Don't duck out

When folks think of home-produced eggs, they tend to think of chickens: after all, it is chicken eggs we usually see for sale in the shops. Yet ducks have undergone much the same selection and breeding processes as chickens over the centuries to create domestic waterfowl that fulfil the same objectives of providing a source of meat and eggs.

Sure, there are the fancy fowl within the duck group (just as there are with chickens) where looks are the endgame, but there are also breeds of domestic waterfowl that can and do exceed the capabilities of chickens in terms of working livestock.

Campbells and Indian runner ducks are a case in point. Over the years they have been used as the primary laying breed within waterfowl and they are incredibly productive, producing 250-300 eggs in a season, which outstrips some of the best layer breeds of chicken.

I keep a small flock of Indian runner ducks alongside my chicken flocks, and it's a fine event when they come into lay each season. The result is a mass of huge eggs: they may not be to everyone's taste, but I challenge anyone to deny the effect they can have on a cake mix. In my house we like them poached. They are far superior to chicken eggs cooked this way, and placing one on top of a serving of smoked haddock risotto is a family favourite and a luxury to look forward to each year.

If meat is your thing, there are duck breeds for that purpose too. Rouens, Pekins and Aylesburys are all excellent table breeds, capable of providing a 10lb carcass in a relatively short period of time. If you are more of a smallholder and are looking for something that fulfils both egg and meat requirements, then just as with chickens, there are dual-purpose breeds of duck. The Saxony, Orpington and Magpie are all reasonable layers and make a good table weight, but perhaps the most well-known is the Appleyard. You may recall from last month's post, I commented on the Ixworth chicken being an excellent dual-purpose breed; well the Appleyard achieves that from the domestic waterfowl side of things. Add to this the fact they were both created by the same poultry breeder, Reginald Appleyard, then you can be sure that a good strain of this duck breed will serve you well.

Ducks do need different care and husbandry to chickens, but in many respects they are no more work than their poultry cousins. They are good foragers, adequate grazers and brilliant at clearing slugs and snails from the garden and vegetable plot. They don't build dustbaths and many are totally incapable of flight, or in fact getting off the ground at all. In most cases a bucket or trug of water will be sufficient for them to be able to submerge their heads (but obviously deploying that no-longer-used plastic paddling pool will be greeted with much splashing enthusiasm). They have their challenges just as chickens do, but no more or less so in my experience.

So if you are looking for an alternative to chickens, or maybe something to run alongside your chickens, then take a look at the range of waterfowl. In much the same way as chickens, there will be a breed that suits your need.