Ducks

The feed is different: chickens’ layer pellets are wrong for ducks, and niacin matters more than most feed labels admit. Water is different: a duck can’t just have a drinker; she needs enough to submerge her whole head, and where that water goes, mud goes. Housing is different: ventilation over insulation, a low door for waddle-out access, drainage under the wet zone. Every one of those differences is a small ongoing decision, not a one-time setup.

The other honest starting point is that vets who see ducks are thinner on the ground than vets who see chickens, which in turn are thinner than vets who see cats. If you’re already searching for one, you’re not alone in that search — for owners without a local option, our online-vet page is where most start.

For the wider “chickens or ducks or both” question, the poultry section of Bird Basics is the comparison view.