Let’s Talk Ducks

[BYC Project Manager]

Ducks often take a back seat to chickens when people think about backyard poultry, but they’ve got so many unique qualities that make them worth raising! For one, ducks are natural foragers and can be excellent at pest control—goodbye slugs and beetles! They’re also surprisingly hardy. And let’s not forget their eggs—bigger, richer, and often preferred by bakers.

Some folks say ducks are messier, harder to contain, or less affectionate than chickens, while others insist they’re easier to raise once you understand their quirks.

So here are a few questions to get the discussion rolling:

1. What do you love most about keeping ducks?
2. If you’ve raised both ducks and chickens, which do you prefer—and why?
3. Do you let your ducks free-range, or do you keep them in a pen with water access?
4. What’s your favorite duck breed for eggs, meat, or just plain personality?
5. Any funny or memorable duck stories you’d like to share?

Let’s hear your experiences, tips, and maybe even some duck myths you’ve debunked along the way. Who knows—you might just inspire someone to add a few quackers to their flock!

 

[ruthhope]

What do I love best? Ducklings! Lovely little fluffies!

I rescue ducks rehab them and rehome when I can. Most, but not all, drakes have stayed with me. I have had abandoned roosters and an abandoned Rockefeller too. I prefer my drakes as roosters are too noisy, they scratch the ground and their poop cannot go straight on the garden as it burns the plants.

My Ducks and the occasional rooster free range in my privacy fenced back yard. There ate lots of shrubs and hiding places. At night they are secured in a safe duck house away from predators.

I love both my pekin and muscovy boys for companionship and amusement, and my son's laying pekins for eggs. My pekin drakes have distinct, silly, personalities. My one cuddly boy is a muscovy. He also bites my legs and ankles, hard.

Funny stories?? My cuddly muscovy thinks he should live in the house with me not in the coop with ducks. He is disdainful of the ducks in the duck house. He looks for and takes any and every opportunity to sneak into the house and hide

 

[cavemanrich]

I would keep ducks if I had a pond in the backyard. So its chickens only for me.
BUT,,,,,,, I do get some visiting Mallards, that live near creek, about 1 block distance away. The come, to eat whatever the bird feeder drops to the ground.