ducks or chickens

[darren m]

which are easier to keep

 

i know a little bit about hens , but are the princples the same for ducks ( except maybe water )

 

i,am in the process of knocking together a chicken hut and run , total will be about 10 ft by 4 ft , when the females in the house say ," cant we have ducks instead " .

 

so knowing nothing about ducks i thought i,d ask here

 

do they lay the same as hens ie . every day

do they need a built on nest box

do they need a drake

do they need a totally different diet / grit etc

 

i,m also hoping to let them roam the garden and also possibly help towards steadying the dogs under supervision

 

thanks for any help

[Pinkella]

Have you ever eaton duck eggs? That might help you to decide as well. Personally I'm not keen on them.

I would love to keep chickens.

[Elby]

Ducks make a big mess.

[holly]

chickens in the garden ducks in the garden

[Imperfection]

Put it this way-if you're a bit clumsy on your feet like Norman Wisdom doing a Mr Grimsdale you might not want to keep ducks as their poop is slimy.They're far messier than hens and they need water too.

 

Hens get my vote.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Imperfection

[Peskyfoxs]

I have chickens, turkeys and call ducks. The ducks make a right mess, there muck is sloppy, there small pond is filthy within an hour of cleaning and generally they don't lay very often compared to a hybrid chicken. They also tend to chuck food & water all over

 

As garden pets I find them less friendly

 

So yep to with ducks

[jasper3]

get both.... 4 months ago we got 5 Ex batt hens , there was more feathers on the wife's duster now they are fully feathered and get average 3 eggs a day, then we got two ducks, Khaki cambell's crossed, 1 x male 1x female... breeding pair.. the duck porn has started but no eggs yet, they are only 4 months old,

she will lay on average 300 eggs a year

 

here are my girls and 1 boy

[ack-ack]

Ducks are far more entertaining but i couldnt handle the mess, smell or din. The eggs are vastly superior though.

[chrisjpainter]

Yeah ducks do make much more of a mess we have both. Ducks do smell a bit more as well having said that, they're way more entertaining! And as Jasper3 says, you get a good number of eggs from some Khaki Cambells. They're also quieter than call ducks, which might be of use if you have neighbours! Just be prepared for everything to turn to mud

 

Our ducks and hens feed of exactly the same stuff. They're all on layer pellets and do well off them. The tend to just lay their eggs in the house where they're locked up at night, but you do get the odd surprise egg hidden away at times, but they don't need a nest box or anything, certainly not if they are to live with a permanent house. You don't need a drake, ours lay quite happily without one. If you have a nice big garden then that should help with the messy side though.

Hope that helps

Edited August 26, 2013 by chrisjpainter

[jasper3]

I havn't found my two dirty at all, compared to my call ducks..they wrecked the place, i have used woodchippings in the run and just rake them once a week.... this lot are kept in the run, as the last lot where foxed...

and the neighbours love them

 

the battery hens are superb, you get a great feeling when you see them return to what a chicken should look like , and they are so friendly...

[Muddy Funker]

We had three ex batts for around a year, really great seeing them blossom but I wasn't prepared for the damage they cause.

 

We had an eglu but let them have free run of the garden most of the time.

I'd say within six months you couldn't see a blade of grass it got ripped to shreds and eaten, it was a total mud bath.

 

Had to re home them, that said when we have a bigger place and a decent size piece of land where a small area can be sacrificed I won't hesitate in getting more as the eggs are the best you'll ever taste.

 

Just be aware that whatever piece of land you put them on will be destroyed.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Muddy Funker

[four-wheel-drive]

Just a thought how about Bantams years ago I had a friend who had some the eggs are a bit small but there are some many different types that you can get I would not mind having some myself.

[jasper3]

if you can't supply a piece of ground that you can sacrifice, then make sure you can rotate the run around the garden, as Muddy funker said, they can wreck a garden in no time at all,

hens love and need grass, so what i do is give them the grass cuttings from mine and my neighbours garden, this will help giving a good golden orange yolk and an egg that taste like nothing you can buy in supermarkets,.

 

Hens can get a mite called the red mite, these live in the cracks of the hen house.... we use a eucalyptus scented straw, this keeps the mites away.... you can also buy products to keep the mite away

ducks don't seem to have this problem, but a small pond or sunken bath tub is a must ..some say certain ducks don't need a pond...i say ******** they do

 

you must also be a wear ,that by law, you are not allowed to give the birds any waste food from your kitchen, but you can give them veg from the garden... ( cross contamination )

 

i would recommend anyone to try even a couple of chooks or ducks, they are incredible.. i would say, the EX batt hens are the friendliest out of all , and seeing them feather up is a great feeling

 

anyway!!!! I'm off to cook up a couple of Eggs now with a couple of smallholders sausages

[ditchman]

you can let the chickens free range over the garden now and then and they will eat your slugs and snails...............

[four-wheel-drive]

if you can't supply a piece of ground that you can sacrifice, then make sure you can rotate the run around the garden, as Muddy funker said, they can wreck a garden in no time at all,

hens love and need grass, so what i do is give them the grass cuttings from mine and my neighbours garden, this will help giving a good golden orange yolk and an egg that taste like nothing you can buy in supermarkets,.

 

Hens can get a mite called the red mite, these live in the cracks of the hen house.... we use a eucalyptus scented straw, this keeps the mites away.... you can also buy products to keep the mite away

ducks don't seem to have this problem, but a small pond or sunken bath tub is a must ..some say certain ducks don't need a pond...i say ******** they do

 

you must also be a wear ,that by law, you are not allowed to give the birds any waste food from your kitchen, but you can give them veg from the garden... ( cross contamination )

 

i would recommend anyone to try even a couple of chooks or ducks, they are incredible.. i would say, the EX batt hens are the friendliest out of all , and seeing them feather up is a great feeling

 

anyway!!!! I'm off to cook up a couple of Eggs now with a couple of smallholders sausages

I remember when I was young one of my gran lived in the country and kept chickens she had a stream at the bottom of her garden so she had ducks there also she had cages with rabbits in for eating and making fur gloves.

 

You talking about not giving them food from the house I can still remember the smell as she had a big pot on the stove in which she would boil up all sorts of things potato peelings and all kinds of veg all of which she fed to the birds.

 

I think the problem was not to do with veg but meat that passed diseases on so as usual the banned the lot as people could not be trusted.

[darren m]

thanks for all the comments

i have a few raised beds to rotate the pen on , no flowers as such , grass is on the otherside of garden and fenced off

 

still undeceided though .

 

how noisey can ducks get ( just thinking about the neighbours )

they'll only roam the garden when i,m there

 

which overall is the easier of the two ( time wise )

 

cheers

[WelshAndy]

I have 6 ducks and a drake the only time they are noisy is first thing in the morning when they want to be let out, generally they are pretty quiet. I love mine much more interesting than chickens and I don't have a slug or snail in my garden

[Uncle Albert]

The only problem with keeping ducks is getting them to eat a regular supply of oranges for the sauce! :lol:

 

 

OK! I'll get me coat.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Uncle Albert

[bruno22rf]

We have 2 Chooks and 2 Bantams(they're the noisiest)-we get 2-3 eggs every day and the quality is amazing-nothing like a Supermarket "free range" egg. We don't have a massive garden but cope by moving the coop/run every 2 days-washing the droppings into the grass each time keeps the smell at bay and feeds the grass. I would suggest that, unless you really like Ducks eggs, Chooks are your best bet-contact the Hen Welfare people and they arrange collection days for ex layers-you just give a donation which is cheaper than the near £20 that most Garden Centres charge.