Ducks vs chickens

[katemary63]

This is how we raise our ducklings. We keep them in a horse stall. We free feed them for the first 4 weeks. Then, we only feed them twice daily, and only out of our hands. We walk into the stall with a bucket of feed, call, "quack quack duck!", squat down and scoop some feed into our hands and offer it. They eat till they are full. Then we do it again in the evening. By the time your ducklings are 8 weeks old, they will be used to running to you if you have a feed bucket and call to them. Then we start letting them out into the barn yard during the day and calling them to their stall at night with the bucket. This makes for very docile ducks that will eat out of your hand for life. At least, most of them. Yes, it is a lot of work, but we enjoy them so much more when they are raised this way.

 

[Omniskies]

After a bad storm we had out here that caused us to lose virtually all of our chicks, I'm rapidly becoming a fan of raising ducks. The next 12 months will be the Year of the Duck and we'll see how eventful it is. In the meantime, these are my reasons for promoting ducks and geese for hobby farms:

1. Ducks are a lot more disease and parasite resistant than chickens. After the first few weeks of life, they are exceptionally hardy.

2. They require a heat lamp and brooder for a lot less time than a baby chick. This makes raising them less risky and less expensive in terms of electricity.

3. In gardens, ducks provide a cheap means of bug control. They love slugs, snails, Japanese beetles, and anything else that happens to crawl their way. If you want to keep your garden bug free - and your yard tick free - get ducks (I still wholeheartedly recommend coupling them with geese for a week-and-bug free garden

. You just can't appreciate your yard until you're able to sprawl out in the grass without worrying about things crawling on you.

4. You also have the added benefit of making "duck tea." Ducks make a mess out of their water, which works to your benefit if you have a garden of any sort (or even have a lawn

. Siphon out the water and spray it on your garden or lawn. Your plants will love you for it. Instant liquid-fertilizer. And it's free.

5. Like geese, ducks can be live-harvested for their down. They're a little more skittish, but the same principles apply. Just like geese, ducks are ruled by their stomach and obsess over treats. With a little training your duck will happily wolf down his favorite foods while you collect the down. It only takes a few seconds and it naturally molts during certain times of the year. I have no doubt that ducks and geese are actually happier after being live harvested during the swealtering hot summer months. The down can be used to stuff pillows and quilts, dolls, and more.

6. If you plan on eating your extra males, ducks don't taste like chicken. Instead, they taste a lot like beef, giving you the ability to raise your own miniature feathered beef cattle. Unlike chickens that aren't Cornish-Rock, ducks dress out with a full breast.

7. Dual-purpose duck breeds can keep up in egg production with most dual purpose chicken breeds. On top of that, duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs, last longer in the fridge, and are incredible for baking. Once you have baked with a duck or goose egg you will never, ever bake with anything else ever again. Pies, cakes, breads, cookies: they're all lighter and fluffier when duck eggs are used. Egg laying breeds of ducks are capable of keeping up with egg strains of chickens. Khaki Campbells have been known to out-perform Leghorns, and Indian Runners are also crazy egg layers.

8. Ducks can't fly. Or, more to the point, they don't fly. If you're tired of chickens flying up on your patio furniture and sun bathing while doing their business, you won't have to worry about that from ducks.

9. They are cheaper to house than chickens. You can easily make a pen that is only three feet high without worrying about keeping your ducks from doing anything they would do naturally. They don't fly or jump. So long as they can stand on their tip toes and flap their wings while having a good stretch they're happy. This also means you don't have to worry about building perches or bothering with nest boxes. Ducks want to lay their eggs on the ground in a cheap bucket or box and they want to sleep somewhere dry (on occasion. Nine times out of ten I see my ducks sleeping in the rain...)

10. Unlike chickens, ducks won't scratch up your garden. While they will dabble in the mud, that does less damage to your plants than being kicked around and rolled in.


Ducklings are a LOT messier than chicks, but I think a large part of that is because we try to raise ducklings in the same way we raise chicks. Experimenting with different brooders will help with the mess, as will trying out different methods of watering. I swear by watering ducklings with a 16-32oz water bottle (for guinea pigs and rabbits, respectively). This keeps them from making a mess in the water.

Also, I'm playing around with a brooder design that keeps the mess contained. It's two plastic storage containers of the same width and length, only with one deeper than the other. Cut out the bottom of the more shallow container and staple hardware wire to the bottom as the floor then set it in the other container.

That forms a fast, easy, cheap brooder that keeps the ducklings up off the ground while also having solid sides to keep them from shaking their heads and sending water flying outside the brooder. The plastic traps heat easily, so you waste less energy in heating the brooder (especially if you keep the lid on one side of the brooder and open on the other side).

In six months I'll know whether or not I'll be singing the praises of keeping ducks or if their quacking drives me crazy and I revert back to my chicken flock. So far the ducks I'm raising have been laid back and I plan on getting the Orpington Duck to try out, as well.

Hope this helps

 

[Wifezilla]

Also, I'm playing around with a brooder design that keeps the mess contained. It's two plastic storage containers of the same width and length, only with one deeper than the other. Cut out the bottom of the more shallow container and staple hardware wire to the bottom as the floor then set it in the other container

You mean like this?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1739361​

 

[newchicksnducks]

Wifezilla -

I love the idea of a guinea pig water bottle. We recently adopted two 8 to 9 week old Khaki Campbell ducks. We've discovered they are very messy with their water, throwing the majority around with their bills. 1.) Do you think they are young enough to learn how to drink from the water bottle? 2.) Will the water bottle method aid in keeping the flooding of their pen? Thanks!

 

[Wifezilla]

If you use the water bottle, they will still need something they can dip their whole bill in to up to their nostrils. The waterer is great for at night. To keep the flood down, use the milk jug method OR place a pan of some sort UNDER the water dish. It really does help keep down the mess.

Will they figure it out? I say there is a good chance. When you put something new in to their pen, a ducks first reaction is to peck at it. When water comes out they usually get the general idea

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Well I can't find any fault except that they are disgusting in a brooder.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Thanks Wifezilla...you may have saved the ducks from a colder home this winter! My DH didn't want to put them in the coop with the chickens since they are soooo messy and water loving! We were thinking they might have to do with a dog house in the run. Maybe we'll be able to try both chicks and ducks in the coop after all.

 

[Omniskies]

Exactly like that, Wifezilla, though we use the clear storage containers out here. I doubt that makes any real difference - I just like being able to kinda look inside.

Also the bricks is a good idea. I was planning on cutting holes in the sides and running two PVC pipes through to keep it steady if I couldn't find two tubs at the size I wanted.

Lastly, I don't give my ducklings anything to wash their bills out in initially. Here's how I water:

For the first few days they get a few different waterers with the quail lip. This is so no one can get in trouble and topple into the waterer. It also makes sure everyone can get a drink without the water getting too messy.

After that they get the larger gallon waterers. At this point they've figured out the water thing and know how to drink out of it without jumping into the water first.

Normally within a few days they figure out how to make a huge mess with that waterer. By now they should all be happy and healthy and, above all else, strong enough to go without water for a few hours (tops) while learning how to drink from a water bottle.

Most ducklings have it figured out within the first ten minutes. But there are always stragglers who just aren't thirsty at the time who miss out on the initial learning and have to figure things out either on their own or when they're finally curious enough to go mimic what someone else is doing.

At that point the ducklings are stuck with a water bottle, then occasionally they get a small dish. When they outgrow their brooder and can go outside they're swapped back to the gallon waterers that are inside a tray. That helps keep the area dry, conserves water, gives them something to play in, etc.

I haven't had any problems with this set up. No one has gunky bills. If anything, this seems like it keeps them a lot cleaner with a whole lot less work. A lot of the mess they make all over their faces seems to be from dabbling in the water.

Large duck farms skip all of the steps and have their ducklings on an automatic watering system that works just like the water bottles. From day one to day 48, the ducks are on the waterer. It keeps the water cleaner, which keeps them healither.

While I don't exactly promote going _that_ far (ducks require mud. They just do

, I do think it's a good idea for the babies. It keeps me from tearing my hair and out and keeps them from stinking things up.

 

[Duck Keeper]

Quote:
While I am a big duck egg fan, this is not the case. What will help thwart cancer growth is cutting your carbohydrate intake down to a bare minimum. It wont stop all cancers, but most cancer tumors use glucose to grow. Others use insulin growth factors and hormones or a combo of all of the above. By keeping blood sugar in check, you reduce the availability of fuel to the cancer cells and keep insulin and insulin growth factors down. While most of the human body can run fine on ketone bodies instead of glucose (which is what happens when you go on a low carb diet), many cancers cannot.

To clarify, I have -read- this.

Not had any experience with it. I'm under the impression that it's more of a wive's tale/superstition type thing.

 

[crtrlovr]

Quote:
While I am a big duck egg fan, this is not the case. What will help thwart cancer growth is cutting your carbohydrate intake down to a bare minimum. It wont stop all cancers, but most cancer tumors use glucose to grow. Others use insulin growth factors and hormones or a combo of all of the above. By keeping blood sugar in check, you reduce the availability of fuel to the cancer cells and keep insulin and insulin growth factors down. While most of the human body can run fine on ketone bodies instead of glucose (which is what happens when you go on a low carb diet), many cancers cannot.

To clarify, I have -read- this.

Not had any experience with it. I'm under the impression that it's more of a wive's tale/superstition type thing.

There have been several studies in the past few years showing that cancer can not thrive in an alkaline environment. Many doctors who use alternative treatment methods are recommending eating alkaline based foods, severely restricting high carbohydrate and acidic foods, and using other means (supplements like ellagic acid, pau d'arco, milk thistle, etc. & nutraceuticals) to change the pH of the body from acid to alkaline.

ETA just read a recent report on asparagus being a "super-food" when it comes to fighting cancer.