thinking about ducks for eggs some questions?

[itsasmallfarm]

hello everyone i have a few questions about ducks maybe some one could help me out

okay so here is my situation i have raised chickens for about 6-7 months now and decided i wanted to upgrade my so called mini-farm. first off i have purchased 3 geese (all hens) that i am going to be getting this coming fall, now am thinking of upgrading there house (was going to be small but now am going bigger) so i did some research (and i mean a lot i read both the story's guide to ducks and poultry) and now am thinking of adding maybe a few ducks for there eggs. so here are my questions

1. should i get un-sexed day old or should i get mature (12-20 week) old hens? the geese am getting are going to be around 12-16 weeks old. so should i get ducklings and butcher the males/sell them depending what i feel like (i love ducks but i love eating them as well lol) or just get pure hens for there eggs already 12-20 weeks old?

2. they can be housed with geese right? i have read it many times keep waterfowl and land fowl apart but can i house ducks and geese together? more if i get day olds and mature geese.

3. how good are duck eggs? just wondering i would like the eggs but love ducks in general and the eggs would be a plus.

but thanks for reading and making it through this post have a good day itsasmallfarm out

 

[Krazyquilts]

Your farm sounds so cool! And no farm is complete without waterfowl.

Duck eggs are awesome! Tougher than chicken eggs for frying and scrambling from what I've heard, but I've also heard tricks on fixing that, like adding milk. A friend of mine combined a chicken egg with an egg from my ducks for scrambled eggs and said the texture was like just like that of chicken eggs. Baking is where duck eggs really shine! They make stuff so fluffy too - if you want fluffy cloud-like pancakes, use duck eggs.

Personally, I would get ducklings rather than adults. There is nothing cuter than baby ducks. You won't be able to tear yourself away from watching them. And the 16-20 weeks will go by in the blink of an eye - one second they are tiny little yellow fluffballs and then POOF! Fully feathered quackers running around look gorgeous. I think you'll want to keep ducklings in their own brooder. If you got ducklings now, then they would be full grown by the time you get your geese. Have you considered getting goslings at the same time as ducklings and raising them together? It's significantly cheaper to get ducks and geese as babies rather than as adults from what I understand.

What duck breed(s) are you considering?

 

[dotknott]

I agree, ducklings are the way to go! They will grow up around you and on the farm, so they'll be comfortable with the environment and you'll watch them grow which should get you hooked on ducks. (If that doesn't get you hooked on ducks, I don't know what will.)

I've never housed ducks with anything other than ducks, but I know plenty of people do. Geese + ducks together shouldn't be a problem though the pair may get tetchy if they build a nest during "pasta season" (I recently heard that term and nearly lost it.)

Duck eggs are wonderful. I made a big ol' batch of aged duck egg eggnog this Christmas and it was DIVINE. I slow scramble my eggs (about 9 mins to scramble sounds absurd, but they're soft, luscious and custard-y.) I like mine with a little fresh tarragon on top.

Because of the potential for raising them for meat, I'd recommend checking out the Livestock Conservancy site to ID some dual purpose breeds. https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Ducks

I'm partial to Saxony, as I've said many times in the forum, though there are plenty of birds that are a little easier to come by locally like Welsh Harlequin.

 

[Krazyquilts]

I agree, ducklings are the way to go! They will grow up around you and on the farm, so they'll be comfortable with the environment and you'll watch them grow which should get you hooked on ducks. (If that doesn't get you hooked on ducks, I don't know what will.)

I've never housed ducks with anything other than ducks, but I know plenty of people do. Geese + ducks together shouldn't be a problem though the pair may get tetchy if they build a nest during "pasta season" (I recently heard that term and nearly lost it.)

Duck eggs are wonderful. I made a big ol' batch of aged duck egg eggnog this Christmas and it was DIVINE. I slow scramble my eggs (about 9 mins to scramble sounds absurd, but they're soft, luscious and custard-y.) I like mine with a little fresh tarragon on top. 

Because of the potential for raising them for meat, I'd recommend checking out the Livestock Conservancy site to ID some dual purpose breeds. https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Ducks

I'm partial to Saxony, as I've said many times in the forum, though there are plenty of birds that are a little easier to come by locally like Welsh Harlequin.

Pasta season?

 

[dotknott]

Pasta season?

Pasta: http://www.majesticwaterfowl.org/arthonks.htm

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Your farm sounds so cool! And no farm is complete without waterfowl.

Duck eggs are awesome! Tougher than chicken eggs for frying and scrambling from what I've heard, but I've also heard tricks on fixing that, like adding milk. A friend of mine combined a chicken egg with an egg from my ducks for scrambled eggs and said the texture was like just like that of chicken eggs. Baking is where duck eggs really shine! They make stuff so fluffy too - if you want fluffy cloud-like pancakes, use duck eggs.

Personally, I would get ducklings rather than adults. There is nothing cuter than baby ducks. You won't be able to tear yourself away from watching them. And the 16-20 weeks will go by in the blink of an eye - one second they are tiny little yellow fluffballs and then POOF! Fully feathered quackers running around look gorgeous. I think you'll want to keep ducklings in their own brooder. If you got ducklings now, then they would be full grown by the time you get your geese. Have you considered getting goslings at the same time as ducklings and raising them together? It's significantly cheaper to get ducks and geese as babies rather than as adults from what I understand.

What duck breed(s) are you considering?

right now am thinking about getting welsh harlequin, Campbell and runner ducks, the only reason am getting mature geese is that i plan on going away for a few weeks this summer and i can not handle baby birds at the moment. (and i live in Canada so its cold right now so i can't work out side it sucks ) and i need to build the coop this spring but it is a good idea, the only other option i guess i have is to separate the birds like one goose pen and a duck pen besides each other.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I agree, ducklings are the way to go! They will grow up around you and on the farm, so they'll be comfortable with the environment and you'll watch them grow which should get you hooked on ducks. (If that doesn't get you hooked on ducks, I don't know what will.)

I've never housed ducks with anything other than ducks, but I know plenty of people do. Geese + ducks together shouldn't be a problem though the pair may get tetchy if they build a nest during "pasta season" (I recently heard that term and nearly lost it.)

Duck eggs are wonderful. I made a big ol' batch of aged duck egg eggnog this Christmas and it was DIVINE. I slow scramble my eggs (about 9 mins to scramble sounds absurd, but they're soft, luscious and custard-y.) I like mine with a little fresh tarragon on top.

Because of the potential for raising them for meat, I'd recommend checking out the Livestock Conservancy site to ID some dual purpose breeds. https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Ducks

I'm partial to Saxony, as I've said many times in the forum, though there are plenty of birds that are a little easier to come by locally like Welsh Harlequin.

thank you, i was thinking about welsh harlequin, Campbell and runner ducks, i really only chose breeds that are good layers (not really a fan of butchering such pretty birds) and for the fact that i hunt ducks so its not like am going to be lacking duck meat. but that recipe for scrambled duck eggs sounds really good