what is a good starter breed

We started with our ducks back in August.

We went through Metzer Farms.

We got 1 Male Welsh Harlequin, 3 Female Welsh Harlequins and 1 surprise mix-up of a female Golden 300 Hybrid. (Metzer Farms kindly offered to refund the cost of her since it was supposed to be a 4th Welsh Harlequin but we were fine with having her)

I've enjoyed them immensely. If I could do it all over again, however, I think I'd approach it differently. Primarily I would have gotten probably stuck with 1 male and 1 female Welsh Harlequin, 1 Golden 300 Hybrid, 1 Cayuga and one other type of female. Just so we could enjoy the differences between them. Having 3 females of the same breed is fine and I love them but we're definitely going to add a female Cayuga into the mix in the spring/summer because they are absolutely beautiful.

Even though these are supposedly calm breeds they can be very loud which is not always suitable for urban homesteading. We live in a rural area but I'm sure our poor neighbors hear our ducks do their morning freak-out when they see me but so far they've said they don't mind at all.


So, in short, I'd go to the Metzer Farms website and study the breeds and then go from there.

 

I think it depends on a few things, how much room you have and noise level plus your long term goals/purpose. Our first ducks were Muscovy, a decent breed but definitely depends on your purpose, we use them for pest control so like their larger sizing and solid foundation in bug catching(ours free range)

Now my calls are super personable BUT they are loud(females, not males) they occupy little space and feed and easily tamed down but again the noise factor if you keep females and they are not cheap nor easy to locate at least where i am.

My buffs are nice cute ducks, neither big but not bantam but they are pretty vocal, i only have 2 yet they can be quite the decibel when they choose too.

I would recommend Storey's guide to ducks, it not only gives you a run down on ducks in general but breeds too.

Ducks are a great addition but are messy and have high water needs so that doesn't suit everyone's taste or home.