The pine shavings and ducklings went into a large galvanized tub equipped with a heat lamp in which we had raised baby chicks in previous years.  I snapped a picture of the kids with the ducklings and sent it to my hubby who was away for work at the time saying, “Look who’s joined the family!”

He knows I can be impulsive and, thankfully, he took it in stride!  In fact, he did his research and informed me that Pekin ducks are known for their meat more so than their egg production and suggested we try getting our hands on some Welsh harlequin ducks who are known to be excellent egg-layers.  To this I readily agreed and a week later we added four more ducks to the flock.  Unfortunately, these four turned out to be drakes (if you aren’t familiar with duck lingo that means they are males).  Folks, take it from me, do a little research before you get your ducks, or any animal for that matter.

If you are one that likes to do your research before jumping into something, great!  I am going to write the article that I should have read before getting our ducks, and hopefully help someone out there from making my mistakes.  First you must decide what it is you are wanting from your duck: eggs, meat, or both.

Duck eggs have almost twice the nutritional content of chicken eggs.  This is due to the larger yolk where the majority of the nutrients are.  I can’t personally describe to you how duck eggs taste.  My one female duck hasn’t started laying yet, but should start any day now. Others describe them as very similar to chicken eggs, but even more flavorful with a creamier yolk.  Just be sure you order female ducks, if it is eggs that you are after.  They will cost you a bit more than the straight run, but you will be guaranteed to receive egg layers.  If you don’t yet own Carla Emery’s Encyclopedia for Country Living, I recommend that you order yourself a copy, ASAP.  It is full of amazing information that every homesteader will find helpful.  Her section on duck breeds is valuable and is what I will be drawing from as I discuss the following duck breeds.

If you are interested in duck eggs, then you might consider the Indian runner.  There are many varieties of this duck including the white penciled, fawn, and white.  They can lay up to 325 eggs a year!  These ducks are great foragers.  They are also very unique-looking ducks, standing tall, nearly perpendicular to the ground.  I’m considering adding some to my flock just because of their comical appearance.

Another great egg-layer to be considered would be the Khaki-Campbell.  These ducks are considered to be very hardy ducks and will lay well even in cold weather.  They do not get broody.  Unlike most ducks, they are not very interested in swimming.

Also known for great egg production are the ducks which I have, Welsh harlequin, just be sure you order females.  This can be determined by beak coloration when the ducklings are just a few days old.  The female’s beak will look pinkish, whereas the male’s will be dark grey.  These ducks come in two color varieties also called phases, silver and gold.  I have the silver phase. They are gorgeous ducks!  Also, very great foragers.  Unlike my chickens, they do not bother my vegetable gardens, although they did munch quite a bit of my elderberry bush.  We raise rabbits here as well, and my ducks love to hang out under the rabbit hutches and munch on the rabbit droppings and whatever creepy crawlies they find among the droppings.  Talk about recycling!

If you are interested in a heritage breed of duck that is a good egg-layer consider the Dutch hookbill duck.  This variety of duck is listed as critical on LivestockConservacy.org, a website dedicated to educating people about various domestic livestock which are becoming rarer, some on the verge of extinction.  This particular duck is capable of flight.  The wings can be clipped to keep them from flying, or you can keep them caged, although I personally would let them do what they do best and that is forage.  Another plus about this variety is that they have great mothering instincts, an important aspect for any true homesteader to consider!

Perhaps it is duck meat which you are after, and who wouldn’t be, considering how delicious it is.  If you’ve never had protein-rich duck meat before, you are missing out!  It is dark meat, somewhat comparable to the dark meat of turkey, but in my opinion, more flavorful.  Crispy duck skin is out of this world and make sure you save the grease, which makes amazing gravy.   Ducks have a generous amount of fat that can be rendered and used to fry with; in Europe, duck fat is highly prized.

As I mentioned earlier, we have two Pekin ducks, a male and a female.  They look practically identical.  The way I can tell them apart is by their quacks and their tail feathers.  Generally speaking, female ducks have a loud quack, whereas male drakes have a quieter raspy quack.  The male’s tail feathers curl backward unlike the females.  This is common in most duck breeds.

Pekins are the most popular meat ducks; they are extra-large white ducks.  They have a great meat to feed ratio and can be ready to eat at just seven weeks of age, weighing up to seven pounds.  We are hoping to get some ducklings from our pair eventually.  Our fingers are crossed as Pekin ducks are known for being poor setters, but free-ranging pairs, which ours are, have better success and may raise twenty ducklings a year.  We could, of course, invest in an incubator and incubate their fertile eggs if the mother duck won’t cooperate and sit on her eggs; whatever it takes to ensure we have plenty of Pekin meat in the freezer.

Another duck highly prized for its meat is the Muscovy.  Dan Hunz, a local farmer, sells this type of duck meat at our local farmer’s market.  He was kind enough to let me come out to his farm and see how he is raising his ducks.  He has them in a movable shelter encircled in chicken wire with a tin roof.  He moves them to new areas of grass daily, which keeps their living quarters clean and provides them with fresh grass to forage.  He also feeds them a game-bird feed consisting primarily of cracked corn.  These ducks come in a variety of colors and are the only domestic duck breed that was not derived from the mallard.  Muscovies are quiet ducks capable of flight.  They are not great swimmers and can drown if unable to get out of the water.  Muscovies have a leaner meat than other ducks and are very great at reproducing.  The female may even care for two broods each season.  Muscovies have sharper claws on their feet than other ducks and the big drakes can become temperamental, so be careful when handling them.

If you are wanting to raise a good heritage meat-duck whose status is listed as “watch” on the conservation priority list, consider raising Rouen ducks. This is a large colorful breed of duck that is docile and cannot fly.  They do well on farm ponds and near wooded areas.  As a bonus, their feathers are said to make great trout flies and streamers, think Christmas presents for the fishermen or women in your life!

What if you want duck eggs and meat?  No worries, these next breeds are great dual-purpose ducks and will keep your freezer, fridge, and belly full!  The Swedish Duck, and its Blue and Black varieties, lay up to 150 grayish-white eggs a year and are a very hardy duck.  They, along with many other duck breeds, can be purchased online through Metzer farms.

Here is what they have to say about breeding to get the elusive blue color in the Blue Swedish duck, “The most interesting component of the Blue Swedish breed is the production of the blue color.  Blue birds do not breed true.  In other words, if you mate a Blue Swedish with another Blue Swedish, only 50% will hatch blue.  You will also get 25% black with white chests (called Black Swedish) and 25% that are a very light grey color, often called Silver or Splashed White Swedish.  To produce the blue color you must have heterozygote parents, meaning they have a black and a silver gene for feather color.  In addition, the first two or three primary flight feathers are pure white in a Blue or Black Swedish duck.  This, along with the correctly sized white patch on the chest, makes the Blue Swedish a difficult bird to perfect in terms of feather coloration.”

Another great dual-purpose duck is the Cayuga.  These ducks are a handsome and rare black duck.  They used to be the most popular meat breed in the Northeast USA, where they originated, before being passed in popularity by the Pekin.  The Cayuga lays grey eggs, along with an occasional black egg!  They are very good foragers and can handle the extreme cold very well.

If you prefer a beautiful light-brown duck, then the Buff Orpington may be the duck for you.  These ducks lay up to 250 eggs a year and are great ducks for roasting.

Mallard Ducks are another dual-purpose duck.  These ducks are wild and are believed to be the progenitors of many domestic ducks.  They are relatively small and have a gamey-tasting meat.  Check with your regulatory agency before ordering Mallards, as you may need a permit.

Now that you have an idea of some of the different kinds of ducks there are to choose from, you may want to consider food and shelter.

We turned an old playhouse into a duck house and added on an outdoor coop.  I have a kiddie pool in the outdoor area for them which we put sand around to try to keep the area from becoming a mud hole.  They love their pool!  I try to change out the water often, as they prefer clean water to swim in and for drinking.  I recommend investing in a pool with a spout on the lower side. I ordered a dog pool that can be folded up.  It is incredibly sturdy and the spout really makes draining the pool quick and easy.  Just be sure the ducks are able to easily get in and out of the pool.  When the ducks were smaller we had a wooden step near the outside of the pool and a rock in the pool that helped them get in and out.

One word of advice, do not put your ducklings in cold water.  We nearly killed our ducklings by putting them in cold water before they had their real feathers.  Ducklings chill very easily so be patient and wait until they have their feathers which will be around six weeks.

Some people do not provide any shelter for their ducks and the ducks manage just fine.  Our ducks don’t spend much time inside.  They spend the day roaming around our yard as a group.  It is a lot of fun to watch them roam around in this fashion.  As soon as one starts waddling away the others follow suit.  They always get quite excited when I come outside to feed them in the evenings.  I feed the ducks oats or wheat; they love both.  I plan on also providing them hay in the winter when they can’t forage on grass.

I hope I’ve convinced you of the value of adding ducks to your homestead.  They are low-maintenance animals that will not only feed you and your family, but will also provide countless hours of entertainment.

The post Adding Ducks To The Homestead appeared first on Homestead.org.

Most homesteaders start with fowl of some sort. Of those of us who choose feathered over furry critters, most choose chickens. This was not the case for our family, who decided to jump into the livestock world with 50 ducklings. You might be wondering why we chose ducks over chickens and, perhaps, if this is a bird you should consider. Spoiler alert: if I had to do it all over again, I would have started with chickens. My husband, on the other hand, loathes our chickens and would keep all ducks if he was forced to choose. But which is the best bird for your homestead? What advantages do ducks have over chickens and vice versa?

First Things First: Let’s Talk About Eggs.

When we first think of owning our own livestock, most of us dream of farm fresh eggs. I envisioned a few fluffy chickens running across our yard and laying beautiful brown eggs in their straw-filled nesting boxes. It wasn’t until we had begun our hunt for our little farm that I even realized ducks could be raised for eggs as well—but if you are looking for shades of cream, terracotta, or chocolate in your egg carton, steer clear of ducks. Ducks are limited as far as the color of the eggs they lay. Most domestic breeds will lay white eggs.

If you are looking for a more unique color, the Dutch Hookbill will lay a light green-blue egg. Mallards are also said to lay this color, however, owning Mallard ducks is illegal without a permit. Perhaps the most unusual egg color in all domestic fowl is that laid by the Cayuga duck. The Cayuga is known for laying black eggs. They do, however, gradually fade to a lighter shade each time she lays (the color will “reset” every new laying season). That said, the gray eggs are still quite unique and beautiful. You can also find ducks that have white eggs tinted with a light beige or even a tint of green in birds like Khaki Campbells or Indian Runner ducks respectively, however, this coloration is not bred into the bird and can vary from bird to bird, even with those bred from the same parents.

Chickens, on the other hand, can lay eggs in about every color you can imagine. Some breeds such as Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, or Cream Legbars can lay light shades of blues, teals, and minty greens. Many breeds such as Wellsummers or Plymouth Rocks can lay every shade of brown, with or without speckles. Marans are known for laying dark brown eggs, some as richly colored as chocolate. Olive Eggers can lay light or deep olive-green colored eggs. Some breeds even offer light pink hues. And yes, if you’re a purist, some will even lay white eggs.

So how do these eggs stack up against each other in the kitchen? When it comes to eating eggs in their simplest form—cooked by themselves, perhaps seasoned with a little salt and pepper—the difference is a matter of opinion. Some say they taste the same. Personally, I feel the duck eggs have a richer flavor which can only be described as “eggier”— they’re eggs, amplified. The yolk is a bit creamier and slightly heavier as well. My husband prefers duck eggs; however, I enjoy the more delicate flavor of chicken eggs.

Both egg types cook up a little differently, too. The duck eggs need to be cooked at a lower temperature; cooking too hot and too quickly will result in a “rubbery” consistency. The duck eggs, with their thicker albumen (egg white), hold up to the abuse of a spatula a bit better than chicken eggs, making you less likely to break the yolk. They are overall a more durable egg. In fact, when one cracks a duck egg open for the first time, one will immediately notice the thicker shell and the increased effort required to crack it.

When using duck or chicken eggs in recipes, each has its own perk. Duck eggs, which are thicker, fattier, and more nutrient-packed, work well in baked goods where dense, moist, and/or rich results are desired. A friend of ours absolutely loves using them in brownies. My mother-in-law enjoys using them in some of her cakes. Chicken eggs, on the other hand, are great for fluffier delectables. I learned the hard way that duck eggs can be whipped until frothy but will not whip up to stiff peaks, but chicken eggs absolutely can. Duck eggs also do not rise in baked recipes the same way chicken eggs do. For these reasons, I enjoy having both types of birds in my flock so that I have some options when it comes to the perfect ingredients for recipes.

Which Bird Has Better Egg Production?

This is a tricky question. No matter which type of bird you choose, there are options to buy a breed that is known for having a high egg output. What we have found on our homestead is the number of eggs is one thing, but the time period of production is another.

At the height of laying season—typically in the spring—any given bird of any type will reliably lay an egg a day for us, perhaps skipping a day here and there. What has been very interesting to see is, over the years, our ducks reliably have an “off-season” which begins in the summer, typically after a few broody ducks hatch out babies, and doesn’t end until the dead of winter when they begin laying again. This is contrary to everything we’ve read that says the birds molt in the fall and stop laying then, picking back up in the spring. Our chickens, it seems, do follow this stereotypical pattern.

As of writing this, we are entering the third week of January here in Virginia, and at least 3-4 of our ducks began laying a few weeks ago. We are just now seeing a chicken egg here and there, but they have been days apart and from different chickens (we can tell as the eggs have been different colors). It’s possible they’re laying in a hidden nest somewhere (they free range during the day), but one point still remains: for us, the number of eggs we get annually per bird is roughly the same; what matters is when their “downtime” falls. We enjoy the fact that for the most part, there are only a few weeks of overlap between when the chickens stop laying and the ducks start again, which means we have eggs the majority of the year.

Which Bird Is More Aesthetically Pleasing?

Second to the desire for eggs, you may want a bird that is nice to look at. While both birds have a good variety of feather colors, chickens, hands down (wings down?), beat ducks in the multitude of color variations and patterns you can choose. Ducks can be quite pretty with their shades of brown, speckles, and certainly their iridescent feathers (let me mention the Cayuga here again, with its color-shifting sheen), however, chickens come in similar colors, and then some. Chickens can have speckles, spots, “barring”, “lacing” (single or double), “mottling”, and more—sometimes a mix on the same chicken. Chickens also come in some colors that domestic ducks do not, such as some shades of brown, red, orange, and even lavender.

Chicken feathers themselves can also come in different textures, such as the silkie breed with feathers as fluffy as a cotton ball, or the frizzle breed that looks like it may have pecked at an electrical outlet. The length of feathers can also vary in chickens. A somewhat well-known breed among chicken enthusiasts is the Phoenix—it can grow feathers that are longer than twice its body length! There is even a popular variety of chicken known as the “Showgirl”, which has a comical puff of feathers on its head, with none at all on its neck. With ducks, you can find breeds that are “crested”, which makes the duck appear as though it is wearing a fluffy hat… but that’s about as interesting as the feathers get. Otherwise, they’re all straight and a standard length, regardless of the breed.

Which Bird Is Messier?

This is an easy one: ducks are messier.

No chicken could ever be as messy as a duck, try as it might (which it won’t). Ducks effortlessly make an absolute mess of everything from the moment they hatch. We tried to brood 50 ducklings in two extra large plastic totes. While it worked as far as space went, it absolutely did not contain their mess—but I don’t know what could.

The little cuties would dunk their heads in water, grab food, dunk their heads again, splash around the water, shake their heads about which flung a mixture of food and water against the walls of the brooder, play in the water some more, flap their little winged nubs… rinse and repeat, literally. They did this between napping, and their brooders were absolutely disgusting by the end of the day.

Compare this with our chicks, of which we had a similar amount in the same size brooder. To watch the fluff balls march over to the water, then take the daintiest of sips, was quite comical to watch. They were so much more deliberate and careful with their efforts, whereas the ducklings were almost aggressive consumers! With the ducklings, we had to do daily complete clean-outs of their bedding (including wiping down the brooder walls). We could go days without having to do the same for the chicks.

As we watched them grow, we observed the chicks and ducklings kept with their behaviors as they matured, especially when it came to their interaction with water. As the ducks grew and were given the ability to free range a bit, they would find the smallest of puddles and make a mess of them (be aware that if you let them free range, they’ll do things like drilling into muddy earth in search for bugs, leaving your yard with holes everywhere they’ve been, especially if it’s rained recently).

The ducks also need dishes of water deep enough for them to dip in their heads (washing their eyes and nostrils is crucial to their health), and with a dish that large and deep, they always try to fit their bodies into it as well. This results in puddles all around the waterer, and thus, more mud for the birds to play in. With chickens, a simple dish works fine (we don’t have any waterers with nipples, but this is an option for chickens as well). We have a waterer on a high shelf where the ducks can’t get to it, and the water stays pristine compared to the duck pools. The chickens drink from it as they always have, with deliberate little sips.

The ducks also continue to be messy beyond their water habits. They will quickly soil their bedding, as well. Ducks’ stool is soft and liquidy, and they are not picky about where they do their business. They will poop as they walk along. They will poop where they sleep. They will even poop on their own eggs. There is a joke that is said among duck owners: “Once you own ducks, you’ll know why Donald Duck never wore pants.”

In this regard, chickens are so much easier to deal with. Their fecal matter is much drier and firmer and thus easier to clean up. In our experience, the chickens have a favorite perching stick they sleep on every night, so if they do poop when they sleep, it just falls into an easy-to-clean pile. They also are much cleaner with their eggs, which sometimes need little to no washing before storing. The duck eggs almost always need a little scrub down (if not because of poop, then certainly from mud).

I will say, however, the chickens do poop up and down. What I mean is, since they can fly and perch, they get on top of things and end up pooping in hard-to-reach places, like the upper shelves of the barn. They also love to climb our porch at dinner time and wait there, pooping and staring at the door, until my oldest kiddo emerges with the food bucket. At least it’s easy enough to sweep it into the grass.

Which Bird Is More Predator Proof?

All I can offer here is anecdotal experience, but what that has proven is ducks attract far fewer predators than chickens. We had the ducks for a few years before we had the chickens, and in that time the only predator we dealt with was a persistent fox. We believed she may have had some babies in a den in our woods. Over one summer, she picked off about twelve of our ducks. We reluctantly put fencing back up (we were enjoying allowing them to free range) and hadn’t lost any more for quite some time. It’s important to note this really was just one summer that this happened. Prior to that, we really didn’t have many issues with predators, foxes, or otherwise.

The same cannot be said for the chickens. My God, I have never seen so many predators as we’ve had since the chickens! We got our first chickens in the fall of 2021. During the 2022 year, we dealt with many predators, including our own dog! She hates the chickens, and though she has now been trained not to kill them, she still enjoys chasing them for sport. She never did the same with the ducks, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, prior to her training, she had killed four juvenile chickens when she was accidentally locked in the pen with them for just an hour or so one day.

Also in that year, we were starting to lose some leghorns, one by one. After losing about three or so, the culprit showed herself one day—another fox! She ran off with another leghorn before we could do anything about it. A few days later she came back and grabbed a duck. This time my husband ran after her; she dropped it and took off, and we hadn’t seen her come back since.

Despite feeling like the threat of the fox had passed, we kept the birds locked up for a bit. Our coop has a very large, attached run, so we are afforded the opportunity to keep them behind a fence with space to move around. One morning, however, my son noticed some juvenile chickens were missing. My husband and I checked the fence, figuring something had climbed in, and grabbed them at night. We made sure we charged our electric fence (which had been off previously) and turned it on—and were surprised when birds were again going missing overnight.

As it turned out, birds were starting to go missing during the day, as well. We hadn’t seen any foxes, and soon we realized why—it wasn’t a ground predator this time; it was a hawk. One of my sons caught it in the act of killing one of our olive eggers one day. He screamed and the hawk flew off of the chicken, though sadly it was too late for the bird. Still, it was enough to scare the hawk away and it seemed to leave the birds alone thereafter… but two weeks later, we had a disturbing new development in our pen. We were waking up to headless chickens.

The dog, a fox, a hawk, and now a brand-new predator: an owl. With the discovery of the poor decapitated chickens, I immediately suspected we were dealing with an owl. That was confirmed one night when my husband saw it perched atop the coop, right next to a plastic version of itself that we put up in hopes of deterring aerial predators (yes, you can laugh!). My husband scared the owl away, but only temporarily. The next night he was back. We tried to put up a motion sensor light, which seemed to work for a little bit, but that was a temporary fix as a few nights after having no issues, we saw the back-lit silhouette of the owl sitting on the coop.

We considered locking the birds up at night, but we have so many, it would be a tight fit to keep all of them in with the doors closed. Though the coop with the attached yard is over 1,100 square feet, we had no choice but to cover the entire thing with game bird netting. It was an extremely frustrating task, but after much effort, we were able to secure a ceiling for our birds, and we haven’t had any predator issues since (knock on wood!).

Which Birds Are Best for Your Garden?

Perhaps as part of your dream of bird ownership, you imagined using your birds to help maintain a garden. Many of us have read about chickens keeping gardens pest-free by eating annoying bugs as treats. Are they truly gardeners’ best friends? What about ducks?

Both chickens and ducks love to snack on bugs, it’s true. But if you release them into your garden, you may have a larger, more destructive problem on your hands than insects. Both types of birds love to snack on any freshly sprouted greens you have coming up. They’ll also gladly pick at your produce. In our experience, tomatoes, grapes, and elders (leaves and berries) are among the many things that the birds will eat indiscriminately. What’s more, most of the time they will choose pretty much anything over the actual insects you are trying to get rid of (for us, it’s those pesky squash bugs!).

There is an additional factor with ducks: they trample everything! They will not walk between shorter plants, but rather over them. Chickens, on the other hand, don’t destroy plants in the same way, but they love to scratch and pick at the soil, disrupting neat, carefully planted garden beds (and eating any planted seeds). They will also dig small pits for themselves to take dust baths in.

If you don’t want birds in your garden, what can you do? We’ve found that it’s much easier to keep ducks out than chickens. Since the ducks can’t fly nearly as high as chickens, a two to three-foot fence is sufficient to keep them out. Chickens on the other hand require a much higher fence, lest you be diligent with clipping their flight feathers.

So… Which Do I Recommend?

As I said in the beginning, I say, “chickens”, and my husband says, “ducks”. When I asked him for specific points, he said ducks are hardier (ours have been extremely healthy), they lay larger eggs (that is absolutely true, as they average large to jumbo size), and they’re a more unusual farm animal (we rarely meet other duck owners, but plenty of people with chickens).

I believe chickens have a more colorful variety of both feathers and eggs, are easier to care for (read: fewer messes to clean), and are all around friendlier (the ducks tend to be a bit timider; the chickens will occasionally let us pick them up).

Both chickens and ducks have their perks and their downfalls. Ultimately, you have to choose what seems to suit you best, and even then, you may find the other type of bird is the more enjoyable one to own. Whatever you decide, there is one thing I am certain of: no homestead is complete without a few feathered friends running around the yard.

The post Chickens or Ducks? The Best Fowl for Your Farm appeared first on Homestead.org.

Broody Duck Behavior

This first point is for those who, like us, want to have their ducks hatch their own eggs.  Having never gone through this process before, there were a lot of things I just didn’t know about bird behavior; maybe you’re in the same place.  Hopefully, this first section will help you understand some of the huge changes in your Momma-ducks-to-be that can clue you into her intentions.

The first clue that a Muscovy duck may be in a mood to sit on eggs (a.k.a. a broody duck) is that she’ll make a nest.  Many other domesticated duck breeds have had the motherly instinct bred out of their mentalities, promoting a higher rate of egg production.  My runner ducks, for example, would lay eggs “on the go” in the morning, literally leaving them lay where they popped out!  Not the Mothers of the Year, by any stretch.  Muscovies, however, are much closer to their wild counterparts and still retain the majority of their natural behaviors, including the ability to build solid nests and the desire to incubate eggs.  In the spring, if you pile a lot of clean straw in a quiet corner of the duck house, it won’t be long before a female will carefully start arranging materials into a warm nest.  If it’s only eggs you’re after, this makes collection super-easy and clean as she’ll often lay them in a predictable place early in the morning.

If you allow her to start piling up eggs, however, you might trigger her desire to brood.  Sure signs that she intends to hatch them include lining the eggs with soft down from her own breast.  She won’t start to sit on the eggs until she’s ready, though—usually once she’s piled up anywhere from 8-13 in the nest.  A broody duck, like many wild birds, leaves the eggs in “waiting” until she starts incubation, ensuring that they’ll all start developing at the same rate and will hatch on the same day.

Once she’s satisfied that there are enough eggs, your next clue that babies are on the way is auditory.  Muscovy ducks are typically quiet birds, often even referred to as “quackless”, though they are certainly not silent.  Typical male sounds are a raspy huffing and puffing; typical female sounds are quiet, musical trills.  None of them are really audible beyond line-of-sight with your birds, however, making them ideal for homesteaders who don’t want their neighbors to be woken up by the typical cacophony of all the other breeds of domesticated ducks.

That’s a different story when it comes to broody ducks. When our females started going broody,  they made new sounds that I’d never heard before—peeping and cheeping, almost like a dog’s squeaky toy.  They typically did this when our big drake approached them to lavish more of his springtime “affections”.  Clearly, they’d had enough, for now.  They also cheeped at me anytime I approached them on the nest—maybe it was meant to be a turn-off, but I just found it adorable.

The third sign of incoming chicks is that the mother will start her Long Sit.  Rather than browsing and waddling around the homestead, a broody duck will sit on her eggs for about 23 hours a day, only leaving for occasional 10-20 minute increments to eat a quick meal, drink water, and maybe take a brief bath in the pond.  Depending on the ambient temperature, she will cover her eggs with a protective blanket of down, and once she has gobbled down a few mouthfuls of grass, she will always be quick to scurry back to her eggs.  Don’t be alarmed by the fact that she’s usually coming back to the nest wet… that’s on purpose.  The eggs need a certain level of moisture to develop properly, and she’s supplying that with her warm, damp feathers.

There is another activity that she’ll always do during these brief nest recesses and it’s nothing pleasant.  The female is very careful to not soil her nest with droppings, which means that as soon as she is off, the mother of all duck poops will be soon to be ejected.  I mention these poops because they’re not like the duck poop you’re used to.  They’re monsters.  They’re huge, greasy-black, and smell about ten times worse than normal poo.  Just be prepared for it, watch your step, and never say I didn’t warn you!  Thankfully, once the eggs hatch, she’ll go back to normal-sized (and normal smelling) droppings.

These are among the physical observations you may make, but for many of us, the act of raising animals also becomes a deeply personal, psychological, and even spiritual experience.  This leads me to the next point:

Trusting the Process of Hatching Duck Eggs Naturally

Ducks really know what they’re doing.  If you allow a broody duck to go through her natural programming to lay and hatch her eggs, she doesn’t really need much input from you.

This may be a surprisingly hard fact to accept.  As homesteaders, many of us like to be intimately involved in the processes on our land, fertilizing the soil, removing weeds, building fences, cleaning animal stalls, clipping hooves, and so on.  It may be tempting for you to want to “help” somehow.  In such a circumstance, however, it may do more harm than good—the mother knows when and how to rotate the eggs, how damp they need to be, and how warm they need to be in response to the day’s temperature.  I believe the best thing you can do is take a hands-off approach and let her do what she knows how to do.  Provide fresh water like usual, give her a bit of feed nearby, and take a deep breath.

I would like to say that I at least protected my broodies by safely closing them in the duck house at night, but even that was outside of my control.  I have read that some broody ducks share sitting duty and don’t mind being around each other, but it wasn’t so with my two females.  One dutifully set up shop in the duck house making it easy to close her in for the night.  Even so, she refused to tolerate the presence of our poor drake, viciously chasing him out of the house anytime he even came for a sip of water.  He spent the nights in the pond.

And the other one, my white Muscovy who has always had what I’ll nicely call an “independent” streak, refused to be contained.  Her nest was secreted away under a storage area in the garage (of all places), so tucked away that I couldn’t even see how many eggs she had laid.  I stood in the doorway, barely able to see her tail in the shadows, and battled thoughts.  What if a rat snake steals her eggs?  What if a raccoon somehow breaks in and hurts her?  How could I know the garage was going to be warm or damp or cool or dry enough?  Once I calmed down, I could tell that this was a “learning moment” and decided to trust the process that she had already, naturally, initiated.

And you know what happened?  Ducklings.  The eggs began to hatch because the process was a well-designed one that I had no input in.  I was just blessed to be able to watch it run its course.

Welcoming New Life

Some people candle the developing eggs during the mother’s “recess” to make sure they’re developing normally, but I can’t justify tampering with the ducks’ orderly nests.  I don’t even know if they’d let me in if they saw me approaching—broody Muscovy ducks, despite how cute their warning squeaks may seem, can actually be fierce little hellions if you mess with them!

If you were able to write down when the mother began her Long Sit, you can expect ducklings around 35-37 days later.  You may not be able to tell when they’re hatching at first, but suddenly a broken shell will be visible, and you may notice Momma shifting more often than normal.  Then a tell-tale peep signals new life has just arrived.  As before, the best thing you can do is just take it all in and not get in the way.  The ducklings don’t need your help coming out—and if they do, there may be something wrong with them anyway.  Just watch and marvel as those ten or twelve eggs suddenly become a clutch of fuzzy, bright-eyed ducklings who have a huge, new world to explore.

Some eggs may not hatch.  That’s alright.  When all the hatching has finally run its course, Momma may nibble on the broken eggshells and then push those unhatched eggs out of the nest.  Remove these eggs and dispose of them far away from the duck area—hopefully any predators they draw will be far enough away to not mess with the new babies!

I don’t know about you, but this part of the process was pure joy for us.  Maybe you felt that when your goats kidded for the first time, or when that first sun-ripe tomato came from the new garden.  So much hard work, blood, sacrifices, and occasional tears go in to homesteading, but the exchange is the opportunity to interact with pure, unadulterated life in a way that money can’t buy or simulate.  

Accepting Things You Can’t Control

Part of sharing life with livestock—and really homesteading in general—is finding out just how much you can and can’t control.

If you free-range your ducks, you’re probably well aware of how much feed it saves and how healthy it makes the birds.  And honestly, there are few nicer sights than a group of ducks happily pushing through tall grasses, chasing after a grasshopper in a burst of speed, and then plunking down for a sudden nap.  But, if you free-range your birds, you’re probably also aware of the risks involved with releasing some delicious meat-on-the-wing to roam your property.  Because ducklings, as cute as they are, are very edible.  Foxes, hawks, badgers, or stray dogs may help themselves to the sudden feast, and once that happens, there’s no undoing it.

Or maybe a tragically adorable runt is emerging in the flock, half the size of her brothers and sisters.  If you’re breeding your own animals, you know that that bird shouldn’t go on to spread its weak genetics, if it even reaches adulthood in the first place.  That doesn’t make culling it or watching it struggle to thrive any easier.

You may also face the bittersweet feeling of watching the growing flock reveal who is male and who is female.  Though the females can produce eggs next spring, responsible homesteaders know that the males can’t stay past maturity—not unless you want to start an ill-advised inbreeding program on your homestead or have endless fights between brothers.  Once that funny duckling with the yellow toes develops the thick legs and male hiss, he’s declaring his roast-hood.  Or, at least, the fact that he could be traded to another homestead.

If I had my way, when I was a brand-new homesteader without a few years of experience under my belt, I would have interfered with the whole hatching process to make sure things were “okay”, I would be able to force vitality on runts, reclaim my ducklings from the bellies of foxes, make all the males that I grew fond of get along forever… and I would have learned nothing.  Sometimes, being an observer to these beautifully-designed processes is humbling to the point you realize just how little you have control over.

I saw this in motion during a sudden cloudburst that thundered over our land in the early summer, right after the ducklings had hatched.  I ran around the house, trying to find them to make sure they weren’t drowning in a puddle (I never said I was a logical person).  I was stopped in my tracks as I saw our grey-backed female, calmly standing in the middle of the field, serene as the rain and thunder pounded around her.  With her wings gently spread, all ten tiny ducklings were perfectly safe beneath her wings, as warm and dry as they could possibly be.  I was humbled and thankful for her good design, and how she knew what to do far better than I did.

That reality-check is precisely what makes the beautiful moments of life, when a hoard of ducklings tumbles head-over-tail over your feet, peeping up a storm, all the more beautiful for being able to exist in the face of it all.  And hopefully, without sounding too saccharine, it can make you realize just what a gift your own life is as well.

~~~~~~~~~

About the Author: Wren was once a teacher living in the city.  But she and her husband decided to make their escape from the confines of modernity and its dependence and move their family to 12 acres of land in the Ozarks. They are currently in the middle of establishing an off-grid homestead, and now happily spend their days as modern peasants, seeking out, learning, and trying to preserve the old skills that their urban backgrounds never gave them.

The post Muscovy Mommas: Lessons Learned from My Broody Ducks appeared first on Homestead.org.

“50?! I was thinking more like 12, max!” I looked back at my husband like he was losing his mind.

We were in our mid-twenties and had just moved from the suburbs to the country to start a homestead business, among other things. We had zero experience with animals outside of our two dogs and a handful of fish, and here my husband was suggesting we start our farm life with 50 ducks.

“Listen,” he said, “we have to tend to them anyway. There’s not a big difference between 12 and 50. We still have to go out at the same time daily to take care of them, it’ll just be more food we put out. Maybe we have to clean the coop more often. But we’ll have way more eggs.” Troy was already convinced. I was not.

“I don’t know, that’s a lot of birds…”

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, we can always sell them… or eat them.” Troy has always been a man of sound logic, and I couldn’t argue his point. I begrudgingly agreed, and not long after we had an order in at a farm in California for 50 ducklings to arrive in a few weeks.

The decision for us to start a duck egg business vs. chicken egg business (or anything else, for that matter) was one we took some time to decide. We started by visiting several local restaurants geared towards “foodies” that highlighted fare from nearby farms. We noticed a lot of options for different meats, breads, and even some choice mushrooms, but we didn’t see duck eggs on any menus. It seemed like everyone out in the country had chickens, so with ducks, we thought we might have an opportunity to fill a gap in the “unusual local foods” niche. Once we honed in on duck eggs specifically, we started asking chefs if they would be interested once we got up and running, and we had a few tell us “yes”. That was good enough for us, and thus our adventure with ducks began.

We were counting down to the ducklings’ arrival. We ordered them, but we had no place to put them. We decided to convert a shed that was already on the property into our coop. Knowing they needed outdoor space as well as the safety of an enclosure, Troy decided to build a fence around the pen that would give the birds access to grass.

We had read and heard story after story of predators attacking fowl, so we knew the birds needed extra protection. In the end, Troy and I designed a nearly predator-proof enclosure; it had 3 layers of fencing—coated chicken wire that would prevent the birds from sticking their heads through it, welded wire that would have some durability against aggressive larger predators (we have bears around here), and, around the bottom two feet as well as on the ground, hardware cloth to stop any predators with small hands that might try to pull birds through the fence or any animals that might attempt digging under it. Lastly, we ran an electric wire near the bottom of the fence as well as around the top—just in case any climbers were clever enough to get over the first wire, they’d be met with a second one before they’d be able to get into the fenced in area.

The rather impressive fence did set us back a bit on our upfront costs. We rationalized that what we lost in construction, we’d save by keeping our birds safe and not having to replace the flock later. It certainly seems to have done the job—to this day we have never lost a duck in our run, even with them allowed out of the shed at night (we did begin to lose chickens years later when we started to diversify our fowl, but that’s a story for another article).

So… we had our duck coop, and not long after that we got the ducklings. I will tell you right now, there is little in life more adorable than a tiny, fluffy, baby duck. They were so cute, in fact, that we ended up purchasing 5 more locally. We loved having them, taking care of them, and watching them grow—and my goodness, did they grow quickly! Before we knew it, they were full-sized and feathered out. At about 18 weeks after their arrival, we started to find little white eggs here and there in the duck yard. A couple of weeks later we were into full production, getting dozens of eggs a day.

We did start to have a little issue once the ducks reached maturity. The sheer amount of ducks we had, plus their quick growth, put a lot of pressure on the duck yard and it didn’t take long for them to turn the entire yard of grass into dirt and mud.

If we wanted a high-quality product to sell and save a little on feed costs, we would have to let the birds out on pasture with access to plants and bugs. We were weary of letting them free-range since we weren’t sure if they’d be targets for predators, plus we didn’t want them invading our garden and eating produce meant for our family.

This meant we had to spend a little more money to set up more fences. We purchased fence stakes and chicken wire and set up large pastures for the ducks. Every few weeks we would move the fence to let areas of the land rest and allow the birds access to fresh fields. It took some effort hauling water out to the birds every day and moving them around, but we were producing rich eggs and a lot of them. It wasn’t long before we had enough to start offering them to restaurants.

I reached out to different restaurants in the city and asked if they wanted to sample some eggs. I had several takers, so I made a trip into the city to distribute samples to various chefs. After a week or so I followed up with the chefs and, in the end, had two that were eager to do business with us—a high-end restaurant in downtown Charlottesville as well as an upscale hotel in the city’s center.

Business was great. We were selling the eggs for $8 a dozen, with about 14 dozen eggs a week being ordered between the two restaurants. We served ourselves some of the additional eggs, then sold the excess to neighbors, sometimes delivering to their doors and sometimes selling directly off our farm. Since we could barely hold on to the eggs we had, we increased the size of our flock, soon topping off at about 80 birds. We were excited that our first attempt at running a business was successful.

Then the birds started to molt.

We knew that birds would likely start molting in the fall (when they lose old feathers and grow new ones to replace them), but since our birds were purchased in late April, their first autumn happened just after their first set of adult feathers came in, so they didn’t molt at all. We had a decent supply of eggs through the winter and part of spring… until one day, it started to rain. And then it rained the next day… and was cloudy the day after… back to a little rain… then clouds… this same song and dance went on for weeks.

The problem is that, when the days become shorter, the lack of light in the fall what triggers molting. And if a bird is molting, it preserves its energy for feather growth and quits laying eggs. Here we were, smack-dab in the middle of what was supposed to be high-production time with barely any production at all. Whereas we were used to getting upwards of three dozen eggs a day, we were lucky to get 5 eggs total.

The missing sunlight from weeks of clouds confused the birds, and now they were almost all in molt. We attempted to hang up lights around the duck coop and outside of it to trick the birds into thinking the daylight wasn’t shorter, but it didn’t work. There was nothing we could do but wait it out.

We contacted our chef clients and explained what was going on. They were both very understanding, thank goodness. We divided the eggs we got between the two chefs and still made our pitiful deliveries every Friday, each chef getting a dozen, or if we were lucky, two dozen. The hotel chef just waited it out along with us. The restaurant chef supplement the eggs he got from us with eggs he had delivered from further away.

Fortunately, a couple of months later, we steadily began to see more and more eggs being laid. Business picked up and our chefs were delighted to have their regular orders of several dozen eggs coming in every week. We were excited to have the season of molting behind us. We figured since they had just molted in spring, and because they hadn’t molted the previous autumn, we would likely skip the fall molt again, keeping our business thriving.

We were wrong.

Fall came, the days got shorter, and feathers started to litter the duck yard and pastures again. Egg production once again slowed, and we shamefully had to report back to the chefs that deliveries would once again be limited.

We were annoyed. The chefs were disappointed. Our growing frustration became worse when we did our end-of-year taxes. After nearly two years of duck ownership, we were still in the hole with expenses. We expected to be at a financial loss in the first year due to the start-up costs. We knew since we were raising ducklings that wouldn’t lay eggs for months, we wouldn’t see a profit for a bit. Add to that the cost of making the (epic) fence.

What we didn’t anticipate was still being at quite a loss after the second year. We know this is largely due to the birds molting twice, but it didn’t soften the blow. Even if they hadn’t gone into the first molt, we wouldn’t have broken even after all the food we were going through to maintain such a large flock. We were moving the pastures, dealing with water problems—not only in the warmer months but in the winter when it frequently froze, cleaning and maintaining their duck pen, having to drive 40 minutes away to pick up their GMO-free feed every month… all that work and the best we could expect was to break even.

After coming to this realization and after a lengthy discussion, we decided it was time to dissolve our business. We may have been able to see a profit in the third year, but it wouldn’t have been much. Our effort simply wasn’t worth it financially, plus it wasn’t fair to our customers to have a product that was so unpredictable with its availability.

To be honest, it was a bit of a relief to stop the business. We were happy to not have the pressure of deliveries anymore or fear of not making the egg quota. And to be honest, there was quite a difference between 12 and 50—well, actually 80—birds. Having such a huge flock meant more frequent cleaning of the duck pen area and more pasture in rotation. We were also changing the water in the birds’ pool twice a day. Worst of all, and something we never anticipated, was how much time we spent washing eggs! Ducks are extremely messy, and the eggs would sometimes be covered in duck feces, dirt, or completely caked in mud. Yes, the huge flock was a lot to keep up with.

We ultimately decided to reduce our flock down to about 20. We sold a few ducks on Craigslist, then sold the rest to a somewhat nearby farm that did commercial egg production. We kept our favorites, a couple of which we still have nearly 7 years later.

Troy and I learned a ton from this experience. Not only did we learn what it took to take care of livestock, but we also had a new understanding of the commercial egg business. We absolutely do not encourage treating birds the way commercial industries do, but we “get” some of their practices. We now understand why “free-range eggs” can actually mean “barn-raised eggs”. This is the practice of keeping birds within an enclosed barn that only has artificial light on a timer, rather than any incoming sunlight. Because of this, the birds’ molting cycle is completely controlled, and the molting can be scheduled or skipped altogether (say if you want to keep them for a period of time for eggs, then butcher them and bring in a new flock of layers to repeat the cycle).

We also now get the joke that “meat is a byproduct of eggs”. In order to have a truly profitable flock, the birds would need to be butchered when they’re incapable of egg production—something my husband and I don’t have the heart to do. But one type of egg-production model would be to limit the animal’s ability to roam so they don’t get too lean, feed it well while it lays eggs, then butcher it at the end of the laying season and sell the meat. That way, you don’t incur costs of feeding an animal that isn’t producing eggs.

If you plan it well enough, you can have a new group of layers coming into lay at the same time the old ones are slaughtered, giving you zero interruptions in production. Again, not something we are fond of, especially due to the limitations you would have to put on the bird while it’s alive (we definitely feel birds should have a life of free-ranging), and also considering ducks can lay decently for years despite the molting season, but it’s a way to do it if profit is the main goal.

As for us, a small flock, fit for a homestead, suits just fine. We mostly eat our eggs and give any excess to family. Interestingly enough, we did have a huge surplus of duck eggs this year and despite selling out when we had a business, I couldn’t find any buyers this time. This leads me to another piece of advice: before you dive into a duck egg business, make sure the market is there. Try what Troy and I did, asking around to different restaurants to see if there is interest. Ask any friends or neighbors, too. Sometimes building anticipation beforehand is helpful for when you have a product available.

Are you thinking of starting a duck farm? If so, I hope you found our experience informative and that it gives you some things to think about. If after reading all this you’re still considering owning a duck flock, let me give you one last piece of advice: just start with 12.

The post The Rise and Fall of a Backyard Duck Egg Business appeared first on Homestead.org.

I remember the day I read an article about raising Muscovies in a homesteading magazine.  The picture of an adult all-white Muscovy drake was what caught my eye.  I thought it was a goose; I had never seen such a huge duck!  His bright red mask (caruncles) was odd, but cute to me.

That article fueled an online search for more information on the birds.  I had been curious about meat ducks in general, but the more I read about Muscovies, the more I wanted that breed.  When I learned that they were quiet and low maintenance, I was hooked.  I was already researching mellower chicken breeds, on my quest for a quieter farm.  Muscovies could be the first step to lowering the volume on our homestead.

During dinner one evening, I laid my idea on the table.  I’m sure my eyes flashed, my cheeks flushed, and excitement oozed out of me as I explained how much I wanted meat ducks.  Yet despite my winning smile, Larry didn’t look enthused.

“You said it’s too noisy around here already.  Ducks quack,” he commented.  I smiled wider and explained that they were quackless.  He looked skeptical.

“Muscovies are one of the best meat ducks,” I explained.  I went into butchering size, and that they were supposed to be the best tasting.  He stared some more while he chewed.  “Have you ever had it?” he asked.

“Well no, but everything I read says it’s really good.”  I yammered about how much I loved duck, how I used to order it at Thai restaurants when I lived in the city, and all the dishes I would cook with it.   Just more staring, and chewing.  “I don’t like Thai food,” he responded.  After a weak, “I bet you’d love duck, the way I cook it,” I shut my mouth and waited.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity (but was probably three minutes) he said, “We’ll see.”  I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “We’ll see” was good.  It wasn’t “No.”

When it comes to animal husbandry decisions, Larry is the opposite of me.  He is practical.  He takes his time processing new information.  Researches the realities of cost, housing, feed, etc.  He was good at all that.  I was good at wanting more animals.

I sent him the internet links I had bookmarked about raising Muscovy ducks, and went about our daily life.  After all, we had already maxed the poultry budget for the year.  We had bought the ton of feed, and built the housing for our current and upcoming birds.  He was the one who would have to build the additional housing for ducks, and would have to figure a way to budget in more feed, bedding, etc.  He needed time to figure it out.  I had to wait.

Not long after presenting the duck idea (thankfully, because I’m terrible at waiting), he gave me the green light.  The farm we order meat chickens from just so happened to raise Muscovies.  I think that made this new venture more comfortable for him.  When sixteen white Muscovy ducks were ordered that February—due to arrive in a month—I was a happy woman.

Getting Ready to Raise Muscovy Ducks

Having no clue what I was doing, the first purchase I thought I needed to make was a kiddie pool.  Because ducks like to swim, right?  Then I re-read the part where Muscovies don’t really require a pool, and that it would be a while before they would use a pool anyway.

Instead of setting up a pool, I got the proper equipment gathered.  Our sixteen white Muscovies arrived at the post office on March 9th.  A day later than we expected.  There was a delay at one of the post offices, and the ducklings missed their flight.  It was frigid in New England that week and we were concerned about the babies.  When the post office called us at 5:30 a.m., we were ready.

A peek into the post office box was met with the sweetest little babies gazing up at us.  It was hard to tell if they were okay, but they were alive.  I reached in and felt their wee webbed feet.  Some were cool the touch, while others were downright cold.  They were not loud and chirpy like chicks; they were quiet.  I didn’t know if that was normal.

We cranked the heat in the truck and zoomed home.  The truck barely stopped before my seatbelt was off.  I hurried inside with the big box.  I was excited but still worried.

One by one, despite our efforts to revive the ducklings, within 24 hours, we lost half.  The hatchery was sorry for our loss, and reimbursed us the cost of eight ducklings.  Our first experience with shipped ducklings was not what I expected.  Some days on a farm can be a rollercoaster ride; that day was one of those days.

We said goodbye to the ducklings that left us, and said hello to the ones that stayed.  I was grateful that we still had eight.  Once I saw that those eight were healthy and strong, I dove into caring for our new additions with more excitement.

Here, I am breaking up the raising of our meat Muscovies in stages.  As they grew, I changed their food and environment to meet their needs.

Raising Muscovy Ducks: Arrival to Our Home to One Month Old

Housing: The brooder (a galvanized-metal stock-tank) was moved to the extra room days before the ducklings’ scheduled shipping date to insure the metal was room temperature.  A one-inch layer of pine shavings was added.  A layer of blue, shop paper-towels was placed on top of them (easier for clean up, and for new babies to walk on).  Blue paper-towels were removed after a few days.

I got to buy a kiddie pool after a few days!  Not for water though; it was used as a holding area/playpen for the ducklings while I cleaned out the brooder.  This decision was made after a series of comical mishaps when I just let them waddle on the floor while I cleaned.  I put a large, plastic pet-bowl in it (filled with water) for them to experiment, and gave them treats.  There was a lot of duckling handling in the first month, as there was a lot of cleanup.  I was good with that… Nothing beats holding a chubby duckling.

Feeding: We used non-medicated poultry starter feed (20% protein) in 20-inch-long plastic feeder that had 28 feeding holes (14 on each side).  A 30-egg (carton) flat can also be used, although I find that the food stays cleaner with plastic feeders.

Treats were introduced at two weeks. A variety was offered: green vegetables, lettuces, scrambled eggs, mealworms, fruit… Most of it went untouched, except for the lettuces and scrambled eggs.  They went gaga for those.  I limited treats for one reason: their poop became super watery.  Eight ducklings with runny poop in a brooder was not fun.  I didn’t mind our daily clean-up/playpen time, but when it became a twice-a-day thing, I decided to hold off on food variety until they moved outside.

Hydration: We added Broiler Booster to the two chick waterers.  It is a water-soluble vitamin/mineral/electrolyte powder we use for all meat chickens and turkeys.  I had puzzled over which waterer to use for ducklings, thinking they needed a special duck waterer.  It turned out that their bills were so small, chick waterers worked fine.

Raising Muscovy Ducks: One Month Old

Housing: The babies were huge at one month; much bigger than I anticipated.  Work schedules did not allow a rush build on our planned duck-house (complete with attached run), so in the meantime, we transported them to the fenced (dormant) herb-garden during the day, and housed them in the “turkey shed” at night.  The “turkey shed” was what my man had used in previous years to raise meat turkeys.  It had a 10×10 kennel attached.  Not my dream duck-house, but the babies would be warm and safe.  It was cleaned thoroughly, and a four-inch layer of fresh sand was shoveled into both the run and sleeping quarters.

While they played in the herb garden, I filled two (new from the dollar store) kitty-litter pans with water for them to play in.

They were as thrilled as I was at being outside.  I couldn’t keep my eyes of them as I went about daily chores.  They were the friendliest, mellowest birds I had ever cared for.  I had taken a liking to three in particular: a drake and two hens.  I remember wishing I could keep them.  But the goal of this endeavor was to raise a batch of meat ducks.

Raising Muscovy Ducks: One Month to Twelve Weeks

So, something happened while raising Muscovy ducks.  I fell in love with them more each day.  Larry could not argue.  He liked having them around as well.  Because of this, Larry built the duck house we planned.  We pulled the drake and the two hens I liked out of the meat pen, and decided to keep them.  We would keep these as pets, and see if they could make offspring we could use for meat, (despite mixed information whether hatchery ducks would reproduce).

Still though, after all this work, we would have only five meat-ducks in the freezer this year.  What made the decision to keep them easier was a visit to the feed store.  It was there I saw a flyer tacked up.  Muscovy ducklings for sale.  $5 each.   Seriously, that was less than half of what we paid for the French white ones.   Phone call made, a half-hour drive later, and we had three more ducklings to fatten up.  They were brown and yellow, and tiny!  We wanted more, but that’s all the woman could catch in her pond from the batch just hatched.

There was a six-week age-difference with the other ducks.  Now I had to care for newborns, a pen of meat ducks, and the duck house with the three keepers.   Larry shook his head, but since I didn’t complain, and caring for them was up to me, he didn’t say a word.

Feeding Muscovy Ducks

Meat ducks: I began adding meat-bird crumble to the starter food.  After a few days, they were on straight 22% meat-bird crumbles.  Broiler booster was continued in the water (now a five-gallon waterer).

A large assortment of veggie scraps. grains, and leftovers were offered daily.

Note: At around the ten-week mark, the largest drake (huge fella!) became sluggish.  When he attempted to walk, his thick legs trembled, and he would sit after a few steps.  I researched this, and decided to add niacin to the water.  I also sprinkled some on their food.  Within a few days, he perked up, and the tremors diminished.  Broiler booster was continued in their water.

Keeper ducks: They continued with the non-medicated starter crumble.  A sampling of veggies and greens was offered daily.  Their main diet was starter crumble.  Broiler booster was continued in the water.

Ducklings: Same non-medicated crumble as previous batch.

Muscovy Duck Housing

Meat ducks: Shed with kennel run attached.

Keeper ducks: New duck-house.  Our chickens visited them in their run regularly, and the dog was introduced to them on a supervised basis.  The ducks got along with everyone.

Ducklings: Stock-tank brooder in house.

Raising Muscovy Ducks: Twelve Weeks

The three wild-type ducklings joined the white keeper-ducks (in a 36-inch rabbit cage).  From day one, the newer ducklings did not like to be handled.  Regardless of what I did, they were terrified of human contact.  I do not know if it was because they came from a wilder stock.  I do know that despite my (attempts at) handling, moving to the pool for cleanings, filling food and water, offering treats, etc., they tried to run and hide.

I continued feeding the keeper ducks and ducklings starter crumble, and giving the white ones more yard freedom.  It was when I introduced the ducklings to them, supervised in the fenced-in run, that I saw aggression in one of the white females.  At first, I thought her pinning down and nibbling was “normal” duck behavior.  The other two did this a little at first, but then stopped, pretty much ignoring them.  If I was right there, she would get shooed away when too rough, but her eye was always on them.  If I let them in the run, and backed off a safe distance to observe, she attacked them.

I waited a week for her to knock it off… she never knocked it off.  On the eve of butchering day, she was placed in the meat pen, and exchanged for a runt female (Baldy).  The other female (Ash), and the drake (Sarge), accepted her without a hitch.  The three of them got along great with the ducklings.  Just like that, there was peace in the duck house.

Thirteen Weeks:

Meat ducks: Butchering day was chosen.  Ten bags of ice cubes were made, bagged, and stored (2 lb. bags).

Night before: Canopy, killing-cone stand, processing table, knives, stainless steel bowls, homemade drum-style plucker (my guy built it), aprons, gloves, hose, and trash barrels (five-gallon buckets) with bags were set up in the desired processing spot.

With just the two of us, and in a calm manner, the ducks were killed, plucked, and butchered.  Ice was placed inside their carcasses, and all five birds were placed in an iced-filled cooler overnight.

The following day, four of the ducks were bagged in freezer bags and stored.  The remaining duck was roasted.  Much to my relief, it was one of the most delicious meals I ever had.  Larry agreed.  The breast tasted like rare roast beef, or veal.

Keeper ducks: Ash, Baldy, and Sarges’ story, along with the wild-type duckling trio, and a future wild-type duckling foursome is a story of its own.  It is a story of how to care for and begin raising Muscovies, for meat and pleasure.

I will say that yes, hatchery white-Muscovies can breed, lay eggs, and hatch babies.  The wild-type Muscovy mommas we acquired were never as physically friendly as our whites, but all of them have unique qualities and personalities.  They, too, can breed and hatch babies.  Not all of them though—two ended up in the freezer.  I found out that you can only have so many drakes in your duck world.

What I learned from my first year of raising Muscovies, applies to farm life in general: things do not always go as planned.  And while we did not get the sixteen meat ducks in our freezers we originally intended, we did get five.  We also secured a flock of breeder ducks, who will we hope will continue to provide us an ongoing supply of meat, as well as an ongoing supply of entertainment and pleasure.  I am proud to say that I am mad about Muscovies.  I believe that anyone who has the pleasure of living with these amazing creatures, will be mad about them as well.

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Keeping a flock of chickens can do more for the homesteader than just providing a steady supply of meat and eggs for the family.  They can be a valuable source of income.  There are tips and tricks to turn your backyard flock into healthy cash flow.

One of the first products homesteaders consider taking to market is eggs.  This makes sense because farm-fresh eggs are always a big hit at the farmer’s market.  Before you decide the egg business is for you, though, do some research.  You will quickly realize that some hens lay more than others.  The best layers are smaller breeds that lay white-shelled eggs.  These include Ancona, Leghorn, and Minorca.  Of course, brown and green eggs are very popular sellers and can command more money.  Visit several markets to determine what customers seem to want and what they are willing to pay.  If you can make more money selling brown or green eggs with less birds, it may be a fun and profitable niche in the egg market.

Most good layers will lay about 22 dozen eggs each year.  A pullet will start laying when she is between 20 and 24 weeks old, but these eggs will be very small and the laying will be erratic.  By 30 weeks you can expect to get a normal size egg every day.  At 18 months of age, your hens will molt and most of her energy will be spent on growing new feathers.  This process can take up to three months, after which, she will resume laying.  She will lay larger eggs but will drop her production down to 16-18 dozen a year.  In order to meet consumer demand and continue to make a relatively steady income from your eggs, stagger your flock so you have hens at various stages of development at all times.

Another thing that homesteaders don’t do enough, in my opinion, is effective marketing and fair charging.  Free-range, pastured, and organic eggs are healthier for consumers and take slightly more time and energy from farmers.  Charge what the eggs (and your time and effort) are worth, and educate your customers about how you came to that price.  In my part of the country, a dozen of eggs from free-range hens will bring four dollars.  You may have to charge a little less, or be able to charge a little more, depending on where you live.

Marketing is also very important if you are interested in butchering your birds and selling them for meat.  Every chicken does not fetch the same price because every chicken does not do the same job.  Just as you pay more for veal than you do for ground round, some chicken meat costs more.  It is easy to do market research by visiting your local grocery store.  If you don’t want to walk around the meat aisle with pen and paper, price comparisons are simple to do online.

Before you decide how much to charge, you need to choose your chicken.  Just as there are egg breeds, there are meat breeds.  Some good meat breeds are Australorp, Cornish, and Orpington.  In addition to choosing the breed you want, you need to decide how you will raise them and how you will harvest them.  How you choose to raise them is purely based on your values, and availability of time and resources.  How you harvest them requires some investigation into local regulations.  Your local Department of Agriculture can assist you with this.

Factory farms raise chickens in indoor confinement which allows birds just enough space to get to feeders and waterers.  They are raised in such close quarters in order to efficiently convert feed into meat.  The standard feed-conversion ratio for birds raised in indoor confinement is two to one.  This means each bird averages two pounds of feed for every pound of weight gain.

Range confinement is another option that involves keeping your birds confined in a portable building that is kept on pasture and moved daily.  This method reduces feed costs by allowing chickens to meet some of their nutrient needs by foraging.  It takes slightly longer to reach butchering size than those raised in indoor confinement.  The meat you sell can be labeled “Pastured” or “Grass-fed,” increasing your poultry income over chickens raised in confinement.

Free-range chickens freely come and go from their shelter.  Because these chickens are allowed to exercise and forage, their meat is darker, firmer, and more flavorful.  Free-range chickens average 4 ½ pounds and are usually butchered between 10-12 weeks of age.  Because of the added time and amenities, free-range chickens cost more than chickens raised in confinement.  Selling free-range chicken not only increases the amount of money you will earn, but also gives you an opportunity to discuss the values of your homestead and the benefits humanely-raised livestock has for humans, animals, and the environment.  Individuals are not the only people becoming more interested in free-range meat.  Studies have shown executive chefs at high-end restaurants are not only committed to buying humanely-raised meat, but also to supporting local farmers.  They are willing to pay up to 10% more for regional products as long as the supply can meet the demand.

Another important part of your poultry business is deciding what classification of chicken you want to sell.  There are several classifications of chickens and it is imperative to your money-making venture that you are familiar with them.  You may organize your flocks into several different classifications and that is fine.  In order to be profitable, keep a calendar.  Each classification of bird is harvested at a different age.  By keeping a calendar, you not only keep your flocks straight with purchasing, incubating, and harvesting records, but you are also able to label and price your birds appropriately.

Broiler-Fryers can weigh up to 3 ½ pounds, dressed.  They are butchered before 13 weeks old.  These birds have soft, pliable skin and flexible breastbones.  As the name suggests, these chickens are best broiled or fried, but they can be used for any type of cooking.

Roasters are great for roasting and rotisserie cooking because they have a higher fat content.  They are butchered between 3-5 months of age and weigh between 2 ½ -5 pounds.  They also have soft and pliable skin but their breastbone is slightly less flexible than the broiler-fryer.

Stewing chickens are also called hens or fowls.  They range in age from 10-18 months old and can weigh between 3-6 pounds.  These are most often layers that are no longer productively producing eggs.  They are more flavorful but less tender than other classifications due to their age, so they are best cooked with a moist heat such as stewing or braising.

Rock Cornish hens are a hybrid of the White Rock and Cornish chickens.  They weigh up to 2 ½ pounds and are ready for market between 4-6 weeks of age.  There is just enough meat to the bone that each hen is enough for one serving.  These hens are best broiled or roasted.

Squab chicken, poussin in French, is different from true squab which is pigeon.  These birds weigh up to 1 ½ pounds and are ready for butchering between 4-6 weeks old.  These miniature birds are delicious broiled, grilled, or roasted.

Capons are roosters that have been castrated before they are 8 weeks old.  They are then fed a fattening diet and brought to market before they reach 10 months of age.  Capons range in weight between 4-10 pounds.  Because capons are full-breasted with tender, juicy, and flavorful meat, they sell for up to $10 per pound, increasing your poultry income even more.  Capons are well-suited to roasting and make a wonderful alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey.

Before you can castrate a rooster, you need to sex them.  The younger they are when you castrate them, the easier it is on the farmer and the less stressful it is on the bird.  Birds are much more difficult to sex than mammals because their reproductive organs are inside the body cavity.  Venting and down-color sexing are two methods of sexing chicks that offer a good rate of success.

Venting is by far the most accurate method of sexing your birds but, like any other skill, it requires some time to develop.  To perform this procedure, hold the day-old chick in one hand.  Spread open the vent and look at the reproductive organs.  In both sexes, you will see something that resembles a necklace with “beads” of different sizes, the largest bead shape in the center.  The center bead shape for males will be round.  For females, the center bead shape will be flat or concave.

If venting is not a skill you are ready to master, your next choice is to sex them by down color.  There are as many down-color sexing tips as there are breeds but in simplest terms, males will have lighter heads, sometimes with a white or yellow spot on the top of the head.  Females will have a darker down, often with a black or brown spot, or stripes, on their heads.

Sexing your birds is important if you are going to market capons because castrating is a minor surgical procedure and you do not want to do an unnecessary procedure accidentally on a female chick.  This article will run through the basic steps of caponizing birds, but I heartily recommend reading Caponizing by Loyl Stromberg.

In order to caponize your birds, stop feeding the roosters 36 hours before the procedure.  Do not allow them to drink a full 24 hours before the surgery.  This is an important step because it shrinks the size of the internal organs and lessens the possibility of nicking an artery or an organ.

Once you are ready to perform the procedure, immobilize the bird on a clean table with string and weights.  Pull the skin under the wing towards the tail feathers and clean with rubbing alcohol.  By pulling the skin in this way, you are ensuring the opening you cut in the skin will not line up with the opening you cut in the meat when the skin is released.  This makes stitches unnecessary.

In order to locate the incision line, familiarize yourself with the ribs.  The incision must be made between the ribs closest to the hip.  Make the incision.  Some birds will bleed a little and some will not bleed at all.  Have a cotton ball ready in case your bird does bleed.  Using hemostats, open the incision and locate the testes.  It is a bean-shaped gland.  Most testes will pull off and not need to be cut but you should have a sharp and sterile surgical blade ready. If you can see the other testicle, go ahead and remove it as well.  If you cannot see it, release the skin and repeat the procedure on the other side.  Once the procedure is complete, untie the bird.  Keep him in a cage with food and water for two weeks before allowing him to return to normal activities.

By doing some simple market research you will know what price people are willing to pay for each classification of chicken meat and eggs.  Remember that as a sustainable and local farmer, your products can fetch a slightly higher price than what is available at the local big-box grocery store.  Clearly label your product, noting the classification, as well as some of the “extras” such as organic, pasture-fed, and free-range.  You can add even more value to these products to increase your poultry income by adding a recipe tailored for the product you are marketing, such as a rich flan made with your country eggs, chicken enchiladas for your stewing hens, or a classic roasted capon recipe.

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