

Guinea fowl are African birds most similar in appearance to turkeys, with bald blue heads and speckled bodies. Guinea Fowl LHG Creative Photography/Flickr Waterfowl are intrinsically dirty, as part of their daily toilette includes splashing in water that will cover the area they are kept in, and if there’s mud anywhere on your farm it is guaranteed they’ll find it and play in it.Ĥ. One thing to keep in mind with ducks, especially breeds such as Mallards and Pekins, is that they are much more messy than other poultry. Ducks are omnivores and enjoy tadpoles, lizards, and mice as much as lettuce, tomatoes, and bread. Adult ducks will eat about 1/4 pound of feed a day, and love special treats.

Geese and ducks sleep on the ground, unlike chickens, who prefer being able to roost at night. Ducks use water to bathe and eat-they also cannot swallow without immersing their beaks.ĭucks need approximately 4 square feet per bird. Each type has its own needs, but like geese ducks do not need a pond to be happy. There are upright, skinny varieties known as runners the meaty-faced, unique Muscovies and also plumper, swimming breeds that descend from wild Mallards. There are far more different types of ducks in domestication than you might guess. Geese kept on grain eat about 1/2 a pound a day.ĭucks have been farmed for thousands of years, and wild ducks were hunted and their eggs scavenged even before that. As long as water is deep enough for them to immerse their beaks they should be fine, and geese kept on pasture in summer need little if any grain to supplement their grazing.
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They need access to water in order to swallow their food, but they don’t need a full pond to bathe in. Geese do need more space, about 10 square feet per bird. While geese have a reputation of being aggressive, hand-reared ones are usually docile and friendly, all honk and no bite. They also make excellent guard animals, honking loudly at the sign of any intruders or changes. They are used for weeding several broad-leafed crops, such as keeping the growth around plants like strawberries under control while leaving the sweet fruits behind. These large birds also have some unexpected uses. Geese are prized for their delicious dark meat, and when slaughtered their fluffy under feathers make the down that stuffs our pillows and comforters. Geese can lay 20 tp 40 eggs a year, and a goose egg is large enough to make a full omelet on its own. They take marginally more work than a flock of hens, but they are still easy keepers and can bring you a variety of rewards. The earliest domesticated poultry, geese can be friendly and useful additions to the farmyard. Many farmers will fund their chicken feed purchases directly with the sales of their farm fresh eggs. They eat approximately 1/4 pound of feed a day, and it’s quite easy to grow your own chicken feed. Chickens require about 4 square feet per bird, and a small run. Raised for meat, a chicken can feed a family for several days, providing lunch meat, salads and soups. Chickens do it all: They lay delicious eggs, they provide meat, they eat bugs, they can have beautiful spangled feathers, they can be great pets, they give you organic manure, and they are cheap and easy to keep.Īn adult hen lays four to six eggs a week, which means three or four chickens are enough to keep a family well supplied. The appeal of chickens in ancient societies and our modern world is their incredible versatility as a domesticated animal. These spangled birds are still found on islands across the South Pacific today. They’ve been part of farmyards for about 5,000 years, since first being domesticated in Asia from a wild bird known as Red Junglefowl. Most farmyard poultry lay eggs, all the species are prized for their meat, and some have other special skills to offer the homestead.Īs the best known backyard farm bird, chickens are valued because they are easy keepers and quite useful. People might think chickens are the only option for farm fresh eggs, but that is not the case. Each variety brings its own unique needs and benefits, and you might find room for all of them or discover that only one type will really fit your lifestyle. There is a bounty of options when it comes to picking the right poultry for your farm.
