Things to Consider When Raising Ducks in Your Backyard
Ever thought about raising ducks for eggs? Why raise ducks instead of—or, in addition to—chickens? Here are some important things to consider.
Should You Raise Ducks or Chickens?
First, if you have indeed raised chickens, you already know how delicious eggs straight from the coop can be. Eggs laid by chickens who enjoy plenty of sunlight and exercise roaming around eating grass, weeds, and bugs are not only tastier and fresher than store-bought eggs but also contain more nutrients. All great reasons to consider keeping a backyard flock.
Why ducks instead of chickens? For starters, ducks are easy to raise, even in a small backyard. They are extremely social, so consider raising at least three (but preferably five or six) together. In terms of male versus female ducks, good flock makeups include three females (and no males) or a male with four or five females. You don’t need a male duck (called a drake) for the females to lay eggs, but they won’t ever hatch into ducklings without a drake around.
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Also, ducks tend to be better year-round layers than chickens, continuing their egg production right through the winter without any added light. Several breeds of ducks, including Khaki Campbell, Welsh Harlequin, and Silver Appleyard, will often outlay all but the most prolific chicken breeds.
What Are Duck Eggs Like?
About 30% larger than medium chicken eggs, duck eggs can be eaten scrambled, fried, or overeasy. Highly prized by some pastry chefs due to their higher fat content, duck eggs do contain more cholesterol and calories than chicken eggs but also taste a bit richer and more “eggy.” They also contain more vitamins than chicken eggs, as well as more protein, Omega-3, and iron.
Note that some folks may be allergic to duck eggs. For this reason, it’s a good idea to try duck eggs before investing in your own flock!
Raising Ducks in Your Backyard
As far as keeping ducks, they are fairly low maintenance. Contrary to popular belief, ducks don’t need a pond to swim in; they will be content splashing around in a kiddie pool. They are extremely cold-hardy and prefer being outdoors, so their housing doesn’t need to be elaborate or all that large. A small shed, dog house, or playhouse can easily be converted to a serviceable duck house with minimal renovations—mainly a secure, predator-proof lock on the door and adequate ventilation with all openings covered with ½” welded wire to keep the ducks safe at night.
Their house should be dry and draft-free to keep them out of the rain and wind, but other than that and a pen to keep them safe from dogs, fox, coyotes, raccoon, and other predators during the day, they don’t need much else to be happy and comfortable. Ducks don’t roost on perches like chickens—instead, they sleep on a bed of straw on the floor—and they don’t need nesting boxes in which to lay their eggs, since they prefer to make a nest on the floor.
One downside to ducks (and waterfowl in general) is that they can be a bit messier than chickens. Their bedding will need to be refreshed regularly, especially if they track in water or mud.
Ducklings require heat for the first few weeks until they grow their feathers. They should be fed chick feed for the first two weeks (although it’s recommended you add Brewer’s Yeast to it in a 2% ratio for the added niacin that the ducklings require to grow strong legs and bones), then chicken grower feed until they are almost ready to lay eggs at which time they will need a layer feed. Adult ducks can eat chicken feed and enjoy treats such as peas, lettuce, and other leafy greens, as well as the occasional watermelon and cucumber.
Ducks are great foragers and will enjoy roaming your yard looking for bugs and weeds. They’ll happily scour your garden for slugs and grubs, but will also trample young plants, munch on anything green, and eat beneficial toads and earthworms, so it’s best to only allow ducks access when you don’t have crops growing or can supervise their nibbling!
For Good Luck, Get Ducks!
Raising a small flock of backyard ducks can be an extremely rewarding and enjoyable family activity. If you raise your ducks from ducklings and spend lots of time handling them, they will grow up to be friendly, affectionate pets who, as an added bonus, will lay you delicious fresh eggs. Ducks start laying eggs at about five to six months old and continue to lay for several years. However, with proper care, a duck can live to be about 12 years old. Once they stop laying, your ducks will continue to eat bugs, fertilize your lawn with nitrogen-rich manure, and entertain the entire family as you watch them splash in their pool or waddle around in the grass.
Now, if you still think chickens are more your speed, here are my thoughts on the best chicken breeds for your backyard and what to consider when choosing your first chicken.
Lisa Steele
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I'm a first time duck and chicken raiser. Ducklings are so cute for about the first day. After that, you're cleaning their plastic enclosure at least 3 times a day. I put a baking pan of water in their bin so they'd have plenty of water. What I didn't know, was that they got in the water and splashed it and food and poop all over their bin. Well they're babies so you can't have them in wet bedding. So change all the time. Finally they got big enough to go out in the pen with the chickens. Chickens have an upstairs coop so the ducks don't go in there. They have not 1 but 2 enclosures. One is like a dog house, the other one is big enough for me to stand in. I read that that would need a big house for the winter. Not. They like being outside. They're in a covered pen but it's open wire. Totally happy. The windy sides have plastic sheeting on them, because the ducks and chickens don't like the wind much. Works fine. So I have Buttercup, now white, Matilda, now a Matt, and Cocoa, also male. I get one duck egg a day and that does not get given to anyone. Best tasting eggs ever. Big yolks. I have 9 chickens and 2 roosters, so I get a lot of eggs daily. I keep waiting for the chickens to stop laying for the winter, like everyone says. Hasn't happened yet. Learning to make egg casseroles. I freeze individual portions and they come out fine. I searched for more female ducks, but couldn't find any adults in my area. No more ducklings for me thanks. Yes the adults make a mess of their water daily. I have a heated dog waterer for their daily water. It's a mess instantly, but I change it once a day. Their preferred drinking water is a mud puddle. So I don't worry about whether it's clean all day long. By the way, the chickens are fine with the water. They don't need clear water as they prefer mud puddles also. Still cute though.
I want beige DUCKS with white ring around neck they are friendly for my grandkids can anyone tell the breed and where I may purchase I live in middle Georgia
Hi, I had an injured pekin duck arrive in my backyard possibly hit by a car. Over the past 4 weeks I have set up a old rabbit hutch and fenced a large area for him to run with a small 30 gal pond. My question is I want to get him a companion female but not really for any ducklings. Is there a good way to get him company without having broods of ducklings. Thanks for any help because I am new to this.
Hi Bill. I'm no expert but I've had ducks growing up. We had a female mascovey and a male mailard. Turned out ducks can breed with other types and produce babies. Are you sure you have a male? Males will hiss, females quack. So if it's a quacker you could get another female or 2. They will still lay eggs but they won't be fertilized. If it's a hisser then it's a male. You could try another male but I would go with one of equal size. Two males may not become buddies but with no females available, they just might learn to like each other. Good luck, Wendy
Happily raising both ducks and chickens. Ducks happily sleep in a run in all weather while the chickens put themselves to bed in the coop. I keep a waterer above the coop that the chickens can get to because the ducks will 'duck up' any water they can reach in 0 seconds. I've experimented with the head hole bucket solutions, which is better than open access, but because ducks 'sluice' water with their food, if you want the chickens to have clear water, they need a source that the ducks can't reach. That being said, I still see the chickens happily drinking from the common water as well. All low maintenance, though, and so beautiful and fun to watch in the yard.
Ducks can be LOUD. Really loud. Drakes make no real sounds but hens talk a lot. Muscovies are the quietest females. And good layers.
They should be separate from chickens because their water is messy. And they need water to wash down food or they can choke. I have had ducks since 2002. Mine pretty much stop laying for the winter.
They are great pets and I love having them. But they are not low maintenance. We use heated bowls in the winter and a safe birdbath heater in the pool in the winter along with flat bowls with hot water outside. They poop A LOT. And it’s messy.
Be sure you are ready for the work. If you are, ducks are so much fun and amusement. And they are so beautiful. But they need proper care and attention.
Hi Lisa,
I enjoyed your article. I have raised one or more kinds of poultry most of my life and my experiences with ducks and chickens has been much the same as yours. Both are great, both are easy to raise, but like you said both have their unique requirements and idiosyncrasies. If you want a sustainable meat bird, IMHO you can't beat a duck. Unless you get broilers (which are hybrids, won't breed true even if they could breed), I've found that even large breeds of chickens like Brahmas and Orpingtons are, well, "chicken-chested". More bone than meat, especially the breast. You get much more bang for your buck with a medium to large duck breed like a Muscovy, Rouen or Blue Swede. I mention those three because I've raised them.
What most people don't know is that the protein in the white of duck's eggs is different than the protein in the white of chicken's eggs. Why does this matter? Well, some people can't eat duck's eggs--stomach aches, upset stomach, on and on. Some people who can't for one reason or another can't eat eggs (chicken), find they can eat duck's eggs. Some can eat one or the other, some can eat neither, and some can eat both. Be aware! I set up a whole house, yard, pool, etc. for ducks because I wanted the eggs--and ended up having to sell all I got because even using them to bake with, caused me to have stomach aches--thus prompting research to find what I've just shared.
Can you house chickens and ducks together or do they need their own spaces?
Many folks keep ducks and chickens together without any problems, but it’s not quite as simple as throwing a few ducks into your existing chicken coop. You will likely have to make some modifications to your coop in order to accommodate ducks. For example, ducks prefer to sleep on the ground rather than in nest boxes or perches, so you’ll need to provide an appropriate nesting spot on the floor of the coop. Plus, ducks can also be quite messy when it comes to food and water, so it’s a good idea to keep these things out of the coop if ducks are going to be inhabitants, too.
These are just two things to consider before adding ducks to your flock, but there is a lot more to it! We would recommend looking on Google for more information.
