Ducks - are they worth it?

[Javamama]

They fly like bricks

It's so true! And they can't jump like chickens, so you can have a very short fence and they won't challenge it. Shoot, they can barley get into the kiddie pool

I once saw them catch a breeze and get off the ground maybe 8 inches and they all looked surprised like "WTH happened?"

And one of my favorite things about them is that they stick together. They don't scatter all over the place like the chickens. Very easy to herd them.

 

[Blackbird]

When I signed into yahoo today, on the newsletter, their daily random bit of info was 'A duck's quack doesn't echo.'

Nonsense. They obviously haven't heard a Buff before.

 

[ksalvagno]

Obviously people who have never owned animals!

 

[savingdogs]

You can add cayugas to your list of pretty breeds that do not fly and lay nice eggs.

We had four and only one (the drake) was mean. I think he just had an ornery streak from day one. Cayugas are really quite ornamental, the male especially is stunning when the sunlight hits it.

I think with ducks you need a harmonious group, just like with chickens. We found having those two breeds together did not work out well in a mixed sex brooder.

I also thought muscovy were ugly a few months ago, but just like a homely man becomes more handsome when he is really nice and a handsome jerk gets less good-looking, our muscovy drake won us over with his good nature and comical antics and now I like his looks, they are so ......muscovy-like. Has anyone mentioned ducks are funny? We get a good laugh out of them and just watching them waddle about is amusing. Our drake is especially funny.

 

[Henrietta23]

I've got Blue Swedish and Khaki Campbells that I love and three mixed breeds that drive me nuts with their noise. They're half Blue Swedish and half Runner duck supposedly. We only have them for the eggs and as pets, not meat.
I'd love to meet some Anconas in person someday. I love their looks but don't know anything about their personalities.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I agree that scovies can get better looking as you get to appreciate them. When I first saw one I thought they were incredibly ugly too.

My runner drake used to"attack" everyone. It was just funny when he attacked people or the dog. The chickens held their own with him. My only problem was the baby geese. They were still terrified of him when they were twice his size and he had to spend time in ducky-jail for their sakes.

And their inability to jump a very low barrier came in bandy. Once they discovered I kept a 40 pound feeder full in the chicken coop they raided it regularly, but a very low barrier was easy for the chickens to hop and kept the ducks out.

I do love how they always travel together. My geese and guineas do too. I guess only chickens scatter.

 

[flossy]

Savingsdogs, I really appreciate your answer!!! The DH definately likes the sound of prime rib in duck form. They are mighty strange looking though, but they all look the same in the frying pan

 

[Javamama]

I love it when my ducks run away screaming from the "scary" kittens. I n ever have to worry about my drakes attacking like a rooster would.
I think I'm talking myself into keeping Fran and Janice

And I don't know if this is most ducks - but mine welcome new additions without a problem. My friend said hers did the same thing. With chickens there is always a bloody brawl, but the ducks just roll out the welcome mat to their own kind.

 

[savingdogs]

Someone on one of the scovy threads at BYC said something about beauty being in the eye of the beholder..............

I think perhaps they are better looking to me now because I raised them from those cute little baby ducklings. The ducklings are every bit as cute as other breeds of ducks!

We tried eating the other type of duck meat and found it distasteful, too greasy, and would not think of processing one if we had any choice about what we could have for dinner. Maybe I'm just not a good cook and need something easier to succeed with.

We thought we compromised when we bought two breeds, one for meat and one for eggs/beauty and we ended up with just the meat breed because their eggs are better and they became more beautiful because of their calm natures, tameness and ability to make us laugh whereas the little beauties were always skittish and kept to themselves except mealtime and the male was mean.

We researched ducks for awhile before buying them and kept hearing the word muscovy.....so despite thinking they were ugly ordered them because they seemed to be what we needed.

I guess it is what you want out of your ducks, I wanted dinner and a laugh more than a lawn ornament. But lawn ornaments can be nice....it is in the eye of the beholder. I'd be interested in hearing if other people enjoy their different breeds for the table and how they cook it, or whether they are intended as as their egg layers or lawn ornaments. I'm still looking for a good duck leg recipe too. Despite the extra work, I do think ducks are worth it if you have the space and time.

 

[lorihadams]

I have runners and love them! Hubby is allergic to duck eggs though so I have to be careful what I do with them. If I cook something I think he may eat I have to use the chicken eggs but I love my 4 runners. I am thinking of getting some new stock from Holderreads in the spring though, mine aren't as tall as I would like them to be.