Chickens vs ducks for eggs and meat

[Everose]

So I've looked up a LOT of threads on BYC and I'm sure that somewhere there is a thread like this but I couldn't find it.
We have ducks and chickens and I love them both. Chickens like our california whites and white rocks and other assorted breeds are great yard scratchers and compost tillers that lay eggs and are edible. Ducks (my welsh harlequins specifically) are great bug control, weed eating, no rooster attacking, no crowing at 3 in the morning, whopper egg layers, that taste like bird bacon and give us immediately applicable manure...ok maybe I'm biased. I still like both even though ducks are obviously better. But my mom is stuck on chickens being better egg layers and meat producers (maybe being biased and stubborn was hereditary ). I have read multiple times that ducks are better than chickens for both eggs and meat when "managed correctly"...WHAT EXACTLY IS "MANAGED CORRECTLY"!!! So to sum it up, how do you manage your laying birds and meat birds and how do they compare "chicken vs duck". I DO like chickens, a lot actually. I'm doing my own charts and observations to help other people in the future but until they're done I'd like to know how your birds have done and which you prefer.

Side note: Ducks are actually way cleaner in my opinion because they don't roost on everything under the sun and then go and shoot poop for fun.

 

[Alaskan]

I prefer eating duck meat..

I prefer eating chicken eggs

I do NOT like taking care of "regular" ducks, I loved my Muscovy..

I think it really boils down to you keeping what you enjoy keeping the most

You need to do what brings you joy, because joy is priceless.

Which is why some people keep cute fat floofy hens that lay twice a week and eat a house full of feed instead of a more practical breed.

But some people derive great joy from knowing that the breed they are keeping is a frugal eater and a prolific layer. . And some of those also come in great colors and varieties as well...

So... I say, pick joy.

 

[3KillerBs]

So... I say, pick joy.

I love this!!!!

If we were really in it to save money we'd buy eggs in the 60-count boxes from Wal-Mart.

So people should get the prettiest chickens.

Or the funniest.

Or the most interesting.

 

[Acre4Me]

Agree- what gives you joy?

cheapest is definitely mass produced eggs you had nothing to do with as @3KillerBs noted.

you and mom differ on what is best, so keep both if possible.

we’ve not yet had ducks, but I’m intrigued ... often people love their ducks!! It will have to wait, however. This year, our newest addition is turkeys! Maybe ducks will be next year.

 

[Everose]

I completely agree with all of you that's why my family moved out of the city and onto a farm in the middle of nowhere. Eggs from the store were all we ever ate, until we got chickens. I would never go back and I am in love with all of our farm animals, but like I said we live on a farm and farms are expensive. I don't have ducks for a hobby or a pet I need them to lay eggs for eating and selling (I do treat them like pets because they deserve that) so cost efficiency is important. I have heard it from many people, and read it on many sites, that ducks are better than chickens when managed correctly but I am interested in seeing what has worked for other people. If ducks can't do better than chickens then I'm going to keep my flock small, but if they are better then I'm going to invest in some VERY expensive stock. I wouldn't get rid of any of them (chickens or ducks) because I really do enjoy having them so ultimately Its not a matter of which is better but which I should invest more money and time into

 

[Acre4Me]

I'm going to invest in some VERY expensive stock

So, why expensive stock? If you are showing them, maybe worthwhile.

However, to profit off of your ducks you may need to determine the market. Eggs? I hear they are better for baked goods than a chicken egg (makes things fluffier or whip up better or something like that), so they could be sold at a premium price. In order to sell to a bakery or restaurant you will need some kind of inspection, etc. call local ag extension office they should be able to provide you more info.

if you sell day old ducklings or chicks, you need to be NPIP to ship live poultry.

if you Have a market to sell duck meat, great.
Do you know what/how you are able to sell legally? For example, in my state I can sell a whole lot from my “doorstep”, but farmers market, grocery, or restaurant requires different levels of oversight. This oversight may cost more money than you want to spend.

good luck!

 

[Everose]

So, why expensive stock? If you are showing them, maybe worthwhile.

However, to profit off of your ducks you may need to determine the market. Eggs? I hear they are better for baked goods than a chicken egg (makes things fluffier or whip up better or something like that), so they could be sold at a premium price. In order to sell to a bakery or restaurant you will need some kind of inspection, etc. call local ag extension office they should be able to provide you more info.

if you sell day old ducklings or chicks, you need to be NPIP to ship live poultry.

if you Have a market to sell duck meat, great.
Do you know what/how you are able to sell legally? For example, in my state I can sell a whole lot from my “doorstep”, but farmers market, grocery, or restaurant requires different levels of oversight. This oversight may cost more money than you want to spend.

good luck!

I can sell at farmers markets and I would love to show I am going to buy Holderreads stock because they helped to perfect the welsh harlequin breed and introduce them to the US. They have the most accurate information on the breed versus some of the other hatcheries I was considering.

If I can sell enough netherlands dwarf bunnies and what not I can purchase a trio from holderreads but it's a lot of work, so I would like to know that my money and time will be well spent. If the ducks aren't going to be better than chickens then I'm going to invest in something else. I'm already doing my own comparison but it's slow going

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've both. I like duck meat, but not every meal. I LOVE duck eggs (though you have to alter almost all your chicken egg recipes to use them in baking). and yet I keep more chickens than ducks.

From a feed efficiency standpoint, while my Pekin ducks put on weight fast, the distribution is odd, the plucking is more difficult, the flavor is stronger, and the yield is lower per pound live weight than some of my chickens. They don't lay regularly, I had to go almost 5 months (of huge feed consumption) before I started getting any eggs, and I've yet to better a 50% hatch rate of replacements - which takes 4 weeks, not 3, in the incubator and further reduces their productivity. I could not keep myself in poultry meat with a flock of ducks at reasonable price and commitment in resources.

My chickens - which I'm working on improving - are more predator aware and better at escape, lay more consistently, have better feed conversion rates, and are more neutral in palate, allowing a greater culinary range. I can fit more in a given space, and they (mostly) reach egg laying maturity faster. While they are slower to put on weight, maintaining weight at maturity isn't (quite) as costly.

Cows have purpose. Pigs have purpose. Goats have purpose. Bees have purpose. So do ducks. So do chickens.

As long as you respect what they are good at, and don't try to force them to be something they aren't, you can be both happy and reasonably cost effective. But if you plan to work against millennia of Mother Nature doing her thing (only recently given an assist by human hands) you've picked an uphill battle with a powerful, and utterly uncaring, adversary.

I've 5 ducks - 2 drakes, 3 hens. In 10 days, if I'm fortunate, all 6 duck eggs in the incubator will hatch. I'll keep the hens, eat the drakes (plus the second drake in my original batch) and continue to incubate and cull till I reach 2 drakes and 8 hens I'm happy with. For daily eggs and holiday meals.

But my chickens I'm incubating towards a breeding project till I hit about 50 birds, selectively culling for meat on the table, while largely donating the excess eggs. Eventually, I'll sell eggs, cheaply, and chicks lacking in desired coloration, also cheaply, to help cover feed costs.

 

[Everose]

I've both. I like duck meat, but not every meal. I LOVE duck eggs (though you have to alter almost all your chicken egg recipes to use them in baking). and yet I keep more chickens than ducks.

From a feed efficiency standpoint, while my Pekin ducks put on weight fast, the distribution is odd, the plucking is more difficult, the flavor is stronger, and the yield is lower per pound live weight than some of my chickens. They don't lay regularly, I had to go almost 5 months (of huge feed consumption) before I started getting any eggs, and I've yet to better a 50% hatch rate of replacements - which takes 4 weeks, not 3, in the incubator and further reduces their productivity. I could not keep myself in poultry meat with a flock of ducks at reasonable price and commitment in resources.

My chickens - which I'm working on improving - are more predator aware and better at escape, lay more consistently, have better feed conversion rates, and are more neutral in palate, allowing a greater culinary range. I can fit more in a given space, and they (mostly) reach egg laying maturity faster. While they are slower to put on weight, maintaining weight at maturity isn't (quite) as costly.

Cows have purpose. Pigs have purpose. Goats have purpose. Bees have purpose. So do ducks. So do chickens.

As long as you respect what they are good at, and don't try to force them to be something they aren't, you can be both happy and reasonably cost effective. But if you plan to work against millennia of Mother Nature doing her thing (only recently given an assist by human hands) you've picked an uphill battle with a powerful, and utterly uncaring, adversary.

I've 5 ducks - 2 drakes, 3 hens. In 10 days, if I'm fortunate, all 6 duck eggs in the incubator will hatch. I'll keep the hens, eat the drakes (plus the second drake in my original batch) and continue to incubate and cull till I reach 2 drakes and 8 hens I'm happy with. For daily eggs and holiday meals.

But my chickens I'm incubating towards a breeding project till I hit about 50 birds, selectively culling for meat on the table, while largely donating the excess eggs. Eventually, I'll sell eggs, cheaply, and chicks lacking in desired coloration, also cheaply, to help cover feed costs.

Thank you! Yes I know all about trying to do the whole against mother nature thing we were gonna try to grow all kinds of plants outside of our growing zone by using inground green houses and ponds and shade, water dripping systems and lots of other stupid things but ultimately we ended up growing only plants that grow like weeds.

Just out of curiosity have you clipped the feathers around the vents of your pekin? It's supposed to help with fertility in big ducks like pekin.

Again thank you for responding

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have not. Nor had i ever heard such a thing. Thank you, i have a new subject for research!!!!