Ducks - are they worth it?

[me&thegals]

They fly like bricks

It's so true! And they can't jump like chickens, so you can have a very short fence and they won't challenge it. Shoot, they can barley get into the kiddie pool

I once saw them catch a breeze and get off the ground maybe 8 inches and they all looked surprised like "WTH happened?"

And one of my favorite things about them is that they stick together. They don't scatter all over the place like the chickens. Very easy to herd them.

We've had 24 Roens for 2 weeks now. I really like them! They are beautiful (to me), definitely herd as mentioned above, do not fly--just flap around a bit--and haven't been crazily messy. They are VERY skittish, though, but I don't know if that's the breed or the way these were raised.

The guy my friend got them from said he never fed them--they foraged most of the year. In winter, he would throw them some whole corn kernels. We have ours fenced with the meat birds, so it's possible they're eating that feed. I've never seen them do so, but they waddle/scurry away to the furthest corner of their fenced area when I'm around.

We have a 1.5 x 3-foot plastic bin, about 9" high, that we will with water for them. DH has seen them splashing in it--I haven't--but it needs to be filled every day. They are always outside.

So far, they seem incredibly easy to keep! The water will be an issue in winter, so we'll have to think of something for that since they will need to share a barn with the chickens...

 

[ChickenToes]

A lot of people on BYC would disagree, but I find that keeping ducks is a lot less work than chickens. Here's a few things I've learned:

- Give them a huge run. The more room they have, the better, because they are so darn messy with their water.

-You'll get more eggs than you know what to with, so you can stockpile them in your freezer.

-They keep up their egg production for years longer than chickens do, I have 3 year old ducks that lay just as well as the 1 year olds.

-They don't need nesting boxes.

-They don't need a heated or insulated coop. I've seen my ducks sleeping on snowbanks in the dead of winter, looking like little snow covered mounds with bills.

-Give them a kiddie pool for the summer, and fill it with a hose. Easy peasy. In the winter, I use a 3 gallon black rubber bowl. I fill it with warm water, and it holds the heat in almost all day long. No need to mess with frozen waterers.

-I think they have more personality than chickens, and my girls are much nicer to each other than my hens ever were. I've had a few problem drakes, but they weren't nearly as bad as roosters.

-Let them free range and they'll take care of any bug problems you may have, and if you have slugs in your garden they'll take care of those too.

 

[paul wheaton]

I made a video today that shows ducks eating slugs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWTqHwnhn5k

 

[BeccaJoVon]

Thanks Paul. Of course, I had to read the entire thread before I watched the video, and now I want ducks!

 

[me&thegals]

We've had ducks for more than a year now and still love them! Super easy, low maintenance, pretty regular eggs which are selling for $6/dozen (although I have only found 1 customer for them so far...)

 

[BeccaJoVon]

We've had ducks for more than a year now and still love them! Super easy, low maintenance, pretty regular eggs which are selling for $6/dozen (although I have only found 1 customer for them so far...)

If you don't mind, would you please tell me what you raise and what to expect? I would like ducks for meat and eggs, but I don't want anything that is going to taste like pond water.

Thanks!

 

[BirdBrain]

I have both Myscovy and Welsh Harlequin ducks. We also used to think that Scovies were uglier than dirt...until we got some. I thought tge WH would be better egg layers than the Scovies. They are about the same and the Scovy eggs are so much bigger than the WH. We love our Scovy drake, Cocoa. He is so comical and sweet natured. The girls are also calm and sweet natured. We are going to keep back a few more Scovy girls next year. They and their duckings did such a good job of bug patrol. They went around like little vacuum cleaners sucking up bugs. The WH didn't do nearly as good a job.

 

[~gd]

We've had ducks for more than a year now and still love them! Super easy, low maintenance, pretty regular eggs which are selling for $6/dozen (although I have only found 1 customer for them so far...)

If you don't mind, would you please tell me what you raise and what to expect? I would like ducks for meat and eggs, but I don't want anything that is going to taste like pond water.

Thanks!

Well all the domestic ducks [except muscovy] were bred from the Mallard and they love to dapple in the mud. If the mud tastes like the pond the ducks will pick up the taste. If they eat a lot of fish they can taste fishy too. the taste does not usually get into the eggs. You can clean up the taste of a duck by keeping it with clean food and water for about a month. One needs to plan ahead if you are going to send a duck to 'freezer camp' because they molt more often than chickens and removing pin feathers can be a chore that can be avoided by processing at the right time or you can skin them to save a lot of time in return for giving up the crispy skin which is the best feature of duck meat IMHO. Do you like Duck meat? there is no white meat, only dark and darker and many complain about the fat and being greasy.
The Moscovy is a different bird, Wild it nests in trees and are great flyers. Domestics have been bred for large size so have lost some but not all of their flying ability, the meat is less fatty and reminds me of beef or veal so I like to eat it rare to medium rare. They can be baby making machines 3 clutches of 12-15 ducklings is not uncommon where the weather allows it. since they take 5 weeks to hatch while other ducks take 4 weeks. they can spend almost the entire warm season being broody [sitting eggs} for egg production you have to pick up the eggs daily [and they are good at hiding their nests} the eggs are usually Jumbo to slightly larger, great for baking uses [all duck eggs are] for my mony Muscovy is the way to go. ~gd

 

[Bettacreek]

I have to agree with everyone else. Ducks can be incredibly messy. They're flock animals, etc. I have five mixies that I happened upon. I've gone through one 50lb bag of feed and what was left of another bag (maybe 20lbs?) in seven months. That's $20 for seven months worth of food. I didn't spend a cent on anything else for them. They stayed outdoors from day one (they were hatched that day), no heat lamps, nothing. They forage for their own feed, and many days they don't get any feed. I've been trying to make sure that I feed every day, and have been feeding a scoop of scratch and a scoop of pellet each day (that I feed, lol) and they've been doing well on it. They cleaned up the mess from the apple tree (fallen, rotten apples) and are just awesome animals all around. They are loud though. If they hear me out front, they "yell" for me, and if I'm planning on feeding, I'll call back so they know it's time to get some feed. They will also hear the boys inside sometimes and call out to them too.

 

[BeccaJoVon]

Thanks so much for the replies.

I am leaning toward Muscovy. How well do they fly and is there a risk of them leaving the property? We have 30+ acres and they will be free-ranged with putting them up at night to protect them from predators. I see some of the hatcheries offer to clip their wings. Is clipping necessary? Also, how difficult is it to train the Muscovy to come in for the evening? I won't be having to beat on trees or anything like that, will I?

I have a lot to consider, and I will likely be back later with more questions.

Again, Thanks!