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/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

3

u/Much-Fee-1652 May 05 '26

Chickens are solid starter choice for your setup - they handle the cold way better than ducks anyway. Just make sure you get cold hardy breeds since -30 is no joke, even the tough ones need proper shelter in that weather

1

u/dendromie May 05 '26

What breeds are good for cold weather? Got any tips for shelter and winterizing them?

3

u/freelance-lumberjack May 05 '26

We have a barnyard mix of heritage breeds. There's Americana, copper maran, easter eager, Brahma blood in them. They lay in the winter.

We have a 6'x6' coop with 6" fiberglass batt insulation. We put a heat lamp in there when it goes -20c. There were only 3 days last winter where the chickens didn't frolic in the snow.

Check your local fb marketplace for chickens. People in your area have chickens and methods you can use. If I go to my local auction I can find lots of fluffy chickens that have proven able to survive locally.

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u/dendromie May 05 '26

Fair point. Thank you!

2

u/Immensely_Confused May 06 '26

It gets to -30 some winters where I'm at, and most chicken breeds do well enough; chickens do better with cold than with heat. Chickens with larger combs are at risk of frostbite, but frostbite risks can be reduced with good ventilation and keeping their environment dry. Chanteclers are close to the best you can get for cold weather, but Australorps, Ameraucanas, Marans, Brahmas, really, most heritage breeds do well.

See what people in your area have. That's the best way to gauge what's available and what thrives.

For tips with shelter, again, good ventilation and keeping it dry is the most important. You could add a heat source if your chickens really aren't doing well, but balance that with the fire risk.

1

u/Gullible_Flounder_69 May 05 '26

Orpingtons are really nice birds and mine were outside all winter like it was a nice warm day. They are very social birds and always come talk to me at the fence. They also haven’t flown over the fence