I live in a mostly dry climate in the city with two ducks and two chickens. I keep the chickens (Salmon Faverroles) for eggs, and they do deliver even in the harshest winters (we got 28F for a few hours one night) and the ducks (Mallards) for entertainment although these days they are sometimes laying 2 eggs a day and I really don't how duck eggs smell so I give these away to a happy neighbor. I find both adorable, as they follow me around the yard. I keep the chickens in a fenced yard, about 700sq feet and although the ducks start out in the morning from the same enclosure, the fly out to the rest of the yard and go checking for bugs in the lawn and by the trees. The ducks have flown out of the yard a few times but I was able to find them or came back the next or following day. I find the chickens more aggressive with my plants and they sometimes mess with the irrigation system because they scratch the mulch, but they are easier to clean up after. The ducks like to sit by the kitchen glass door, sometimes knocking, asking for cherry tomatoes and making a massive mess on the concrete around the kitchen door. They all eat out of my hand and they're both adorable when they walk and look at me and peck at my shoes. I don't plan to eat any and I just wish there was less of a mess.
