Okay, I've made the decision to finally get rid of the last of my chickens and just stick to ducks. While ducks are messier then chickens when it comes to their water, I find that the pros of ducks out-weigh the cons. Feel free to add to this list
Pros (of ducks vs. chickens):
Easier to contain (chickens are hard to keep in their corrals and out of garden areas)
Don't scratch the soil and kill the plants and grass.
Are more alert at night, thereby warning you of approaching predators
Rather than scattering all over the place when it's time to move them, ducks can be herded
Are at least as good, if not better egg producers than chickens
Don't eat their own eggs (the chickens were even eating my duck eggs!!!)
Eat slugs out of the garden without doing significant damage to the veggie crop (as long as you don't have too many)
Are very good eating (I raise a few every year for the freezer)
Are much more fun to watch as they forrage for food and play in the water
Don't feather-pick or become canibalistic
Are more hardy in cold and wet weather
While baby chicks are cute, baby ducks are WAY cuter
Produce larger (and tastier, in my opinion) eggs.
Are more disease resistant
Lay their eggs early in the morning so that they can forrage durring the day without losing too many eggs
Both drakes and hens are non-agressive and complete safe around kids
Cons:
Female ducks can be loud (but the drakes are much quieter than roosters)
They like making mud
Don't always lay their eggs in their nests
They are hard to butcher (Lots of feathers!)
Chicken eggs come in LOTS of neat colors, while duck eggs are only white or blue-ish
If over-crowded, can flatten and compact soil, making it hard for small plants and grass to grow
Many people aren't used to duck eggs, and it can be hard to find buyers, especially in a small town
Did I mention the mud...???
I had ducks before I had chickens, and now I'll go back to just ducks again for a number of reasons. Partly because I like playing around with the much simpler duck color-genetics, and partly because I like how easy they are to contain, and that they don't eat their own eggs. But for me the most compelling is that I own herding dogs, and it has been so much fun teaching them to herd the ducks, while the chickens just scatter and get in the way, and frustrate the dogs.
Just curious what reasons you all have for keeping ducks........
Pros (of ducks vs. chickens):
Easier to contain (chickens are hard to keep in their corrals and out of garden areas)
Don't scratch the soil and kill the plants and grass.
Are more alert at night, thereby warning you of approaching predators
Rather than scattering all over the place when it's time to move them, ducks can be herded
Are at least as good, if not better egg producers than chickens
Don't eat their own eggs (the chickens were even eating my duck eggs!!!)
Eat slugs out of the garden without doing significant damage to the veggie crop (as long as you don't have too many)
Are very good eating (I raise a few every year for the freezer)
Are much more fun to watch as they forrage for food and play in the water
Don't feather-pick or become canibalistic
Are more hardy in cold and wet weather
While baby chicks are cute, baby ducks are WAY cuter
Produce larger (and tastier, in my opinion) eggs.
Are more disease resistant
Lay their eggs early in the morning so that they can forrage durring the day without losing too many eggs
Both drakes and hens are non-agressive and complete safe around kids
Cons:
Female ducks can be loud (but the drakes are much quieter than roosters)
They like making mud
Don't always lay their eggs in their nests
They are hard to butcher (Lots of feathers!)
Chicken eggs come in LOTS of neat colors, while duck eggs are only white or blue-ish
If over-crowded, can flatten and compact soil, making it hard for small plants and grass to grow
Many people aren't used to duck eggs, and it can be hard to find buyers, especially in a small town
Did I mention the mud...???
I had ducks before I had chickens, and now I'll go back to just ducks again for a number of reasons. Partly because I like playing around with the much simpler duck color-genetics, and partly because I like how easy they are to contain, and that they don't eat their own eggs. But for me the most compelling is that I own herding dogs, and it has been so much fun teaching them to herd the ducks, while the chickens just scatter and get in the way, and frustrate the dogs.
Just curious what reasons you all have for keeping ducks........
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