Foraging ability and pest control

[Mike Winters]

runners and campells can lay almost all year and runners are a light enough only weight 2 pounds so are like a bantam chicken in mass.

 

[Mike Winters]

the only problem with ducks that can lay over 150 a year is they do not go broody as often. and the best egg laying ducks like the runner and campell make horrible mothers because they are breed for egg prduction. they are great foragers though

 

[Miss Lydia]

the only problem with ducks that can lay over 150 a year is they do not go broody as often. and the best egg laying ducks like the runner and campell make horrible mothers because they are breed for egg prduction. they are great foragers though

I never thought of the runner being bred for egg production only for cuteness.

 

[Mike Winters]

yep runner is second best egg layer after campell and cute and both great foragers

 

[gryeyes]

Call ducks are the bantams of the duck world. They're incredibly adorable and while they fly, mine always just flew for convenience, just to get from one place to another. They did do two circle flights around the property a day. No flying off, just going aloft to make a great circle and come back. I don't have JUST call ducks (right now I only have one drake, who lost his mate, but I've had up to four in the past - had to rehome them when I lived somewhere else) because they co-exist with my Cayugas, Toulouse geese AND my flock of bantam and standard chickens.

 

[Going Quackers]

Before getting into ducks i had heard Muscovy ducks were excellent foragers, well now that i own several i can see why, even in the winter they attempt to.. all it needs is a bit of a melt and they appear to be finding something...

They clear stuff off the grounds, trees(stretching their necks as far as they can go) ants hills, slugs.. they catch flying bugs mid air, they scurry through the manure piles..

 

[Oregon Blues]

All ducks are excellent foragers. If they aren't playing in the mud, they are busy hunting for bugs and eating tasty greenery. The down side is that no duck is safe free ranging if you've got predators.

Runners are one of the top egg layers and they are excellent foragers. The breed was developed to "run" so that they could be driven out to pasture quicker in the morning.

They all forage, so pick the breed you like the looks of or the breed that meets your other requirements.

 

[Tivona]

I just wanted to add that a laying duck will eat more so if your looking for eggs and bug control I would suggest the Campbells or Runners on your list. My ducks (golden 300 hybrids) lay all year long except during a molt.
For any good egg laying breed I would expect each female to start laying when she is old enough and lay approximately 5 to 7 eggs per week until the breeds average is reached or the days get to short then to start up again when the days get long enough and the weather warm enough. I have a very heavy laying breed and I almost never see more then 1 per bird per day. So if Khaki Campbells average 165 - 210 per year then that would be 6 to 9 months of laying with a lull in winter would be my guess. And each year after the first the number of yearly eggs to fall. Perhaps someone with either the Khaki's or Runners can tell how many months they have theirs laying.

 

[larkflying]

Quote:
How long have you had your Welsh Harlequins? When they were at their peak how much were they laying. I am always a little confused by the laying charts. The one I am looking at says without artificial light Welsh Harlequins will lay 150 eggs a year. I am not sure if that means they lay 7 eggs a week for four months or do they lay 3 eggs a week for 12 months? I suspect it means that they lay 5- 6 eggs a week for 4 or 5 months and then decrease to 3 eggs a week for a couple of months and then down until they don't lay for a couple of months?

I've had mine for 8 months -- they were hatched at the end of April 2011 (Metzer hatchery), started laying in September 2011, and still haven't stopped completely. I've 5 Welsh Harlequins and one Rouen and I've gotten 2 eggs at least - often 3 through the late fall until now (January 2012) So I think you are correct in that they lay very regularly Spring through early fall, and then production tapers off some. So far it doesn't seem to matter - rain, snow, ice, mud, sunshine -- I still have my duck eggs . . . now if only I could convince them to use a nest . . .

 

[Rosebud 18]

I have 2 welsh harlequin and they started laying the first of sept. and haven't missed a day yet. I also have 2 swedish ducks that started laying at the same time and have layed every day since. I have 10 runners and I get 6 - 8 eggs a day from them. All of my ducks except the pekin started laying within a week of each other. As for forageing they start the minute they run out of their house every morning. When I open the door they come out like bullets. My favorite are the harlequins they are such sweet birds and are small.