21 Ways Ducks Differ from Chickens

If you are considering getting ducks, you likely already have chickens. To help you understand the habits and needs of ducks, here are just of the many ways ducks differ from chickens.

Brooding Requirements

Ducklings in general are much hardier than chicks and less susceptible to chilling. They therefore have greater survivability in the brooding phase of their lives.

They also grow faster, so they need much less time in the brooder than chicks. That means you need to have your transition facilities ready sooner.

Lucky, on both counts, because they make a watery mess in the brooder. Managing the brooder to capture spilled water is the greatest brooding challenge.

Housing Needs

A duck coop requires fewer amenities than a chicken coop. It therefore can cost considerably less to build or buy.

Ducks differ from chickens in having a slightly higher normal body temperature (107.8°F versus 107.1°F). That means they suffer a little less in warm weather.

They are also less sensitive to cold weather, so they don’t need winter-fortified housing. In fact, they’d rather be outdoors, even in cold weather.

With the exception of Muscovies, ducks don’t roost for the night and therefore don’t require perches. Ducks (again, except Muscovies) lay eggs on the ground, so they don’t require elevated nests. Muscovies prefer nests that are elevated 2 to 3 feet off the ground.

Yard Essentials

Ducks, unlike chickens, won’t quickly turn their yard into hardpan and won’t dig ankle-wrenching dust-bathing bowls. On the other hand, given the opportunity, ducks will create a muddy mess around their drinking water station and/or wading pool. And, if the duck yard is too small for the number of ducks, their copious quantity of nitrogen-rich droppings will eventually kill the vegetation.

Poop Production

Like chickens, ducks don’t pee but, combine their urine output with poop as whitish urates. However, the average duck poops about twice as much per day as the average chicken. And a duck’s droppings are more soupy than chicken droppings.

As to whether duck poop isn’t as “hot” as chicken poop, the jury is out. Different sources specify different N-P-K (the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium) for duck and chicken poop. Some sources report the two as being nearly the same, others state they are vastly different.

That’s partly because N-P-K values vary with such things as the birds’ health and diet, the age of the poop, and how it’s stored. Also ducks poop a lot in their swim water, which dilutes the droppings enough so, as fertilizer, it can be used directly on plants without causing nitrogen burn. But you can get the same benefit from chicken droppings by combining them with water—one part droppings to about four parts water.

Gardening Caveats

Ducks don’t scratch up garden plants like chickens do. But ducks do pull up tender plants by the roots, and they trample plants with their flat feet.

Ducks also dig in the dirt with their bills, especially after the garden has been watered or rained on. But, as with gardening with chickens, gardening with ducks can be successful given careful management.

Confinement Ease

Ducks differ from chickens in being easier to confine. For instance, if you want to confine them to a portion of your garden, all you need for most domestic duck breeds is a foot-tall fence or other barrier of similar height.

Chickens, on the other hand, have no trouble getting over such a low obstacle. They also have no trouble hopping into a foot-high raised bed that would defy most ducks. Chickens jump easily; ducks not so well.

Sleep Habits

Unlike chickens, ducks don’t sleep all night. Rather, they take catnaps at night, just as they do during the daytime.

That’s because, unlike chickens, ducks can see in the dark. If their coop is not closed up, they will wander in and out all night long.

Drinking Water

A chicken needs water only deep enough to dip its beak into. Ducks differ from chickens in needing drinking water that’s at least 3 inches deep.

A duck needs water deep enough to cover its nostrils. By blowing into water, the duck can clear out feed, mud, sand, grass, feathers, and whatever else might be clogging its nostrils. Yes, the duck is blowing its nose.

Swim Water

As long as ducks have a source of water deep enough to wash their faces several times a day, they don’t absolutely need a constant source of water deep enough to swim in. However, access to swim water has several benefits.

While chickens bathe in dust, ducks bathe in water. Splashing in water, followed by preening, helps ducks clean and condition their feathers.

And, because ducks prefer to mate in water, a source of water to swim in improves egg fertility, especially for the deep-breasted breeds. Of all the domestic duck breeds, only Muscovies don’t seem to miss water to swim in.

Swimming ability

If the duck pool is shallow, chickens might join the ducks in wading to cool off on a hot day. But chickens don’t have waterproof plumage, like ducks do, and they don’t have webbed feet for mobility in water.

Although chickens can enjoy taking an occasional swim under supervision, an unsupervised chicken that accidentally finds itself in deep water can get waterlogged and drown. Well, under certain circumstances a duck, too, can get waterlogged and drown. But that’s not terribly typical.

Health Issues

Ducks differ from chickens in being much less susceptible to disease than chickens are. While chickens are subject to any number of diseases (which led me to write The Chicken Health Handbook), ducks rarely get sick. And ducks, especially those with access to sufficient water for bathing, are far less likely than chickens to suffer from internal and external parasites—mites, lice, and worms.

Predators

Ducks are more susceptible to predation than chickens. They can’t run as fast and they tend to stick together where chickens will scatter. Ducks are therefore easier for a predator to catch.

Molting Patterns

Chickens typically molt only once a year. Ducks, like chickens, molt annually in the fall. Following this molt, mallard-derived drakes (that means all domestic ducks except Muscovies) take on the same plumage pattern as the hens.

Then, in early spring these drakes go through a second, partial molt. At that time they resume their “normal” plumage. These two molts are called, respectively, eclipse and nuptial molts.

As to whether Muscovies molt regularly, again the jury is out. A female Muscovy will pull her breast feathers to line her nest, and the feathers will subsequently grow back. Otherwise, no significant research as been done on Muscovy molting patterns.

Sex Determination

In some duck breeds, as in some chicken breeds, males and females differ in plumage color from the day of hatch. For most other breeds, sexing baby chicks or ducks requires the skill of vent sexing.

Otherwise it’s the old “wait and see” method. Among mature ducks, the female is louder than the male. While ducks quack, drakes make hardly any sound at all. And a drake in nuptial plumage has curly tail feathers.

Muscovies, of course, are different. They may be sexed by the red caruncles on their faces. The male’s caruncles are more numerous than the female’s. Also mature male Muscovies are much larger than the females.

Pecking Order

Chickens spend a lot of time enforcing the pecking order. Ducks also have a pecking order, but it’s not as tightly organized as with chickens, and they don’t waste as much effort squabbling over it.

However, ducks do recognize a leader, which they follow when feeding, drinking, and swimming. Ducks may chase a newly introduced flock member, but they don’t mount an all-out attack on newcomers like chickens sometimes do.

Because ducks are inclined to follow the leader, they are easier to herd. Herding chickens is a lot like herding cats.

Fighting Behavior

Chickens and ducks both fight by flailing their wings, chickens more so than ducks. Chickens, especially roosters, fight with their feet and spurs. Ducks don’t have spurs. They typically fight by grabbing or poking their opponent with their beak and by shoving.

Drakes, like roosters, are more likely to fight than are females. They fight to assert dominance. They fight over mates, drakes more so than roosters, since they have a stronger libido. On the other hand, drakes are less likely than roosters to act aggressively toward humans.

An exception is Muscovy drakes, which don’t seem to get along with anybody. At least that’s my experience.

Egg production

Most domestic duck breeds lay seasonally, rather than sporadically year-round, like chicken hens. On the other hand, ducks are productive two to three times longer than chickens. Where a chicken’s egg production significantly declines after the second year, ducks lay well into their fourth year and sometimes beyond. Also, the average duck egg is about half again the size of a large chicken egg, requiring conversion for certain recipes.

Meat production

Duck meat and chicken meat are both technically classified as white meat. But duck meat is darker because it is higher in iron and the red protein myoglobin. For practical purposes, therefore, duck meat is treated as red meat.

Cannibalism

Ducks are not cannibalistic. They don’t pick and peck at each other (although they do occasionally fight) like chickens do. And they don’t eat their own eggs.

Noise Level

With the exception of Muscovies, which are really quiet, ducks are noisy. It’s as if each flock appoints a female spokesduck to quack loudly, no matter the time of day or night. Get rid of the spokesduck and another one takes her place. Call ducks, despite their diminutive size, are the worst offenders in this regard.

Friendliness

Ducks, like chickens, each have their own personality and preferences. Some are gentle, others are more assertive. While ducks and chickens can both make good pets, ducks are a bit more curious and less cautious. They therefore tend to become friendly with humans more easily than most chicken breeds.

This blog is adapted in part from An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Raising Backyard Ducks by Gail Damerow.