Is my situation right for ducks?

[BallsEleven]

Heavier breeds are also less likely to be carried away by aerial predators.

That’s true. I have been trying to balance some pros/cons of heavy/light.

For the past few days I had been thinking of going light with Welsh Harlequins since I figured there would be less feed required and hopefully cut down on poop splatter size. But larger size to have a better chance against predators is a big plus I hadn’t considered.

 

[johntfs]

That’s true. I have been trying to balance some pros/cons of heavy/light.

For the past few days I had been thinking of going light with Welsh Harlequins since I figured there would be less feed required and hopefully cut down on poop splatter size. But larger size to have a better chance against predators is a big plus I hadn’t considered.

Figure the thing most likely to govern the safety of your birds is the security of their housing ranging. Muscovies aside because they have nails/claws, ducks aren't really built for self-defense. Most predators can probably kill even a large duck even if they can't drag it off.

 

[BallsEleven]

Figure the thing most likely to govern the safety of your birds is the security of their housing ranging. Muscovies aside because they have nails/claws, ducks aren't really built for self-defense. Most predators can probably kill even a large duck even if they can't drag it off.

Absolutely, but the bigger size certainly won’t hurt their chances.

Yeah I have seen muscovies get ticked off in person. They don’t seem to be scared off much haha

 

[johntfs]

Absolutely, but the bigger size certainly won’t hurt their chances.

Yeah I have seen muscovies get ticked off in person. They don’t seem to be scared off much haha

Bigger size hurts in the sense that the best defense ducks have against predators is flying away from them - though with domestic ducks that's not an issue because domestic ducks have clipped wings so they can't fly away.

My take is get a bigger duck if you have reasons to want a bigger duck. Bigger eggs. More meat,etc. But just being larger isn't an adequate defense against predators. If you have a sufficiently secure pen/coop, smaller ducks are fine.

 

[BallsEleven]

Bigger size hurts in the sense that the best defense ducks have against predators is flying away from them - though with domestic ducks that's not an issue because domestic ducks have clipped wings so they can't fly away.

My take is get a bigger duck if you have reasons to want a bigger duck. Bigger eggs. More meat,etc. But just being larger isn't an adequate defense against predators. If you have a sufficiently secure pen/coop, smaller ducks are fine.

I don't have much of a reason to get a bigger duck. At this point I'm just splitting hairs to narrow down to which breed to get. For me it was either get the Appleyard and have the heavier weight so they are more hardy or the smaller size of the Welsh Harlequin for less mess (poop) and they take it easier on my yard.

In reality the differences would probably be nonexistent but might as well try!

 

[johntfs]

I don't have much of a reason to get a bigger duck. At this point I'm just splitting hairs to narrow down to which breed to get. For me it was either get the Appleyard and have the heavier weight so they are more hardy or the smaller size of the Welsh Harlequin for less mess (poop) and they take it easier on my yard.

In reality the differences would probably be nonexistent but might as well try!

If that's the case, I'd vote for the Appleyard. Hardiness means they're less likely to fall ill and either die or rack up vet bills. Plus, more poop means that when they do rip up your yard, it'll grow back due to extra "fertilizer." Maybe use a moveable "chicken tractor pen" so they won't concentrate on one area of the yard and utterly destroy it.

This guy's video seemed to have to interesting "hacks" for reducing the duck mess: