Why raise chooks for eggs when you can do ducks?

[FenDruadin]

I love both, but choose ducks over chickens. Yes, I think there's a HUGE cultural barrier here--most people, when they find out I raise ducks, want to know why. They would never ask that if I had chickens. A lot of folks don't even want to try duck eggs. I once left a dozen eggs as a thank-you on a neighbor's porch. When he caught up with me a few weeks later, he asked me what he was supposed to do with the eggs.

However, there are practical reasons for keeping chickens rather than ducks, too. They are considerably less messy and smelly, and they don't require constant water changes. They're also very good at tilling soil in a chicken tractor--ducks tend to compact soil, chickens tend to loosen and aerate it.

If I had unlimited space & time, I'd raise both.

But since I have to choose--at least for now--I choose ducks. I like the eggs better, they lay really well, they're funny and cute, and the hardiness factor is huge for me too--I don't like to mess around with health issues, and ducks pretty much don't have any to speak of.

 

[Omniskies]

They both have their benefits. I don't see much chickens as any better than my ducks.

My chickens may be able to till the soil in a chicken tractor, but I wouldn't trust anything besides ducklings to free my garden of insects. The ducks may dabble and gum at the leaves of my plants, but usually they will leave them alone and won't cause a fuss since they are too busy rooting out the tasty bugs. Chickens, on the other hand, will get in there and take dust baths or scratch around and kick up any plants that are around. And if you put chicks out in a garden they get distracted by anything shiny. Ducklings really seem to home in on the idea that anything that moves is potentially hiding a grub or a beetle.

For regular eating, I want chicken eggs. But when I bake, duck eggs are the only thing a person can honestly use and still say that they're baking (ok, I'm biased, but that doesn't mean it can't be true

.

Ducks can also be live harvested for their down - something chickens are very poor at producing, no matter how cold it gets outside. Not everyone will take advantage of live harvesting, but those that do won't be found plucking fluff for a chicken and insisting it's the same thing.

As far as the nasty duck water? It's liquid gold. Dilute it and pour it on your plants, pour it on your trees, or pour it on your lawn (then, of course, let your geese loose to keep the grass cropped low). If you have too much of it, bottle it up and sell it on CraigsList as all-natural liquid fertilizer.

Sure, you could do that with chickens. But I'd rather have the poo already in the water to pour into buckets rather than have to scoop it up and dump it into a bucket to mix.

Trying to compare the two is like trying to say cats are better than dogs.

 

[StevenW.]

This is the exact situation I'm in!


1)The ducks were fun until all the filling and emptying the kiddie pool became a nightmare not a chore

2)The feed they consume is A LOT and were in the process of either keeping the ducks or selling them with the geese

3)All the freezing water in the wintertime will the chickens have heated waterers that dont freeze

4)For ducks I'm suprised by how much noise they make and the chickens hardly make any

5)The eggs are very hard to hatch (for me anyways)

6)The eggs are very good for baking but for cooking.... No

7)Chicken eat less

8)Chickens dont have slimy,stinky,runny poop

9)Chickens are a lot more friendlier and nicer and will let you hold them but the ducks dont want no part in it

10)Chickens go in by themselves at night unlike the ducks that like to be herded in

I could go on and on all night

But I wont

 

[duck walk]

I am more fond of the ducks and no longer have any chickens...I am getting a ton of eggs from my girls right now...I have regular customers and my kids take many a dozen home...I scramble many for the dogs to supplement their diet...the ducks are chatty and funny and follow me around like puppies...very curious about what the human is doing...no trouble to shut them in at night...I step out into the yard, clap my hands and tell them it is time to go "home" to the night pen behind hot wire...it is hilarious to watch the parade of 60 ducks and 15 geese marching home from the various yards of free range space...and they are talking all the way...the waddle factor is a crack up...I have three Chinese ganders who tower over the duck flock...the ducks hang together with the geese and seem to follow their lead...I think the alertness and watchfullness of the geese helps the ducks feel secure...they listen and respond to loud alarmed honking...I enjoyed my chickens when I had them and love all the various colors and types, but I am hanging with the quackers...

 

[jmc]

yes, there is no definite right or wrong answer.

fact remains, chickens are super disease prone--again, generally speaking.

my ducks have always gone in by themselves at night...................

ducks do not need a pond or kiddie pool at all, btw. a simple cement mixing tub works in all four seasons.

in winter a heated water bucket or even non-heated works fine for watering ducks. Here, that's all they get for the first several hours of the day. And they wash up real nice with little mess.

we constantly cook with duck eggs--no one notices difference. or just have them plain. work just fine. and we cook for at least 18 here daily!!

as i said in OP, I know there are way more varieties of chx., so that must be a draw for raising them. and, yes, they are tamer, BUT NOT ALL BREEDS, that is for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my ancona ducks are adorably curious.

in fact sometimes they will literally play catch with me. i run around the huge cage in their shelter, and the whole bunch comes running after me.

 

[jmc]

Quote:
i am sure they are. muscovies which when young, have very little bare flesh on their faces, unlike the adults, do in fact get frostbitten.

thank you for your thoughtful reply!!!

 

[jmc]

maybe you all will make me go back to chx!

for me it will be one or the other. NOT BOTH, btw.

 

[jmc]

and i have to admit that the water chores 365 days a year is kind of a drag. we have over 20 ducks................

the total time annually given to the water chore alone, has got to be way more than i might have to give to dusting 20 chickens once or twice a year, or de-miting or de-lousing a coop.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

My duck was actually the first to get sick, and I took care of her the best. I wouldn't feel comfortable not allowing ducks to swim and splash. They don't need water, but it makes them sooo much happier and gives them a chance to really clean their feathers. As far as mess goes, UGH. I'd say my little pekin makes as much mess as 4 chickens would. I like rich eggs, an over easy duck egg for breakfast is awesome to me. My family doesn't bake. Mine eats bugs and grass whenever she wants to, but she's a lazy bum, lol. (Mostly due to her arthritis, though) Chickens aren't delicate either...they're not as hardy as a duck, but when compared to other birds that's a different story. All in all, my chickens are very easily taken care of. BUT, I'd have just as many (If not only) ducks if it weren't were I lived. They're really fun to watch and adorable.

 

[sonjab314]

I have both and I love both. My small children are especially fond of scrambled duck eggs but we use a lot of chicken eggs too. I think they both have their purposes, their pros and cons. It is a matter of self opinion. The watering thing for me is no big deal. The only issues health wise with my chickens was cocci. I am planning on adding geese to the mix this spring. Although it will be a while for them to lay, they will have their purpose in my flock as well, just like my guineas. I think it boils down to what you want and prefer.