Waterfowl Instead of Chickens

If you've read earlier posts you know that I have long lusted after the ownership of chickens, both for eggs and for their nitrogen-rich manure. I was torn between choosing Buff Orpingtons or Silver-laced Wyandotte, both good foraging breeds which can withstand a colder climate.

We have some issues with raising chickens in our forest, besides the obvious predator problems. The most serious issue is that our soil does not have earthworms and it would not be a good idea to introduce them into our woodlands, as they would destroy the duff which shelters new tree seedlings. Chickens need a high protein diet if they are laying eggs. As a permaculture site, we do not want to be purchasing chicken food at the feed store. The entire concept is that we feed them from the land and their manure goes back into the soil to make a full circle. As I have counted the calories and dietary requirements for laying chickens, the equation falls short unless we raise earthworms or black soldier flies for them to eat. Growth and production of both worms and flies slows dramatically in the winter, just when we would most need them for our chickens.

The solution came as we were examining chicken structure plans. Our chickens would require an insulated, possibly heated hen house. Heating the hen house on an off-grid site was simply a no-go situation. But geese prefer an uninsulated shelter. They are entirely vegetarian, and depending upon the breed (Chinese) they can lay more eggs than most chicken varieties. The Chinese Goose is also known as a "weeder" goose, because they will happily eat young weeds out of the garden and leave more mature vegetable plants alone. Just don't let them in with the lettuce or peas. The Chinese Goose is also a great watchdog...no intruder or predator will escape their notice or loud comments.

We're planning on ordering six Chinese geese from Metzer Farms for egg production, as well as two mating pairs of Pilgrim Geese (shown above, top). Pilgrim Geese are mild mannered and quiet, not so much egg birds as meat birds. DH Matt and I are uncertain if we'll be able to kill a goose (or be able to eat it afterwards) but we want to try two temperments of geese to see if we prefer one over the other. Chinese Geese can be more tempermental and excitable. We're also going to try ten Golden 300, a duck breed which has been developed at Metzer for maximum egg laying capacity.

Ducks and geese can share the same shelter. Ducks need a little bit of insect protein, but I'm confident that they can forage and find this on their own during the summer. In the winter I'll sprout yellow peas for them, yellow peas because they are higher in lysine than green peas.. Ducks, and especially geese, are far healthier than chickens. Waterfowl don't have the respiratory illnesses common to chickens or require antibiotics for treatment. Duck and goose eggs keep far better than chicken eggs, up to seven days without refrigeration. They have less of a sulphur odor. These geese and ducks are bred to be primarily land birds, and require only a kiddie swimming pool and sprinkler to keep them happy in the summer.