Interested in Ducks, But Curious About Odor

[AwesomeDuckies]

In my experience of having over 150 chicken and about 15 ducks over 3 to 4 years chicken poop smells the worst. Most people think ducks are messy and gross trust me they are not. It all depends on what you feed them. I fed my ducks Nutrena NatureWise Chick Starter/Grower, Manna Pro Chick Starter Feed, Purina start and grow, Dumor chick feed, and Cheap chicken feed from Walmart. Out of all of these Nutrena Nature Wise Chick Starter/Grower is my favorite to feed to my ducks. It cost about an extra 2 bucks for a 50 pound bag but trust me its well worth it. My ducks poop smelled the worst with the walmart brand chick feed and just bad with the other ones on the list minus the organic one but the organic one is not really cost effective.
Just by chance happened to buy the Nutrena Nature Wise when they were out of Purina chick feed and I never looked back! My last couple of ducks slept in the house in a large box with bedding and I only notice the smell if I happened to give them treats like mealworms, tomatoes, and watermelon. They LOVE these treats but I learned those were not inside treats unless you want to clean up after them more often. Kinda gross but ducks poop is more clay like so it was easy cleaning after them after the first week or so. I would just scoop it up with a bag for their "pin" unlike chickens which just splat watery stinky nastyness. So yeah get ducks! The biggest mess is their swimming pool but its not necessarily a mess just a little more time consuming then throwing their feed out and done. I empty my ducks pool daily but can go for 3 days without getting to dirty.

 

[Enigmius]

In my experience of having over 150 chicken and about 15 ducks over 3 to 4 years chicken poop smells the worst. Most people think ducks are messy and gross trust me they are not. It all depends on what you feed them. I fed my ducks Nutrena NatureWise Chick Starter/Grower, Manna Pro Chick Starter Feed, Purina start and grow, Dumor chick feed, and Cheap chicken feed from Walmart. Out of all of these Nutrena Nature Wise Chick Starter/Grower is my favorite to feed to my ducks. It cost about an extra 2 bucks for a 50 pound bag but trust me its well worth it. My ducks poop smelled the worst with the walmart brand chick feed and just bad with the other ones on the list minus the organic one but the organic one is not really cost effective.
Just by chance happened to buy the Nutrena Nature Wise when they were out of Purina chick feed and I never looked back! My last couple of ducks slept in the house in a large box with bedding and I only notice the smell if I happened to give them treats like mealworms, tomatoes, and watermelon. They LOVE these treats but I learned those were not inside treats unless you want to clean up after them more often. Kinda gross but ducks poop is more clay like so it was easy cleaning after them after the first week or so. I would just scoop it up with a bag for their "pin" unlike chickens which just splat watery stinky nastyness. So yeah get ducks! The biggest mess is their swimming pool but its not necessarily a mess just a little more time consuming then throwing their feed out and done. I empty my ducks pool daily but can go for 3 days without getting to dirty.

Thanks for your personal experience. I’m actually leaning toward ducks but i’ve been hearing from some that a couple chickens in a duckrun helps to turn over straw and start the compost process. If this is true, then I might get just a couple chickens for that. Either way, I’m going to be doing a lot of planning before I actually get either.

 

[Mama Runner]

I have never had a problem with odor. I had to bring them in due to weather. Mind you I m a germa phobe neat freak. It's doesn't bother us. Company doesn't complaining about odor.

I have been blessed with my flock.

 

[Enigmius]

I have never had a problem with odor. I had to bring them in due to weather. Mind you I m a germa phobe neat freak. It's doesn't bother us. Company doesn't complaining about odor. View attachment 1242096
I have been blessed with my flock.

Thanks. That settles it. I’m going to get ducks. Now I just need to nail down a design for coop/run and breeds.

 

[Amiga]

I have sixteen small 3-4 pound ducks, and no problem with odors.

I use shavings for night shelter bedding, and chopped straw and dry leaves mostly, for day pen bedding.

The night pen has watering stations to contain water. The day pen has pea gravel under the swim pans but more importantly is on a twp percent slope, with runoff going into a shallow channel and then into raised garden beds.

 

[stuka123]

There’s NOTHING CUTER THAN DUCKS!!!! I never dreamed I’d fall so crazy in LOVE WITH DUCKS!!!
I can sit and watch them for hours.
Watching them waddle and hearing their feet slap through the mud is hysterical, it never gets old.

 

[gilbert2]

Hello, Enigmius. Sorry that this is the first time I have posted to your thread.
Congratulations on your choice of having ducks! IMHO, ducks are a million times more entertaining than chickens. Their eggs are much richer than chicken eggs (fattier), so consider that. I just can't eat ducks eggs when cooked sunny side up. But they are superior in baking.
Again, in my opinion, ducks have more personality than chickens. Please, no offense to chicken lovers. Be prepared for some LOUD quacking noise, too. The drakes make a noise that sounds to me like two ratchets engaging improperly. First thing in the morning, when I open my garage door to walk out and feed/water the ducks, they begin the cacophony. Believe it or not, I like it.
Again, congrats on your choice. You will have no lack of support from the fine people you meet here!

 

[shawluvsbirds]

In my experience of having over 150 chicken and about 15 ducks over 3 to 4 years chicken poop smells the worst. Most people think ducks are messy and gross trust me they are not. It all depends on what you feed them. I fed my ducks Nutrena NatureWise Chick Starter/Grower, Manna Pro Chick Starter Feed, Purina start and grow, Dumor chick feed, and Cheap chicken feed from Walmart. Out of all of these Nutrena Nature Wise Chick Starter/Grower is my favorite to feed to my ducks. It cost about an extra 2 bucks for a 50 pound bag but trust me its well worth it. My ducks poop smelled the worst with the walmart brand chick feed and just bad with the other ones on the list minus the organic one but the organic one is not really cost effective.
Just by chance happened to buy the Nutrena Nature Wise when they were out of Purina chick feed and I never looked back! My last couple of ducks slept in the house in a large box with bedding and I only notice the smell if I happened to give them treats like mealworms, tomatoes, and watermelon. They LOVE these treats but I learned those were not inside treats unless you want to clean up after them more often. Kinda gross but ducks poop is more clay like so it was easy cleaning after them after the first week or so. I would just scoop it up with a bag for their "pin" unlike chickens which just splat watery stinky nastyness. So yeah get ducks! The biggest mess is their swimming pool but its not necessarily a mess just a little more time consuming then throwing their feed out and done. I empty my ducks pool daily but can go for 3 days without getting to dirty.

I feed nutriena also and I don't feel like the smell is bad. Don't get me wrong all poo stinks but I expected way worse. The only time I really get a bad whiff is when I empty the water or I'm stirring things up. And even then it just reminds me of the smell when I had a fish aquarium and changed the water. Kind of a fishy wet feed smell.

Thanks for your personal experience. I’m actually leaning toward ducks but i’ve been hearing from some that a couple chickens in a duckrun helps to turn over straw and start the compost process. If this is true, then I might get just a couple chickens for that. Either way, I’m going to be doing a lot of planning before I actually get either.

Just be careful if you plan to have drakes they sometimes try to mate with hens (meaning the chicken hens)
And that is not a good thing.