When you weigh up all the pros and cons of keeping ducks and chickens in your backyard, the duck comes out on top. One of these reasons is because they’re a whole lot quieter than chickens so won’t irritate your neighbors, whereas roosters will crow at dawn every morning giving everyone who lives near you an unwelcome wakeup call.
Ducks are a lot healthier and easier to look after than chickens as they keep themselves cleaner, therefore, they are less susceptible to mites and parasites. Ducks are less likely to contract diseases as they have stronger immune systems, this means fewer visits to the vets and lower care costs for you.
Many people who want to enjoy having fresh eggs assume that they’d have to have chickens, but ducks are good at laying eggs too and in some breeds, better and more consistent at laying than some chickens.
Ducks are also friendlier to other members of the group so if you plan on having more than one duck or intend to introduce more into your duck family later on down the line, then you shouldn’t have any issues trying to integrate a newcomer into your flock.
Ducks are also a lot easier to herd than chickens are, meaning when it’s time for bed, you won’t have to spend too long gathering everyone together to return to their house for the night.