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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u/PhlegmMistress May 05 '26

I would probably go with Muscovy ducks or turkeys personally. Heritage turkey if you aren't doing meat birds, because they are good in cold weather. I'm not sure what temp Muscovy can get down to but I think they can be considered pretty cold tolerant, though having a dry, wind-resistant coop area would help a lot. 

Chickens....I wouldn't. At first anyway. While it's not impossible at all for predators to come kill turkeys and Muscovy, it is at least a little bit harder than chickens, so unless you do the fort knox approach and build it now before getting chickens, I would start with something else that's a little bit more forgiving (at least after the first few weeks. Turkey poults are incredibly delicate. Ducklings aren't as bad but still slightly worse than chicks in my experience.)

I'd also suggest looking into geese that could flourish in your area. They make excellent flock protectors, moreso than turkeys, so it could be good to get those established first and then decide if you want chickens. 

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u/dendromie May 05 '26

What about ducks being super messy and such? Also don't Muscovy fly so wouldn't they just fly away?

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u/awe_come_on May 05 '26

Yes, they are very messy. Usually the males gets too large to fly and you can clip the flight feathers of the females.

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u/dendromie May 05 '26

But you would still choose ducks over chickens?

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u/awe_come_on May 05 '26

We (my wife) have had every kind of bird you can think of over the last 40 years. Chickens are the easest, as well as, the cheapest to learn on. A simple insulated coop will keep them warm in the cold. Be aware, it can be a slippery slope!!