Species · Poultry

Duck

Anas platyrhynchos domesticus

Domesticated from the mallard more than two thousand years ago; every farmyard duck except the Muscovy descends from it.

Ducks are the poultry the marketing undersells: hardier than chickens, gentler on gardens they are ranged over lightly, comic to watch, and in the laying strains astonishingly productive. What nobody says at the point of sale is that a duck is a machine for converting clean water into mud, that a pond is optional but water deep enough to dunk a whole head is not, and that the feed-store chicken ration quietly short-changes them. Say yes to the mud and the daily bucket work, and ducks repay it better than almost anything on this page.

At a glance

Lifespan: 8–12 years
Adult weight: 1.4–4 kg by breed
Eggs: A good laying strain out-lays most hens — up to 300 a year
Minimum housing: Night shelter and a secure run; roughly triple a chicken's floor space
Company: Small flocks — and more females than drakes, always
Noise level: Females quack to be heard streets away; drakes only rasp
Diet: Waterfowl feed — chicken rations sell them short
Predator-proofing: Foxes, and a duck cannot roost out of reach; lock-up is nightly
With children: Lovely to watch, workable to handle — strong, slippery and loud about it

Breeds · 4 listed

Pekin is the white classic, the Khaki Campbell the egg machine, the Indian Runner the upright comedian, the Cayuga the beetle-green beauty. Same species, same mud.

Pekin
Khaki Campbell
Indian Runner
Cayuga

Right for you if

Mud, and the daily tipping of filthy water, honestly does not bother you.
There is space for a proper run — ducks need several times a chook's room.
You want eggs and personality from a bird tougher than it looks.
Wild ducks can be kept off the feed and water where yours live.

Wrong for you if

The lawn matters. It will not survive; this is a promise, not a risk.
The plan was to share the chickens' feed bag and be done.
A quiet backyard is the goal — a laying female announces everything.
Water would be a bowl refilled when someone remembers.

Welfare and sourcing — read this part

Feed waterfowl as waterfowl: chicken pellets are not advised, because they generally carry less of the protein, vitamins and minerals waterfowl require.¹ Duck or waterfowl rations are the staple; greens and forage are the garnish.
Ducklings pushed too fast on rich feed develop wing and leg deformities — angel wing, where the wing twists outward, and slipped tendon at the hock.¹ Raise them steadily on a proper starter, not ad lib on whatever is in the shed.
The park-pond diet of bread, lettuce and corn leads to protein and multiple vitamin deficiencies, showing as poor feathering, swollen joints and infected feet.¹ It applies at home exactly as at the park: bread is not duck food.
Waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza and can shed the virus without ever looking sick.² Keep wild ducks off the feed and water, and treat several sudden deaths as a same-day call to a vet — not bad luck to be watched.
Give water deep enough for the whole head to go under — it is how ducks keep their own eyes and nostrils washed — and tip and refill it daily. Everything a duck loves turns water brown by lunchtime.

Sources

Nijboer J, Fens A. Nutrition in Waterfowl. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Feeding chicken pellets to waterfowl is not advised: they generally contain less protein and fewer vitamin and mineral supplements than waterfowl require. Diets of only bread, lettuce and corn lead to protein and multiple vitamin deficiencies, which often show as poor plumage, swollen joints and pododermatitis. Excessively rapid growth in large waterfowl must be avoided to prevent bone and joint deformities such as angel wing and perosis (slipped tendon). Swans and geese are fed the same largely herbivorous diet as grazing ducks.
Sato Y. Common Infectious Diseases in Backyard Poultry. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Marek's disease is common in backyard chicken flocks and cannot be treated; it is prevented by vaccination at hatch, and vaccination might not be effective in birds more than one to two weeks old. Coccidiosis most often affects birds one to four months old and thrives in moist, heavily soiled litter. Red mites feed only at night and cause feather loss, irritation and anaemia; roundworms and tapeworms are the most common internal parasites, and yearly faecal examinations are recommended for all backyard flocks. Waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza and can shed the virus without showing signs of illness; backyard flocks kept outdoors are at particular risk.

Every source here was checked, not recalled. Where this page makes a health statement and no source appears against it, that is not an oversight we have hidden — it means the claim is not yet sourced, and the build reports how many are in that state.

Availability, registration and keeping requirements differ from place to place. Check the rules where you live before you commit to any animal — we describe animals, not law.