Backyard Homesteading, week 5, June 16 2016, Backyard Homesteading, week 5, June 16 2016, By Gloria Fortin

Choosing the Animals Reading about all the possibilities of livestock that could be raised on a small homestead made me discover that many were in fact very interesting … it made it difficult to choose which ones to investigate!

Finally, I decided to do more research about chickens and ducks, as they are quite similar, but still have their own characteristics. I wanted to know those to decide which one was most appropriate for our specific situation.

Chickens DucksNeeds Feed

Clean water (often suspended sources to keep it clean)

Shelter: Protection from predators and elements

Feed Clean water (abundant,

deep enough to clean their nostrils)

Shelter: clean, rudimentary (they are hardy, tolerate

(insulated for overwintering)

Grit Dust (to help against mites) Company of other chickens Roosting bars and nests Calcium for layers Artificial light to keep egg

production during winter Oxygen

very cold temperature) (Bane p.272) mostly to protect against predators at night

Company of other ducks Calcium for layers1 Artificial light to keep egg

production during winter Oxygen

Chickens DucksYields Manure high in N and P

Eggs (200-250/ year for productive breeds2) starting to lay when 22-24 weeks old (Bane, p. 270) with the highest production the first 2 years

Meat: most breed between

Manure a little bit less rich than chickens3, and less hot

Eggs: up to 250-325/year for egg types (Bane p.273) starting to lay when 22-24 weeks old (Bane, p. 274) with optimum production the first 2-3 years; lay longer Meat: most breed between

4-11 lbs (Bane, p. 268) Feathers and down Heat/ CO2

the first 2-3 years; lay longer than chickens

Meat: depending of breed: range from 2-11 lbs (Bane p.273)

Feathers, down (of high quality)

Heat/ CO2

Niche/ Habitat Natural habitat is the woodland which provides shade, protection from raptors, elevated roosting sites, and plenty of scratching space to find their feed

Natural habitat is the ecotone between woodland and grassland4, with access to water. Those provide all the food they need and they stay in water for protection at night

Chickens Ducks

their feed at night

Characteristics, Behaviors

Chickens live in a flock, and usually, one rooster service up to 15 hens (Bane, p. 270)

They are active scratchers made to find their food among dung and scraps; omnivores that can eat

Live in group, one drake for six female is recommended for breeding and raising ducklings.

Forager: eat plants, slugs, fish, insect, meat; anything easy enough to dabble

Chickens Ducks

omnivores that can eat pretty much anything

Love to cackle They are most active and

foraging during the morning (Bane, p.269)

Flying, usually clumsily

easy enough to dabble (can’t peck)

Prefer to have access to water for swimming, can live without

Most breeds are calm, quiet Ducks lay eggs before 8 am

(Bane, p.273) Some breeds are made to

fly (clipping wings might be necessary)

From my point of view, ducks seem to be the most adapted to our needs:Though very similar in their yields, duck’s needs look more rudimentary

They are calm and quiet, which is fitting better the facts that they would be close to

Their hardiness (and few disease) make me more at ease for a first experience in keeping livestock

Ducks would be more tolerant to our climate (and winters)

would be close to the house and that there are young children

And we have tons of slugs waiting for them!

References: Bane, Peter, The Permaculture Handbook:- For chickens, from page 268 to 272- For ducks, from page 272 to 275 1: https://www.forthebirdsdvm.com/pages/care-and-feeding- 1: https://www.forthebirdsdvm.com/pages/care-and-feeding-of-pet-ducks 2: http://www.thehappychickencoop.com/10-breeds-of-chicken-that-will-lay-lots-of-eggs-for-you/ 3: http://garden-services.com/fertanal.html 4: https://boondockers.sharepoint.com/Pages/DuckFacts.aspx