The document discusses Gloria Fortin's research into choosing chickens or ducks for her small homestead. She outlines the needs, yields, natural habitats, and characteristics of each. Ducks require clean water but less shelter than chickens. Both provide eggs, meat, and manure. Ducks are hardy and tolerate cold temperatures better than chickens. Their calm demeanor and Gloria's slug problem make ducks a better fit for her young family and close proximity to the house. Based on her analysis of their needs and traits, Gloria decides ducks are the most suitable option for her first livestock experience.

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

2. 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.

3. Chickens Ducks
Needs  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

4. Chickens Ducks
Yields  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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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!

8. 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