Here at Curly Creek Farm we raise Indian Runner Ducks. We are often asked why ducks and not chickens, here are some of the reasons.
1. Ducks are great fun to watch, offering hours of entertainment while they splash and quack around the place.
2. Ducks suffer less from medical issues so it is not necessary to feed them medicated starter food that is strongly recommended for chickens.
3. Ducks are, arguably, much prettier than chickens. Lets face it chickens can be a little freaky looking and just look at these little guys.
4. Ducks are hardier than chickens and can easily over winter in a coop with no additional heat.
5. Ducks are extremely sociable with each other, chickens can fight to establish 'pecking order'.
6. Duck Eggs are larger and tastier than chicken eggs with a delicious golden yellow yolk. Some people with allergies to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs with no problem. They are also a very pretty colour. Indian Runners are prolific egg layers with each female producing up to 250 eggs per year (some sources claim up to 300).
7. Instead of messing up the yard, ducks are incredibly useful. They do a great job of weeding the lawn, they eat snails, slugs and those pesky mosquitoes. They generate startlingly large quantities of fertilizer which, unlike many other animal fertilizers doesn't have to be aged and can be used immediately. If that wasn't enough, here they are offering a screen cleaning service.