Are ducks right for me?
Are ducks right for me?Ducks are a great animal to start with if you are considering adding livestock to your life, but of all the duck breeds which one should you pick? Farm or not, having these adorable waddlers in your backyard is always entertaining!
They are small and easy to handle, tend to be quite hardy, rarely become aggressive, most breeds don’t fly, and they are sociable and engaging to watch.
Duck eggs are delicious, higher in both protein and healthy fats than chicken eggs are (bakers go nuts over them), and some people who are sensitive to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs with no problem (if you are actually allergic to eggs, please consult your medical professional for advice).
Some breeds, especially the hybrids selected for egg production, lay more eggs per year than the best production chickens do, do so for more years, and seem to be far less likely to stop laying when days get short in the winter or hot in the summer (chicken hens can be real prima donnas when stressed).
Duck meat is also delicious, and, if your ducks get plenty of exercise and a good diet, they won’t be as fatty as some commercial duck meat is. For a while, we raised Muscovy ducks and the meat was very similar to a beef roast.
How many Ducks should I Get?
Ducks are social birds so plan on starting with at least two. A single duck is a lonely duck and will do its darnedest to follow you around when you are in sight, and quack disconsolately when you aren’t…which can get really old.
Males and Females?
Calmer breeds of duck are quite happy with a ratio of one male to one female, others do better with more females than males, up to 4 to 5 ducks (female ducks are “ducks,” male ducks are “drakes”) per gent if you want fertile eggs, so the ducks won’t get mounted so often (drakes can be, shall we say, very enthusiastic breeders).
More drakes than ducks rarely works, for the same reason.
You can keep just females (unless you want to hatch ducklings, of course), but a girls-only flock may be harder to manage.
A friend of mine had 20 ducks (she sold eggs) and the girls decided my friend was the drake: all of them would squat around her and quack seductively whenever she came to feed or water them. It is extremely hard to walk when the ground is covered with submissive ducks, as they don’t move until they get what they want!
Worst, according to her husband, was if you mistakenly started to put your foot down on top of one (which was hard not to do), that duck would stand up and give herself an enthusiastic “I just got lucky” shake: it gave him the creeps.
So, her advice is to always keep a drake or two around for the girls to bat their eyelashes at.
A few downsides
Much as I love ducks, they aren’t for everyone.
Ducks can be messy (they throw water around, make lots of gooey poop, and walk on everything with their big flat feet).
Ducks also quack. A lot. Even during the night, if something disturbs them.
So they may not be the best choice if you have neighbors close by (Muscovies are the exception; they hiss rather than quack). Ducks are also very suspicious of anything new, so you need to be a bit patient when it comes to changing things around them.
Over the years on our farm, we’ve had various duck breeds, and the problem we’ve always run into was the ducks loved to swim (and poop!) in the goat’s water. Because we have a large pasture and let all the animals in the same area during the day, this became a big problem. The only solution for us was to sell the ducks, but we plan on in the future installing either automatic waterers or bubble waterers for all the animals so we don’t have large buckets of water for the ducks to destroy.
Duck Breeds
There are dozens of domestic duck breeds, many with different color options, to choose from.
Most duck breeds that are commonly available are easy to raise and good choices for beginners (you may want to skip over the tiny Call Ducks, cute as they are, as they are extra-loud and the tiny ducklings need extra care; and any that are good fliers, such as Mallards, as they will be in the neighbors’ fish pond every time you look around).
If you just want a few ducks to have around as pets, picking up a few ducklings at the local feed store or ordering “hatchery choice” are affordable options. Think about what you want to raise ducks for, check out the available breeds and see which you like the look of, and get some ideas. Be aware you may have to get on a waiting list if you pick something rare, so if you want your ducks right away, a more common breed may be better.
Here are some duck breed suggestions to help you get started…
Best Duck Breeds for Pets
If you just want a few quackers to enjoy and make pets of, a calm breed is a good choice, though any duck that is handled gently and frequently will get reasonably friendly and used to humans.
- Welsh Harlequins tend to have a very calm personality and their small size (4.5 to 5.5 pounds) makes them easy to handle, even for children. They are some of the most prolific egg layers around but also like to sit on and hatch eggs, making them a good choice if you’d like to slowly increase your flock.
- Pekins also tend to be very calm birds, but are larger than Harlequins (drakes of the larger strains can weigh up to 13 pounds) so they may not be the best choice for small children.
Best Duck Breeds for Foraging and Pest Control
Ducks are omnivores, eating not only duck pellets, but lots of green leaves (watching a couple of ducks devour a head of leaf lettuce is downright scary and always reminds me of lions on the veldt) and any small critters they can find, ranging from mosquito larva, to slugs and snails, and even the odd frog or vole.
This means they can help you manage weeds and pests while cutting your duck feed bill.
- (Indian) Runners are amazing garden helpers and, unlike chickens, they don’t dig stuff up (just keep them away from small seedlings, as flat duck feet are great squashers, and ripe strawberries, which they are rumored to find irresistible). I also never tire of watching Runner, well, run, with their odd upright bodies, sort of like bowling pins with legs.
- Campbells, Harlequins, and Hook Bills are also good foragers.
Best Duck Breeds for Eggs
All ducks will provide you with some eggs, but many breeds lay predominantly in the spring and summer, leaving you eggless for months at a time (due to their thick shells and membranes, duck eggs store in the ‘fridge for many months though, so you may be able to stockpile eggs for eggless periods if you have room).
Two of the best heritage breeds for eggs are (Khaki) Campbells and Welsh Harlequins, especially if you buy from a breeder or hatchery that selects for laying ability rather than looks. Welsh Harlequins tend to be very calm, while Campbells tend to be loud and nervous. Raising a heritage breed gives you the option of hatching eggs to add more birds to your flock, as long as you are willing to eat the extra males.
If egg production is your primary goal, Metzer sells a couple of great hybrids, the Golden 300 Hybrid Layer and the White Layer, which will pop out an egg almost every day all around the calendar and are much calmer than Campbells. The downside to hybrids is any ducklings hatched from their eggs will be extremely variable and rarely much like the parents.
Best Duck Breeds for Meat
All ducks are edible and tasty, but some have been selected because they grow fast and make a lot of meat for the amount of feed they consume.
If you want to grow a batch of meat ducks to fill your freezer, and especially if you want to cut them up into boneless breast cutlets (for grilling, yum) and legs (for stewing), it’s hard to beat Hybrid or Jumbo Pekins. They grow so fast it’s almost scary and their white feathers make for a clean looking dressed bird (why DO we call a bird without it’s feathers “dressed,” shouldn’t it be called undressed?).
Muscovies (not technically a duck, they are their own species, but they are quite duck-like in appearance and taste) are a great choice for meat, being much leaner than true ducks and getting quite large (adult males weigh as much as 15 pounds). Select a white feathered strain for a clean-looking dressed bird. Muscovy females can hatch out a couple of huge broods of ducklings every year (a friend says her birds frequently hide nests and reappear weeks later with as many as 20 yellow fuzzballs in tow), so they are very sustainable. The downside is that young Muscovies fly early and well, and females continue to fly as adults (males eventually get too heavy), so catching your dinner can be a challenge. If meat is the plan, pen them as ducklings and butcher them as adolescents, before they get airborne.
Best Multi-Purpose Duck Breeds
If getting a reasonable number of eggs, a few smaller meat birds to butcher, and birds that will hatch out their own replacements sounds like a good plan you are in good company and just about any of the heritage breeds are a good choice.
Welsh Harlequin, Buff, Silver Appleyards, Saxonies, Anconas, and Magpies are all good choices. Runners and the smaller duck breeds don’t have much meat on them, but are still perfectly tasty.
Getting Started with Ducks
Getting Started with DucksFinding adult ducks for sale can be challenging, so most people start with ducklings.
If you shop online or from a catalog, the newly hatched ducklings can be sent to you through the mail (ducklings don’t need to eat or drink for about the first 48 hours).
Many hatcheries have a minimum order, which is set so that the ducklings can generate enough heat to keep themselves comfortable during the trip. A few hatcheries will ship as few as two ducklings for an extra fee, which covers heat-packs and special packaging to keep them comfortable and safe during transit.
My go-to hatchery for ducklings is Metzer Farms in California (yes, they routinely successfully ship ducklings all over the U.S.). Metzer also has great info on raising ducks on their website. If you are looking for a specific and less common breed try searching The Livestock Conservancy’s Online Directory.
And finally, when your ducks are on they’re way, Amazon is a great place to pick up supplies for your new ducklings.
I’d love to start raising a couple of ducks! I have a relatively small back yard (45 feet by 30 feet) and it gets quite a lot of snow, usually starting in November and lasting until May.
So I’m concerned about caring for them and their quality of life during the winter months here. And undoubtedly, a kiddy pool of water would quickly become an ice rink! And insights to share?
Hi Bonnie-
To keep the ducks in the winter they need a dry warm shelter with lots of straw. They do need fresh water constantly for drinking, mixing their food, and bathing. You can buy large heated water bowls (unless they are ducklings, then a smaller shallow one is better) that will suffice for the winter. Giving them more water in the summer so they can swim will make them happier ducks. Eventually you could even build a small duck pond with a water heater that would work well for the ducks, because the more fresh water you can provide, the healthier and happier they will be.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I am thinking of maybe getting a pet duck but I can´t decide witch breed I want. I want a very cuddly duck and one that doesn’t quack to much, I am not sure if I am going to hatch ducklings or not so that is not a top priority. I think my top choices are; White Pekin, welsh harlequin, and rouen. Also I have a cat but he is in indoor cat and I would keep him away from the ducks. I would like a duck that would not fly away, I know welsh harlequin ducks are smaller than most ducks so I don´t know how much that would effect that. I live where there is not really any other animals other than rabbits, squirrels, and small birds.
Hi Zoe-
Any of those breeds would be good as long as you worked with them a lot. You can clip the ducks wings to keep them from flying off.
Best of luck with your ducks!
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I’ve been wanting to get some baby ducks for a while now but I’ve been doing a lot of research to make sure I take care of them right. The only thing I can’t figure out is if I should get a straight run or if I should choose the amount of girls and boys I want. I read that if you get a straight run of ducklings then you don’t know what you might get and I want to make sure that my ducklings will be happy with the right amount of girls and boys that should be in a group. Do you know if there are any hatcheries that will let you choose the sex of the ducklings in the amount that you want to have in your group?
Hi Barbara-
You can try Metzger Farms. They sex ducks and geese if you want them to for your order. https://www.metzerfarms.com/SexingBirds.cfm?affiliate=undef&CustID=25799263
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Best calm ducks that like water and can live with hens please
Hi Audrie-
The two calm breeds that are mentioned in the article (Pekins and Welsh) are good with chickens. All ducks love water.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
you should fence in part of your lake and put the ducks
run there
I dream of having some ducks. They would be my first animals. Our property is on a lake so there are wild birds. I’m afraid letting them loose means they would just disappear. Keeping them fenced and looking at the lake just feels mean. Any thoughts?
Hi Diane-
It’s always great when ducks can have a body of water to live on. They tend to flourish that way. However, just know that while most domestic ducks cannot fly away some smaller breeds can and will need their wings clipped. And know that not having the ability to fly can make them vulnerable to predators. Also, wild and tame ducks can pass disease among each other. They can also breed with one another. Even if those things are not a concern, know that the lake may prohibit tame ducks/livestock depending if it is a homeowners association lake or if your state’s fish and game department may prohibit it.
So it’s best to investigate what is allowable in your area and how you want to raise your ducks.
Best of luck!
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
If you spend 50 or 60 dollars on ducklings and a bag of chick starter, you can raise them in a small pen in your yard (protected from above!), train them to hand feed, then release them, and they will be your friends. It is exceptionally easy, so long as you don’t think of them as yours. They are wild animals that humans have caught. Some will be eaten. Some will disappear. The rest will live and produce young. Start by restricting the food you leave for them in the pen and only allow them to feed from your hand. Hunger is a powerful motivator, and when they learn they can approach your hand without being eaten themselves, they will become your friends quickly. Leave food out for them if you fear they will disappear. Ducks are suckers for a free meal of 5 way scratch, sunflower seeds, or whatever grain you can sling. They will even go for whole corn, which is the cheapest option. I don’t like using cracked corn because birds seem to overlook it. Never chase them. Allow them to come to your hand. A mother duck will spoil your attempts to hand train ducklings, so remove any mothering figure. I have successfully trained ducklings to hand feed just by keeping them on a feeding schedule, once in the morning, once in the afternoon. Do not leave food in the pen during this process. Plenty of water of course, but no food! Eventually the ducks will prefer your hand to the ground because it is softer and they have to work less for big mouthfuls of seed.
I would like to have some ducks for my urban home but unfamiliar with general characteristics of each breed. I would like them primarily for eggs and foraging. I don’t care if they reproduce or not. I have a canal (connecting two lakes) in my back yard which the ducks could forage freely during the day but I want them to return to their fenced pen in my yard at night (hopefully leave me some eggs). They will be free to roam and forage the canal during the day but I don’t want them to wonder off to a neighbors home. I want to protect them from predators so I need them to return to their pen daily. Any particular breed have the “homing pigeon” gene so they return to their home? Can anyone suggest the number of ducks that can be kept comfortably in a 10 ft.x 12 ft fenced pen ? Any suggestions on books or links to web-pages to learn more about ducks and what I can do to keep them happy.
Hi Leonard-
That’s great you are thinking about getting ducks. To address some of your questions what I can tell you is that no domestic breed of duck has more of a homing instinct thank another. However, ducks are smart critters and they know where home is. You will need them to recognize home by the place that they get fed, have a safe place to sleep, and (to entice them more) a clean (they LOVE clean water) little place to swim. So when you first get them keep them locked up for about a week so they learn where they are to eat, sleep, and have a clean place to swim (i.e. kiddie pool). Later you can let them out and feed them in the evenings so they come in each night.
For a fenced area (a run) for ducks, each duck needs about 20 square feet. The pen you described is about 120 square feet so you could keep 6 ducks.
And just as a side note since you mentioned you live in an urban area I am linking DaNelle’s article about HOAs, just to make sure you are not violating any housing, city, or county laws. https://www.weedemandreap.com/hoa-approved-backyard-farm/
I hope this helps. Best of luck!
-Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I grew up with Mallards and they still hold a special place in my heart. I remember we’d periodically go out and catch each duck to trim it’s wings; I don’t ever recall losing any to them flying away, and we did get lots of eggs, a good thing with a family of six kids. We never ate our ducks but that was probably because we also had about 50 rabbits, 49 females and our one big buck.
I’m still considering getting a few female Mallards, maybe 4 or 5, but wondered if they need overhead protection from hawks, etc. It’s also harder to have them in an HOA, especially when our West side neighbor, the side with the garden I’d want them to keep pests out of, can be persnickety about even little things like me watering my garden.
Hi Shawn-
Ducks are such wonderful little animals. Quirky, fun, and pleasant in attitude. And it sounds as a kid they were very useful to you.
That’s great you are considering ducks again! It can be difficult to raise any livestock-esque animals in town. You really have to make sure your HOA allows it and the neighbors don’t get grumpy about it because I have seen (more than once) ducks and chickens “magically” disappear when neighbors don’t appreciate them as much as the owners do. So befriend your neighbor if you can by bringing over peace offerings of fresh garden veggies and a duck egg or two (or cake made with them) now and again.
As for overhead hawk protection, they don’t seem to bother in town ducks and chickens as much as their country living counterparts. However, it is something you need to considered, and watch out for the owls too. I find yards with lots of tall grasses such as Pampas grasses seem to keep hawks and owls away. Large trees seem to discourage hawks, but can give an owl a place to roost.
You can use wind chimes or something similar to scare them away or cover part of your yard with netting to offer protection.
Best of luck with your ducks. I hope they stay safe. Happy Duck Raising! -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
After 2 1/2 years of begging my husband he finally came home a week ago with 2 baby ducks I was so excited I made sure they had water all hours of the day and food available too them I do have them in a pen, and I still lost one this morning I went out too wake them up and check on them and he was dead. I was very upset so he brought home 2 more making a total of 3 now but just wanna see if any one has any tips for beginners I don’t wanna loose any more I fought him too hard too get them there so sweet and cute. And so much fun can anyone help thanks in advance.
Hi Alexis-
I’m really sorry about your duckling. Sometimes ducklings are born weak and simply don’t make it. There are some diseases that can make ducks sick, even leading to death. Here is some information on this: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/animal-health-diagnostic-center/programs/avian-health/health-care
Other things that affect ducklings are getting too cold, too hot, or eating over-medicated food (made for adult ducks), which becomes toxic to ducklings.
I’m not sure if these things are what affected your duckling, but they are something to consider. Here is some information on raising ducklings that might also help: https://extension2.missouri.edu/g8920
Best wishes on raising your ducks.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
That’s a lot of info there but very crisp and neat. If I was reading this article for the first time without seeing your blog, I’d think you’re a duck farmer for life! Keep rocking! 🙂
Zeru-
Thanks so much! And yes duck farming may be lifelong! 🙂
We’re all about the Silver Appleyards. During peak production our 4 duck hens were giving us 3-4 eggs/day. Now they’re in molt, but we love them. We’ve also found them to be comparatively quiet.
Hi Steve-
Such beautiful ducks! Great on the egg production! Yes molting is quite fun.
Glad they aren’t too noisy for you. I know they can be a bit chatty sometimes. When they do speak is it in a British accent? That was my attempt at humor since they are British breed 😉
Seriously though, I hope your ducks keep doing well and peak production does too. Thanks and enjoy your ducks! -Bobbi
We’ve had ducks before but we ended up with only males so we found them a new home. We are getting goats in a few weeks and I want to get ducks again but am concerned about the water situation. We have a small creek that runs through the pasture so wondered if the ducks would most likely stay down there instead of in the goat’s water buckets. That is my only concern with getting ducks again. I am wanting them for eggs. They are quite messy so I’m planning on containing them in the fence with the goats. I got tired of dodging poo on the driveway. Any thoughts?
Hi Stacie-
I love the fact you are getting goats and maybe ducks. Those are 2 of the most loveable and comical animals I have ever owned. You are right to be concerned about the water situation. While the creek may draw your ducks there once in awhile, they prefer still waters, such as a pond, pool, and yes, some other animals watering tank. So what I can tell is that unless the buckets are covered, they will be in them, unless the buckets are very, very small. Some things you can try are to provide a kiddy pool for your ducks to swim in that is not directly next to the goats water. Although, make sure your goats don’t have access to this. Plus keep the water relatively clean, ducks LOVE fresh water! Also you can cover your water buckets with something like a mesh that allows a space big enough for your goats head, but discourages the ducks from jumping in. Although sometime this can freak the goats out. Another thing you can try is floating a small ball in the bucket. This can often scare the ducks just enough to stay out. However, it this too can freak your goats out.
If you can’t keep them out, you really need to change the water as often as necessary. Duck poop and goat drinking it, don’t mix all that well.
I hope this information helps. Best of luck! Happy Goating and maybe Duck-ing! -Bobbi
We had a kiddy pool for our Mallards and they ABSOLUTELY loved it! Just be aware that anything and everything nearby will be constantly wet with a mix of water and duck poo…but I bet it makes great fertilizer!
Hi Shawn-
You are most absolutely right! Ducks and their water seem to travel beyond distances you wouldn’t even think possible. And yes, fantastic fertilizer! Thanks so much for reading and posting! Happy Duck Raising! -Bobbi