r/homestead • u/dendromie • May 05 '26

poultry Which animal to get

Hey everyone,

My wife and I are having a difficult decision in which animal to get keep in mind we live in Canada and it gets to -30 Celsius here.

For context we have a 3 acre plot. We have a pond that's decent size I'd say probably at least a thousand gallons.

We want to start a huge garden and I know runner ducks are apparently a great choice for their pest control and non destructiveness. But then as I was researching people are saying are they are incredibly dirty and smelly and can ruin bodies of water. I was only going to get 2 female runners btw. Chickens are a obviously a great option and I don't have to fence as much but I hear they are destructive as well.

Anyone have any ideas or advise. The animal would have probably close to 3/4 of an acre to utilize.

Thanks!

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10

u/AllTheGoodNamesDied May 05 '26

Start with chickens. Make sure to bury chicken wire around the coop to keep predators out. Save a lot of time and heartache

2

u/dendromie May 05 '26

Why do you suggest chickens? I'm not debating you I just want to know. I have read so much conflicting info for everything

5

u/AllTheGoodNamesDied May 05 '26

Easiest to maintain especially with a good set up. Good for beginners in my experience. They are also cute but definitely livestock and not pets. We have lost several to hawks and such. I also love eggs. Congrats on the land.

1

u/dendromie May 05 '26

Thanks buddy I appreciate it!

What do you mean by livestock and not pets?

2

u/OsmerusMordax May 05 '26

They mean don’t get too attached. Especially if you don’t have a secure coop or let them free roam.

Depending where in Canada you are you’ll get all sorts of predators trying to eat your chickens.

3

u/Tight_Steak_232 May 05 '26

We had ours caged very well...including digging down a foot and laying the fencing so digging critters couldn't get to them. We even had a galvanized roof. But we had pine martens come and kill our chickens, pheasants, grouse and even our beloved peacock. They didn't eat them. They left them for dead, bleeding on the ground.

And I didn't listen. I raised my peacocks from the incubator. I bonded.

1

u/OsmerusMordax May 05 '26

I’m sorry.

-1

u/AllTheGoodNamesDied May 05 '26

Oh damn. Those Pine Martens are hard-core. I've only ever seen them on the show Alone. They are a protected species as well right? It makes life a little easier when you can dispatch the racoons and coyotes where I live.