Ducks vs chickens

[Brachsideducks]

Hello! I have been raising ducks for over a year now. A friend of mine's father is very sick and is needing a home for his Batam chickens. I am ordering a coop online because I dont have time to build one. My question to everyone here is what are the major differences I need to know with chickens vs raising ducks. I know they roost and need different food. Thanks!

 

[Michael OShay]

I've been raised chickens for 50 years. I'm no expert on ducks but I've had a few and I can tell you from the experiences I've had that ducks are a whole lot messier to raise than chickens. Ducklings will need almost all the exact same requirements as the chicks (heat lamps, etc) except they also need more (naisin supplements and water to swim in and clean their bills). Ducks are much nastier than chickens as they will get everything wet and muddy, including their feed, and they will get feed in their water. Both feed and water will have to be cleaned often with ducks as well as the shavings. In addition, my ducklings ate twice as much as the same number of chicks. They used their bills to spoon water into their feed and literally shoveled it down. In my personal opinion, ducklings are the ultimate in cute, but also the ultimate in maintenance. It's why I haven't had ducks in a couple of decades.