duck eggs

[swampyacrefarms]

I am thinking about getting some ducks and was wondering if anyone could tell me any information on what breed of ducks are good, eggs and how often they lay, and living arrangements. I have chickens and i heard it is not good to house them together.

 

[Kevin565]

Khaki Campbells and Runner Ducks are great choices for egg layers. Many people on here house ducks and chickens together. The big issue is if drakes try to breed hens because that can cause severe internal damage.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Welsh Harlequins lay about as many eggs per year as Khaki Campbells, but I think they are a much prettier duck. I have WH's and I just love them. They are so funny! The first picture is of one of my drakes, and in the second you can see the girls, my drake, and part of my Cayuga drake. They are watching my Toulouse geese with fascination!

 

[Kadjain]

Welsh Harlequins lay about as many eggs per year as Khaki Campbells, but I think they are a much prettier duck. I have WH's and I just love them. They are so funny! The first picture is of one of my drakes, and in the second you can see the girls, my drake, and part of my Cayuga drake. They are watching my Toulouse geese with fascination!

Are the Welsh loud ducks or are they quiet like the Khakis? I did not know the Welsh was a good laying breed.. . ?

I had both Khakis and Runners and the Khakis way out lay the Runners and the Khakis are quieter than the Runners. The Runners were actually quite loud. I have since sold my Runners and now only have Khakis and Muscovy's, they are both very quiet breeds.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

This is from Metzers site, you can see the complete chart here: Duck Breed Comparison

The only thing from this chart I dont agree with is that our Khaki's arent nervous at all. They are excellent foragers and herd very well.

Breed​

Temperament​

Weight (1)​

Egg Prod. (2)​

Mothering​

Bluish Eggs​

Egg Size (3)​

Fertility (4)​

Khaki Campbell Nervous 3.5 - 4.5 # 165 - 210 /yr. Good Less Than 5 % 75 - 85 grams 87 %​

Welsh Harlequin Very Calm 4.5 - 5.5 # 150 - 200 /yr. Good Less Than 2 % 75 -85 grams 75 %​

Blue Runner Nervous 3.25 - 4 # 100 - 180 /yr. Poor - Fair 70 % 65 - 80 grams 84 %​

Housing depends on where you live. Warm climates need different housing than cold climates. Below are images to help get you started on ideas.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I have one duck who quacks a bit, but for the most part they are calm and quiet. They only really quack when I come out the door and head toward the duck house/run. Then the Toulouse geese chime in, and it's quite the lovely greeting! They are smart and easy to get into the house when I want them there, or out of it when I'm trying to clean it. (They have to come and see what I'm up to and if I'll give them some dried meal worms for a treat - they'll eat these out of my hand. They are just a hoot to watch, and are such beautiful ducks.

 

[DB_Tex]

The majority of runners hardly lay worth a darn compared to the majority of campbells and welsh. The absolute best layers however-- are metzer's layer hybrids. Either the white, or the golden 300. They are about a pound larger than campbells, lay huge eggs and take shorter breaks in laying-- they're not bad ducks for layers, but they don't breed true like a purebred duck does.

 

[Ashburnham]

I always keep chooks and ducks separate because the ducks
foul the chooks drinking water and can cause disease.

An dthe drakes will continually try to mate with the hens.

 

[Kadjain]

I've had ducks and chickens for years and I've never seen a drake try to top a chicken hen. At night I keep them all together in a 10' x 16' coop and never have problems, but the ducks do dirty the water supplies pretty quick.

 

[Ashburnham]

I've had ducks and chickens for 40 years and it has always happened/
maybe it depends on the breed- I have always had Pekins or Khaki Campbells.