Peeps in Europe!

[kwik-kwak]

I'm now considering ducks instead of quail. I can imagine they are a lot more work than quail but the egg size makes a difference. Plus it seems like ducks are friendlier than quail?

I can definitely recommend ducks, they are very social and funny. I have the impression that quails are not so people-oriented. Of course it all depends on why you want them. We just have them for fun. They do need a lot more space and in any case a large container with water.

 

[chickengr]

I'm now considering ducks instead of quail. I can imagine they are a lot more work than quail but the egg size makes a difference. Plus it seems like ducks are friendlier than quail?

for me ducks are much easier to keep than quails. you give them some food and water and let them roam.

I am giving up quails. they poop more than they eat. small eggs and almost no meat.

 

[BDutch]

I have no experience with ducks, but I wanted them too a few years ago and did some research.
Other people say they are fun, but they make more mess / stinky mud pools than chickens. That’s why I wanted to make a duck house near to a flood (for the clean water without the fuss) .
Finally I didn’t even try to keep them because there are too many predators like foxes coming over there.

 

[CurvyCoop]

PS @BizzyBird A lot of chicken breeds in the US are not for sale / easy to buy in the Netherlands. We have different ways of doing things in Europe (no chicks by mail). Some other diseases, parasites, regulations, plants, predators and such too.

Yeah I know, some on my wishlist are gonna require some serious sleuthing. But I'm pretty good at googling my way to an answer, so I think (hope!) that it'll work out.

Question for everyone:
What do you feed your chickens?

I've read SO MUCH about different kinds of chicken feed and it's overwhelming. And so much depends on the kind of chicken and what breed and how productive you want it to be... and the millions of other variables...

 

[Maiahr]

On ducks Vs quails - I've had both. I had quails for selling eggs. No meat in quails. They smell worse than chicken but are more resilient to illnesses. I had them outside, in a bottomless cage, so not much cleaning. Ducks - make a big mess, less (almost no) eggs, I e. only purpose - fun and some meat...

@BizzyBird on feeding chicken, you said it - it all depends what you want to achieve. I feed 90% soaked wheat, 10% whatever else I have available at the moment - right now ,- Cockspur grass seeds. Plus, I found out my chicken loooooove apples, so I feed them unlimited supply of apples. Sometimes the 10% is corn, sometimes (whenever I have a high demand on eggs), the 10% is layers pellets. I give freely crashed egg shells.

 

[BDutch]

I buy organic legmeel from Welkoop. And I give them a few hands with grains (scattered) as a supplement as a treat / to keep them busy for a while. They also get a little leftovers approx 4 -5 times a week. Depending on what we have. Today they had melon peel and some cooked rice.

 

[chickengr]

Yeah I know, some on my wishlist are gonna require some serious sleuthing. But I'm pretty good at googling my way to an answer, so I think (hope!) that it'll work out.

Question for everyone:
What do you feed your chickens?

I've read SO MUCH about different kinds of chicken feed and it's overwhelming. And so much depends on the kind of chicken and what breed and how productive you want it to be... and the millions of other variables...

whatever you feed them they should forage as well. they enjoy kitchen scraps/grass as well.

 

[kwik-kwak]

On ducks Vs quails - I've had both. I had quails for selling eggs. No meat in quails. They smell worse than chicken but are more resilient to illnesses. I had them outside, in a bottomless cage, so not much cleaning. Ducks - make a big mess, less (almost no) eggs, I e. only purpose - fun and some meat...

I think it also depends on the duck breed, Indian runner ducks are apparently fine layers, not interesting for their meat I guess.

In terms of slaughter, ducks seem more difficult to me, they have such a nice personality that it makes it difficult to kill them (but I'm just too sensitive to kill animals at all).

I think the food depends on who you ask. As is often the case for humans and other animals. I have the idea that there is a trend mainly from America to feed everything a lot of protein (even people). I don't know enough about chicken feed to say anything meaningful about it myself, but I know that our chickens used to get mixed chicken grain, some shell grit and all kitchen scraps.
They all lived to be quite old, the oldest I can remember was 12, they were never sick (except just before they died). At the moment I take care of the chickens of someone from my village and she only gives wheat, for example, this does not seem optimal to me and I would not recommend it, but it is an older woman who has always done it this way. Apparently that works for her chickens.

I regularly read on this forum that you should give chickens/ducks special chicken or duck food because that is absolutely necessary. I have the impression that people forget that this processed food, before processing, consisted of whole food. The advantage of this specially formulated food is that the proportions are 'correct'. If you are going to compose yourself, it is important that you know a bit about which proportions you have to work with. I personally think it is even better to feed whole grains than the processed pellets, the nutrients are better preserved in whole grains. But only if you know what the right proportions are. I can't help you with that yet, I need to read up on that too...

I have recently started fermenting our duck food and they absolutely love it. Fermentation increases the nutritional value of feed, so that might be interesting to look at as well.

 

[BDutch]

whatever you feed them they should forage as well. they enjoy kitchen scraps/grass as well.

Yes. Free ranging as part of their feed is definitely the best. But this is officially not allowed in the Netherlands sinds October. Because of the very contagious bird flew (H5N1 ?). So I can’t recommend it.

 

[BDutch]

I think it also depends on the duck breed, Indian runner ducks are apparently fine layers, not interesting for their meat I guess.

In terms of slaughter, ducks seem more difficult to me, they have such a nice personality that it makes it difficult to kill them (but I'm just too sensitive to kill animals at all).

I think the food depends on who you ask. As is often the case for humans and other animals. I have the idea that there is a trend mainly from America to feed everything a lot of protein (even people). I don't know enough about chicken feed to say anything meaningful about it myself, but I know that our chickens used to get mixed chicken grain, some shell grit and all kitchen scraps.
They all lived to be quite old, the oldest I can remember was 12, they were never sick (except just before they died). At the moment I take care of the chickens of someone from my village and she only gives wheat, for example, this does not seem optimal to me and I would not recommend it, but it is an older woman who has always done it this way. Apparently that works for her chickens.

I regularly read on this forum that you should give chickens/ducks special chicken or duck food because that is absolutely necessary. I have the impression that people forget that this processed food, before processing, consisted of whole food. The advantage of this specially formulated food is that the proportions are 'correct'. If you are going to compose yourself, it is important that you know a bit about which proportions you have to work with. I personally think it is even better to feed whole grains than the processed pellets, the nutrients are better preserved in whole grains. But only if you know what the right proportions are. I can't help you with that yet, I need to read up on that too...

I have recently started fermenting our duck food and they absolutely love it. Fermentation increases the nutritional value of feed, so that might be interesting to look at as well.

The feed they sell (in general) in the Netherlands is a combination of low cost ingredients and a good production or growth. Economically balanced for different kind of chicks/hens:
- egg production for laying hybrids
- fast grow for meat chicks.
- healthy feed for chicks that become laying hybrids

In Europe they sell feed that is definitely lower in proteins as in the states. I don’t know if it’s healthier.

The chicken feed for consumers is (in most cases) the same as the feed for farmers. It’s is not optimised for heritage breeds or ornamental breeds. And maybe not good at all to give no other food. It has way more calcium than needed. And maybe even too much to be healthy. Especially for roosters and old hens.

Edited: spelling