The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: Cuddles on August 11, 2017, 01:11:36 pm
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Hi all,
Apart from the eggs and potential for meat what other benefits would chickens/ducks/geese etc bring to your smallholding? I'm still in the process of building things up so I only have a few sheep and weaners for fattening at the moment.
I've read a few bits and pieces online about potential improvements to pasture/reductions in fluke instances etc but I'm not sure if these are perceived benefits or if people have actually noticed anything like this in real life.
On the flip side, are there any negatives to keeping them? that you wish you knew before you started? From what I've read on here earlier this year, having to house them for a time must have been a pain, especially around lambing time?
Thanks,
Cuddles
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Chickens give you eggs and meat, easy to keep, don't take up much room or eat your sheep grass Cons Need a hut, keeping hut clean, feed is expensive, need locking up at night and letting out
Ducks and geese pretty much as above but are messier. Depending on how much grazing you have I think 4 geese is the equivalent to one sheep and they can sour your grass. Ducks aren't always good at going in at night.
Lots and lots of interesting breeds to pick from.
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I prefers the ducks to the chickens but as Harmony says the former are a pain to get in at night. Chickens just go in at dusk the ducks need ushering in so aren't easily compatible with an automatic door.
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Ducks are much hardier - if you live in cold and wet place.
Other benefits of poultry (other then already mentioned meat and eggs) are:
-when you keep chickens in orchards you have a lot less beetles and other insects which could affect fruit trees
-Since I moved my veg garden away from the ducks and chickens all my seedlings have been eaten by slugs (and larger seeds by mice!) Last year when my garden was fenced and ducks could walk around it there was not a single slug or snail on my veg!
-geese will keep the grass short
-you can use chickens to prepare a planting area by simple fencing them and letting them scratch and eat all the grass. They will plow the ground as well as fertiliser it
-there has been a research in Canada, where proved that keeping muscovy ducks in cow shed on a dairy farm was a better solution to flies than chemicals!
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We have had a terrible year for house flies - next time I'll let the ducks in! Thank you macgro7!
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Also someone mentioned ducks are difficult to put to sleep at night - not my ones!
I always throw a bit of food for them inside their enclosure in the evening so when they see me they go there themaelves!
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Geese produce an amazing amount of :poo: :poo: :poo: everywhere you could ever want to walk - paths especially. Their houses also need much more cleaning out than hens.
Hens are good for the soul. They are gentle, contented and happy to be talked at - they even answer (don't laugh). Nearly as good as pigs, although pigs seem a bit more intelligent :eyelashes:
I can't imagine a smallholding without hens free ranging about the place.
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personally think ducks are much easier to put away ... you can herd them when you want them to go away ... (early if you are going to be out in evening) chickens yes put themselves away usually .... but you may not be there to shut the door!
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personally think ducks are much easier to put away ... you can herd them when you want them to go away ... (early if you are going to be out in evening) chickens yes put themselves away usually .... but you may not be there to shut the door!
True!
Chickens are impossible to herd!
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+1 for ducks being easy to herd back into their run. Just hold your arms out to the side and use to "steer" them. Also a small sprinkle of mealworms into their water will have them running :-) Ours seem to get to know routine quite well - they appear at the backdoor at the same time each day because that's when they know we get back from work and give them some mealworms.
Because they lay on 24 hour cycles (hens are a little longer) they tend to lay at around the same time each day. Ours can come and go from their house as they like (the run is secure) and although they generally sleep outside they take themselves into the house to lay in the same place each day.
Definitely hardy - the phrase "good weather for ducks" is pretty accurate. But yes, the poop is voluminous! It will build up on any hardstanding areas that they like to rest on if you don't on top of it.
They are lovely to have around although the females can make some noise at times - a lot of excited quacking in the early morning is surprisingly loud.
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I love my ducks but they can be noisy , they don't go to bed on their own (will quite happily sit in the dark outside!), and they do make a hell of a mess especially in winter/wet weather. They love to make mud puddles! Mine are restricted to a woodchip based pen in the garden which works well. Chickens go to bed more reliably- mine are on the other side of the farm with an automatic door opener, but they will scratch away grass and make a mess finding little dust baths. I'm not sure I would run either here totally free range but we do have a lot of foxes and badgers. If they went into an open field they probably wouldn't make it back home at the end of the day.
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Can't imagine the place without 'em. We're planning to overwinter some of ours on the empty veg. patch but they'll not be allowed in after Spring arrives.
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Not quite sure where my long con post went .... But in essence it said poultry is the stock which ties you to your smallholding most and the one thing which is harder to get someone to look after if you want/need to go away .... Most other stock just need checking once day
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Wouldn't be without my chickens ducks and geese although tying and no way do they pay for the set up costs (especially as older ones tend to move into the pet category). OH also regularly has to don waders to chase younger ducks out of pond and into shed although they are being trained with corn and older ducks are ok now, although they and the geese won't put themselves to bed. Our mature girl (Silver Appleyard) has laid me an egg a day since last November.
We also have a turkey enclosure. They free range over a fair sized area including long grass nettles and brambles and don't eat anywhere near as much commercial food as the other birds. They mow the grass nicely and eat lots of bugs. They are more delicate than hens and can be susceptible to hen worms but still ok provided you worm and we have mixed them without problems except the stag tends to chase the geese (quite funny to watch) and we wouldn't mix younger ones. We have found them very friendly and curious. Our pair at the moment have thirteen chicks including eight hatched by mum and five from the incubator. The incubator chicks were added a few weeks old and Mum adopted them straight away. Both Mum and Dad brood the chicks at night even though they don't really need brooding any more. It is a lovely sight seeing them sat next to each other in the stable each with chicks poking out from under. The only problems come when the young stock are approaching sexual maturity and they will tend to fight but as this is timed just before Christmas it is a problem that can be sorted. Any we keep are separated for a short while and then they are ok with each other.
Helen
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My hens use to occupy the barn which was a complete waste of space .A lot easier to control rats when you dont have corn around.
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Harmony and Backinwellies hit the nail on the head.
The only thing I'd add is that because hens go to bed of their own accord, you can buy or make an automatic door opener / closer, which then means they only need to be checked once a day, the same as the sheep.
Because ducks and geese need to be herded to bed, somebody needs to be around at dusk to do that, which is not always easy, especially in the winter when you're still at work when it gets dark!
Ducks and geese are indeed hardier than hens. However, as long as you buy 'normal' hens (avoid fancy breeds like silkies which have special requirements) and give them places to shelter from the rain and wind, you'll find they're pretty robust.