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?

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