Okay, I'm still poultryless. On the one hand, chickens are so cool and I'd really like to have 3 hens. But I'm under the impression ducks won't go after the tomatoes, berries, etc., like the chickens would. Is that right? Also, if I got ducks instead of chickens, could I do one or two instead of the suggested three hens? Or do they have the same socialization issues?
Also, if it's chickens, it's got to be hens because I'm in a neighborhood. Are ducks necessarily less annoying, noise-wise, than chickens? And should I avoid male ducks for the same reason I'd have to avoid a rooster?
Thanks so much.
Question, ducks v. chicks
well, if you live in town i don't see ho you could have ducks, unless you got muscovies.
in general, they require a pond, quack a lot, esp during mating, and are messy and smelly.
don't get me wrong, we love our four pekin ducks. i think they are all male, and of course they have a ton of room since we live out in the country.
we also have muscovies. they like a puddle on the ground best of all. they DON'T quack. they whisper. and a male/female pair make great pets!
check out some muscovy threads here and see what you think...
tf
Thanks, TF, that's what I need to know!
btw, my muscovies, geese, and chickens never bothered my hyssop before, but the pekins took a liking and stripped the whole thing!
All male ducks whisper and females quack, though their "whisper" can get pretty loud. I have a pekin male and a rouen and a aconna female (pluss about 25 babies so far). I don't have a pond, but I do keep a plastic kiddy pool for them. They really aren't very noisy and unless they are sitting on the step when they poop, not too messy. (they do like that back step though)
I also have chickens and if I had to make the choice, I think I'd go for the chickens with a small moveable pen set up. My ducks probably aren't as distructive in the garden, but they did eat my strawberries. Chickens tend to scratch in the garden which is definately a problem and ducks don't do that.
I guess over all, it depends on what you're looking for. Entertainment or a couple of eggs a day. Ducks are pretty entertaining.
I like them all but all of them can do damage to your garden. Just that it's different kinds of damage and to different kinds of plants. Reality check!
MollyD
When I had chickens, I found that after the plants in the garden were established, they would not bother them. They were grand bug hunters. If it was new sprouts or seedlings, they would eat or scratch them up.
A friend in town has a gosling and had a goose in years past. They can be trained almost as a dog. The goose doesn't need water in the manner a duck does but will eat "green". It grazes grass continuously and devours bugs. June bugs are a delicacy. As a result, probably would have to be kept out of the garden spot with new growth also.
Okay, then, maybe the original idea of 3 hens in a tractor is the best way to go, after all.
Kind of like marriage -- you don't really know until it's too late, do you? Except with marriage you USUALLY don't end up with husband noodle soup.
Unless your last name is Donner.
;}
I live in town. I have 2 ducks, both female, and they don't make nearly as much noise as my dogs. So I guess noise is relative. I have a large mutt dog and 2 papillons. The big mutt is quiet but a bulldozer while the paps are noisey but destroy less of my garden. Last year I converted all of my backyard to garden. We are also working on putting in a pond. What isn't path or pond will flower except for the duck pen, greenhouse and gazebo. When my plants were babies last year I put net fencing around them and since the big dog is destructive I have left it up this year. I can let my ducks in and out of the beds for slug patrol. Here's a pic. It might seem unsightly at first but after a while you only notice the plants.
Will chickens eat slugs, too?
bluesmaven--where is your cratered virtual lunar landscape? That is all my dogs have left in what is now known as "The Dogs' Yard." The chickens have done a wonderful job cutting down the long grass around the Irises in the chicken yard--I would hightly recommend them in an Iris bed--but they eat my Swiss Chard to the ground and grass in the chicken yard is just a distant memory.
i have chickens and ducks both...chickens are more useful...but ducks still lay eggs and are more exciting. male ducks arent mean like roosters.