How to Choose Between Ducks and Chickens for Your First Backyard Flock
Once you feel comfortable caring for pets such as cats and dogs , the transition to farm animals usually starts with poultry. And for good reason: they are relatively easy to keep in suburban areas, and with a little flexibility they can do just fine in urban areas.
The most obvious benefit of keeping poultry is tasty eggs, but birds can also become an integral part of your garden as a way to recycle yard and kitchen waste (bird food) and fertilizer (composted poultry). poop). While most people immediately consider chicken to be their first choice, ducks (not to mention turkey, geese, quail and dove) are also excellent choices.
While you can certainly have both, people usually start with one or the other. I spoke with Jordan Barnes, founder of The Smart Coop , which sells chicken coops with smart features for both chickens and ducks, about how to choose between the two.
Startup costs (for both) may surprise you
You might think that keeping chicks and ducks is cheap (chicks cost $3 to $5 and ducklings cost $5 to $10), but there are ongoing costs, especially when they are babies, that can add up quickly.
For the first six weeks of their life, you’ll have to shell out money for a brooder, which is like a mini chicken coop with a more controlled temperature. I was confident that a simple plastic bag or box would do the job, but birds grow fantastically fast and after a week or two my flock of four needed a larger dig. You can get fancy brooders for around $100, but you can also find a cheaper brooder for under $40 . The brooder will also need bedding (most people use pine shavings ), which will cost about $20 for about four cubic feet. This amount lasted only a few weeks for my four chickens.
Your chicks will also need a source of heat. While many people use heat lamps, a more modern method is a heat plate for birds to nest under, which will cost about another $30. You will also need a device so the birds can access water ($20) and food ($10). Then add the actual food and sand , which both ducklings and chicks need.
With both chicks and ducks, you’ll spend a lot of time trying to minimize the mess the birds make in the water, but with chicks it’s easier. In reality, ducks must be able to dip their beaks into the water, which requires another water supply device that facilitates splashing. Otherwise, at this stage there is not much difference in the cost of keeping ducks or chickens; both require (sometimes surprisingly) expensive things for the first six weeks of their lives that they don’t really need later.
When it comes to food and shelter, ducks cost more
After six to eight weeks, your chicks will be ready to move into the coop. Pinterest loves fancy chicken coops, but your birds won’t care what the coop looks like, which can save you some money. You can buy commercial chicken coops for anywhere from $ 150 to thousands of dollars, or build one yourself for a few hundred dollars. You might want to take some extra precautions for ducks: they like to have access to water; For example, there are fancy plans for building duck coops with moats or ponds and sunbathing areas.
“Chickens need secure housing with bars and nesting boxes,” Barnes said, describing the needs of each animal. “Ducks, being ground-dwellers, require secure housing at ground level and access to water for bathing and drinking.”
In any case, you will still have to consider bedding and feed. “The average laying hen eats about a quarter pound of feed per day or 1.5 pounds of feed per week,” Barnes said. Ducks at this age require twice as much food, about half a pound per day , and benefit from a diet that includes niacin, which chicks do not require. Niacin (vitamin B3) provides ducks with the bone growth they need to maintain their bodies, but because this water-soluble vitamin is excreted daily and not stored in the body, it must be replenished .
In short, chickens can cost between $30 and $50 per month for food and bedding, while ducks can cost between $70 and $100 per month.
Ducks are a longer labor, but they lay larger eggs.
Chickens typically live between five and ten years, but lay consistently until they are five years old. Domestic ducks can live up to twenty years . They too will lay eggs steadily for about five years, but by the time they are nine years old, all egg production will have declined.
The eggs produced by chickens and ducks differ markedly in volume and composition, Barnes noted. “Chickens are prolific layers, and high-yielding breeds produce 250 to 300 eggs a year,” he said. Although some duck breeds, such as khaki runners, can produce up to 300 eggs per year, most duck breeds produce slightly less . Ducks, although laying fewer eggs, produce larger eggs. And while taste is subjective, duck eggs are often considered more luxurious, with a richer flavor.
Both are social animals, but ducks are social butterflies.
Although I was determined not to get attached to my little flock, it’s hard to ignore how adorable the backyard birds are. My chickens have distinct personalities that are easy to observe, and although they are cautious and easily startled, they are also curious and friendly. They also have a hierarchy, Barnes noted. My small herd is managed by a Machiavellian mulberry called Cacciatore.
“Ducks are the social butterflies of the backyard,” Barnes said. “They are more intelligent and form stronger bonds, especially if you grow them by hand. Ducks are known for their quirky and playful personalities and are often less timid than chickens. They enjoy living in packs and can be very affectionate with their human caregivers.”
How Your Birds Will Interact with Your Yard
Backyard birds are a double-edged sword when it comes to the impact they will have on your yard. On the one hand, they can provide fertilizer, insect protection and an ideal composting system for kitchen waste. On the other hand, both birds can be rough with landscaping. Chickens scratch the ground to find edible insects and create mud baths, and ducks simply eat everything they can get their hands on. However, these problems only exist if you are free-ranging your birds.
However, the benefits of free range go beyond the happiness of the birds themselves, so I think it’s worth it. Obviously, free-roaming your birds benefits them greatly as they can forage and explore their surroundings, but it also means free pest control. Chickens eat insects, and ducks love snails and slugs. You just have to weigh that against the potential damage they could cause to the landscape. You also have to remember that wherever birds go, they poop, and that requires a lot of cleanup.
The good news is that this abundance of poop is great for your garden. A notable difference is that chicken manure must go through a composting period before it can be used in the garden to prevent it from burning the plants, while duck manure does not. It is considered “cold” compost and can be applied directly. Since your ducks will produce a lot of wet waste if you have a swimming pool for them, a plan for how you will use this water in your garden is necessary.