Thinking about getting ducks...

[heather112588]

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I had ducks when i was a kid, no breed that i could list because they were wild. A mother duck layed eggs in our yard and left when a black snake started eating them. We raised all 5 of the babies and i have fond memories of them...when they were old enough we released them back though they still would visit us every other day with a few friends (they would tap on our back screen door for treats).

Twenty years later, I still love ducks. My problem is i only keep things that are cost efficent to have around. Chickens have been great bc we used scrap wood to build the coop, their food cost is cheap, they are amazing layers and have really given back 110%... think i broke even on those guys!

anyway, with the post above, i never let myself have ducks because i didnt believe that they layed as much as chickens did. Is there a breed that lays every day like chickens do?

 

[FarmrGirl]

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If you want eggs Runners, Campbells, and Welsh Harlequins are great! If you want a duck that likes to be petted and will make you lots of baby ducks get Muscovy (they don't quack) For beauty I think Cayuga's can't be beat. But I love all my ducks and the Runners are definitely the funniest, most playful ducks I have.

 

[FenDruadin]

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Ducks bred for egg-laying ability can lay MORE eggs per year than the best chicken breeds, up to 360 eggs (that's every day, all year round). Plus, they are larger and more nutritious. And ducks can continue to lay for six or seven years. So it's possible for ducks to be MORE productive than a chicken.

For best production, choose animals from a line that has been carefully bred for productivity, and choose a breed for that purpose. Runners or khaki campbells or welsh harlies or magpies from Holderread lines are hard to beat.

 

[FarmrGirl]

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2x! Most of my girls lay every single day without fail. I only have a few seasonal layers and those I keep for meat production (Muscovy & Cayuga). Holderread lines are the very cream of the crop, many of my quackers are Holderread and you can really tell a difference... for instance I have his Runners and another hatchery's Runners and Holderreads are far superior (but I love them ALL!).

My 2 year old high producer chickens (RIR & Leghorn) are laying at about 75% over last season... my 3 year old Welsh Harlequin still lays me an egg 6 days out of 7!

 

[heather112588]

The wild ducks i had when i was growing up, only layed seasonally so i always pictured that ducks just layed seasonally...please excuse my ignorance in the matter... but yay thats great, learn something new everyday.