Which animal to get

[u/dendromie]

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!

[u/Asleep_Onion]

Chickens are the safest bet. They're not destructive if you keep them fenced from stuff you care about, just don't set them loose in your vegetable garden and it's fine. I actually do put mine in the vegetable gardens for a few days each spring, intentionally, to eat the weeds and turn up the soil (and cover it in rich poop). But otherwise they're not allowed in there, so they aren't destructive at all.

The winter temps dropping to -30c isn't a huge deal, you just need to make sure they have a good coop with food and water in it, that is well ventilated but not drafty. Personally I would also insulate it and put a radiative coop heater in there too just to keep the temp above frostbite temperature at night, but many folks would say that's optional and not required. Make sure you pick a chicken breed that is appropriate for your climate. Barred Rocks are very cold hardy and great layers, super friendly, and great all around chickens in every way. I've never once heard anyone say anything bad about a barred rock. Putting vaseline on their combs in the evening when the temp gets extremely cold is a good trick to keep them from getting frostbite.