my lap to get some peas if I sit there quietly for a while, along with following me around the yard.
Pekins (which can be found at most feed stores) are a fairly calm breed, as are most large ducks bred for meat.
Most ducks don't need roosts - heck, most domestics can't even fly.
As for the mess...ducks are food-flinging, extreme pooping, mud-making, water-spilling creatures. To make up for it, most have far better foraging ability, lay larger eggs (the breeds bred for egg-production outlaying chickens), and are much more hardy than chickens.

 

[Chickenrandomness]

i'm looking at pekins and khaki campbells

i'm probably going to get 4, or at least en out with 4; 1 campbell drake, one campbell hen, and two pekin hens

does that sound ok?