08/30/2026
Have you ever wondered about the differences between duck eggs and chicken eggs or the differences between them as meat birds? Let’s compare!
Duck eggs have thicker shells and inner membranes than chicken eggs, which means they stay fresher longer than chicken eggs. The yolks of duck eggs are larger and richer than chicken eggs as well. Duck eggs contain about 30% more protein than chicken eggs, more omega-3, more vitamins A and D, folate, iron, choline, and fatty acids than chicken eggs. People that have a hard time digesting chicken eggs can usually eat duck eggs without issues.
The higher fat content and lower water content of duck eggs makes them excellent for baking! Breads, pastries, cakes, and meringues tend to be lighter and fluffier when made with duck eggs due the lower water content in the eggs.
Ducks tend to have longer laying cycles than chickens and require less daylight to stimulate their reproductive systems to lay eggs. Pekins can lay 200-300 eggs per year! They can lay well for 4-5 years before significantly dropping off in egg production.
If you want to raise your own meat, ducks are an excellent source of fresh meat! Pekins dominate about 95% of the entire duck meat market in the U.S. They can be harvested at 8-12 weeks, about the same amount of time as it takes to raise Cornish Cross chickens or other meat breeds.
Duck meat has a slightly higher fat and calorie content than chicken, but it is still a very lean meat option. Duck fat contains a higher amount of healthy monounsaturated fat than chicken. The entire bird is dark meat. Duck meat also contains substantially higher amounts of Vitamin B12, copper, and iron than chicken while chicken has more selenium, magnesium, and calcium than duck.
Unlike store bought meat, you can control what your birds are eating and produce plenty of healthy, non-GMO meat for your family. Free range ducks are not very expensive to feed since they can do very well feeding themselves, though you may want to make sure they have a balanced feed ration to ensure they’re not missing any valuable nutrients in their diet. The healthier their diet is, the healthier and more flavorful their meat will be. Unlike wild ducks, Pekin meat is less “gamey” and the meat is more tender than wild duck.
Ducks love to forage for bugs, worms, and slugs and don’t scratch the ground like chickens do, so they’re less likely to damage lawns the same way chickens do. They will eat mosquito larvae from any water source - puddles, low lying, swampy areas, ponds, a bucket left out in the rain, water troughs, or anywhere else they can get to that mosquitoes may lay their eggs. If you raise horses or other large livestock, ducks will happily help control fly populations as well. My ducks have made a surprisingly big difference in the mosquito and fly populations on our farm!
Healthwise, ducks are hardier than chickens. Ducks are not susceptible to Mareks, avian influenza, parasites, or coccidiosis like baby chicks. Ducks can handle a wider range of temperatures throughout the year more easily than chickens and wet, rainy weather doesn’t bother them at all. Mine love rainy days! Even in the winter, ducks will still go for a daily swim. I’ve watched my ducks happily swimming in their pools even when the winter temps are below freezing and the water is slushy with ice!
Ducks don’t take dust baths like chickens either, but they do take water baths and they love the water! Ducks do require a water source for bathing and they must be able to fully submerge their heads in water to keep their nasal passages moistened. A baby pool or a water trough is sufficient if you don’t have a pond. If you use a baby pool or trough, place it somewhere out of the way and expect the grass to turn to dirt in the area immediately around it though. The water area will be a high traffic spot for ducks! I keep my ducks’ pools in the sun so that the mud dries quickly and easily, even though I dump, rinse, and refill their pools daily. Ducks can be incredibly entertaining at bath time!
Ducks and chickens are both a great source of entertainment, natural pest control, and can easily provide your family with plenty of healthy eggs and meat.
As an example, these pictures show an XXL egg from one of my mature ducks, a large chicken egg from one of my Copper Marans, and a duck egg from one of the female ducks I hatched this year that just started laying. Her eggs will get bigger as she matures! I do sell duck eggs for eating or hatching, but most of them are so big I can’t fit them in my cartons, lol!
