Ducks may of done me wrong but I have an idea they might be back in the future. There are some great benefits to raising ducks according to research. My timing for raising duck was poor so I'll wait a while, think things over more, and I would not be surprised if they don't return in a few years from now when the rabbit and chicken self-sustaining set up is running more smoothly. Until then, I'm going to do some more research and some serious thinking.
These are the points so far that have me thinking duck:
(a.) Duck lay better than chickens in winter. Just learned that ducks often begin to lay in February so maybe I was a bit hasty in getting rid of them except I desperately needed their coop and realistically, I'm not ready for them. Since that is after the winter solstice and light is increasing, I'd guess that is why the timing. So I'm going to think and watch my chickens to see if I need duck eggs to fill in a gap.
(b.) Ducks have a larger egg yolk than chickens but when I measured Sasha's egg yolk and one of my Rainbow hen's they were equal in size but they lay extra large eggs. Keep in mind that the bulk of the nutrition in an egg is in the yolk. That is why a chick or duck forms in the egg white and the yolk is they food source.
(c.) Duck eggs are alkaline and chickens are acidic. That is a biggy. It is one of the reasons why we have goat milk because it too is alkaline so adding duck eggs would be a really good combination.
(d.) Duck eggs have 6 times the Vitamin D and 2
times the Vitamin A than a chicken egg, more protein too. Other than that pretty much the same as a chicken's egg in nutrition. With having to take 5000 units of vitamin D a day to stay at the lower end of normal and my husband 1000 units that could mean we could go off of supplements part of the year or at least reduce the amount.
(e.) Duck eggs have twice the cholesterol that chicken eggs do but have more Omega 3 fatty acids so don't be turned away. The whole cholesterol and its bad side affects is on debate right now. Cholesterol is far more complex than they first thought and cholesterol does play an essential role in the body. It is the basis of all hormones. Anyway you look at it more Omega 3's is a good thing.
(f.) Duck eggs are richer in Albumen which makes cakes and pastries fluffier and richer.
(g.) Duck eggs are typically larger than chicken's.
(h.) They handle the cold better and forage better than chickens. I can testify to those two things.
(i) Duck egg shells are much thicker and I mean much thicker. It takes a pretty good wack to open them. This gives them a longer shelf life of six weeks in the refrigerator. They
will keep up to six weeks in the refrigerator. As a side note of interest, the shell is much smoother than a chicken's. If you have ducks and chickens in the same pen, this is a way to tell the eggs apart if both lay the same size of egg like ours do.
As for flavor, we prefer chicken eggs slightly over duck eggs but there is not a huge difference in them. So taste is not what pulls me back to considering ducks again in the future. What keeps pulling me back to raising ducks is that their eggs leave a more alkaline atmosphere in the body. Cancer feeds on a acid environment and with it so prevalent in our society, that is a big deal. We definitely need to start changing our diet more in the alkaline direction. The other important factor is that we did not loose a single duck to predators last summer and fall. We did loose quite a few chickens. We have the last two years. I read in one site that raccoons are a duck's main problem. We definitely have those, just look at the claw marks by the latch on our chicken coop. Then there is the down. Something interesting I discovered when processing nine ducks of several breeds so stay tuned.
Things aren't working out so great with the
duck project. What I read and what has happened, doesn’t jive. Only one hen
laid any eggs. She did so for two months and then quit. I did get the one egg a
day and on occasion two like promised. But two months of eggs is hardly enough
to keep me excited about their egg laying abilities especially when my pullets
are laying very well. Neither is the fact that Eva (the Swedish duck) is just
two weeks younger than Sasha (who is a black Swedish duck) and she showed no
signs of starting to lay. What's up?
Ducks supposedly lay well in low light
conditions and during the cold of winter, much better than chickens. But, do
they lay in the winter when they don't lay in the fall? I doubt it. If they
aren't going to lay eggs then I've no use for them except the table. If I feed
them fall, winter, and most of spring, then they are simply a drain on the
budget.
In the summer they were great bug killers and
weeded the garden some but that time has come to an end. I've been impressed
with their foraging abilities but nothing else economically. That means soon
they will become a money pit. They may be fun to watch but fun doesn't cover
the expenses and money is getting tighter and tighter.
The young chicken's thin tin house won't do
for long with temperatures dipping regularly into the 20F at night and I
desperately need the insulated duck coop to put them in. We have housing plans
for the chickens but the work won't likely happen until after Christmas. That
leaves us really short on space. Once again I put 'the cart before the horse'.
I should have researched more thoroughly but what has surprised me is
that experience and research is not matching up. What has gone wrong?
These ducks came from the feed store and a
gal who had too many on her ranch. Don't know if it is just Swedish ducks or
ducks in general that the articles and catalogues exaggerate their virtues on.
As far as articles on the internet it is pretty much pet owners who write.
Though there is much to learn from them, economically they aren't concerned so
that part is left out. Our ancestors had them so there has to be virtues I've
yet to discover.
I've hit the internet again and pondered,
what do I want from ducks. There a many breeds to choose from. They aren't all alike. Some fly well, others don't,
some lay well or so they say, some forage well, and I will attest some are winter hardy. My
ducklings loved the snow last spring.
As I read once more my poultry order
catalogue, I found a statement that said that certain breeds of their ducks do
not lay as the optimists elude to. I like honesty. They did state that for pure
breeds, the Khaki Campbell is the best for egg laying. The hybrid Golden 300
does even better. I had to ponder, 'Is having pure bred important to me?' That
led me to the question, 'Are hybrid ducks like hybrid vegetables in that they
do not have offspring that are true to the likeness of their parents.?' Ducks
having ducks is important for us.
1. That led me off on a marry chase to find
out the answers. What I found out is purebred is not what I'm after. What I
want is performance. The Golden 300 supposedly lay around 300 eggs a year,
better than chickens. They are like the Black or Red Stars Sex-Linked hybrid
chickens. They lay well but aren't broody or great mothers. So having offspring
in not in their realm unless you use an incubator or have a hen or different
breed of duck set on the eggs. Then you could get offspring. What they will be
like is another question. I do know that by carefully selecting the offspring
that are most true to the parents you can change the hybrid to a more pure
line. You can in vegetables anyway.
2. What does hybrid mean? I found that it is
breeding outside a species for instance my Swedish /Pekin duck crosses I picked
up. If you cross Aylesbury, Cayuga, and Rouen Clair then it is not a hybrid
since they are all in the same species - Mallard. That cleared up that
question.
What all this hard thinking has done for me
is leave me with more questions than answers. I have realized I need to end the
duck project for now. I emphasize now because as I read about the health
benefits of the eggs and think more on their other virtues, I have a feeling
they will be back. For now, I will continue thinking and researching. Our
rabbit and chicken set up needs a great deal of work for it to run smoothly.
The greatest lesson I've learned these past few years is that a self-sufficient
set up is far different than simply raising chickens for a few eggs or for
meat. The same goes for meat rabbits. We have a great deal of building to do
and a need to invest money in equipment.
When they are up and running like we'd like,
I'm coming back to ducks. My time with them has not been wasted. I truly
believe that, "In all labor there is profit." I've learned quite a
bit what to do and what will not work for us. I am realizing what I want from a duck project. I'm formulating goals. As I figure out just what we want, I'll share my ideas with
you. Meanwhile, I've have to figure out some great duck recipes. I've nine awaiting in the freezer. The processing did not go as smoothly as it could have. Learned a bit there too. Yes indeed, "In all labor there is profit."
