My family has been keeping chickens as pets and for egg production since 2008, and have been keeping ducks since 2019. We have 11 chickens, 10 mallard-derived ducks, and 7 muscovy ducks. Of those, we have 6 laying hens and 9 laying ducks. We get about 3-4 chicken eggs a day and 4-5 duck eggs a day. I can count on one hand the amount of times we have had to buy eggs in the last ten years. In fact, I have two and a half dozen chicken eggs and four dozen duck eggs on my kitchen counter right now. We give eggs to our neighbors and friends regularly, and still have many to spare. I haven't seen any posts in this subforum that discuss keeping cickens or other poultry in anything more than the abstract, so I thought I would make a post to share some of my experience with them.

Chickens:

I would recommend chickens for most people, really. I've always been surprised that they aren't more popular in urban and suburban areas. A small flock of 3-4 hens would definitely meet or even surpass the egg needs of a single family. A backyard is enough space for them, and many keepers have their flock in an entirely enclosed coop and run. Entirely built or some assembly required coops are availaible, but I would recommend just building one yourself so you can meeet your specific needs. If space is very limited I would suggest looking into bantam, or miniature, breeds, although I have not personally kept these before. I would also suggest staying away from commercial or industrial production breeds; while their output may be more per year, their are extremely prone to health issues, especially reproductive ones. It is not uncommon for them to die suddenly and before three years of age. Heritage breeds laying 150-200 eggs per year are overall healthier, hardier, and more long-lived than their commercial counterparts. The average lifespan of a hen is 6-8 years, but I have had several make it to 10. Depending on your local climate, you may want to research cold or heat tolerant breeds. Chickens are friendly, personable, and severely underrated as pets. Ours always want to hang out with us, and our particularly friendly hens will do social things like groom us and sit in our laps. Our rooster even warns us when strange birds (or butterflies) fly overhead, to make sure we stay safe. Be aware of your local ordinances, because some cities will only allow a certain number of chickens, or will not allow roosters.

Waterfowl:

This includes mallard-derived ducks, muscovy ducks, and geese. Mallard-derived ducks and muscovy ducks are actually two different species, but they have basically identical requirements. A backyard may be suited to two or three ducks, but they require a pool for bathing and constant access to water. I would not recommend waterfowl of any kind if you have limited space, simply because emptying their pool(s) daily to change their water will quickly make a mucky mess of any space you do have. But if you have the space, ducks are excellent layers and are productive for most of their lives. Mallard-derived ducks will lay anywhere from 150-300 eggs a year depending on the breed and live to be about 10, while muscovies will lay around 180 eggs a year and can live up to 20. The most productive breeds of geese, however, will lay a maximum of 65 eggs a year. I would not get geese if you are looking for eggs.

Quail:

If you were reading this and thinking: "I can't have any of these, I don't have any yard at all," then quail are the birds for you!  They only need 0.5 to 1 square foot of space per bird, and any people keep quail in rabbit hutches. Their enclosures can potentially be entirely indoors, and are the only ones on this list to be so. Quail are small, quiet, and lay up to 300 eggs a year for 3-4 years. Coturnix quail are the most popular domestic quail, but there are a couple others you could choose from. While I haven't personally kept quail due to their small size, I would like to in the future. They're so cute. Here's a link to someone who has kept quail, since I have not, and I suspect this will be of interest to at least a few people: https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/quail-part-one

Turkeys:

Most turkeys are kept for meat, not eggs, but they do lay around 100 eggs per year. They have similar requirements to chickens, but are much bigger. This means more food, a larger coop and a larger run/forage area. Turkey eggs are bigger than a chicken or duck egg. This doesn't mean you can't keep a turkey for eggs, but it generally isn't recommended and we don't eat turkey eggs because it isn't profitable commercially.

Other/Exotic Poultry:

This includes guinea fowl, peafowl, and pheasants. I wouldn't suggest any of these for beginner poultry keepers, or for egg production. Guinea fowl and peafowl are kept mainly for pest control or ornamental purposes, while pheasants are kept for meat. Guineas hens may lay 80-160 eggs a year, but are notoriously loud, flighty, and temperamental. Pheasants come in next at 50-60 eggs during their breeding season, but are fairly sensitive and delicate birds, not nearly as hardy as more traditional poultry. Peafowl come in last for egg production, laying in their fourth year a maximum of one clutch of 5-9 eggs. Peafowl, like guinea fowl, are known to be loud and flighty.

That's some general knowledge about poultry and egg production! If anyone is interested in a post about poultry and meat production, I'm considering making one of those, which would also include pigeons.

Forgot to even mention this in the main post- our birds eat our kitchen/food scraps as long as it's okay for them to have, act as pest control for our yard and gardens, and we compost their dirty bedding to use as well. You just have to keep an eye out for the plants they like to eat and move them out of their reach, or they WILL eat all of your basil and lettuce seedlings even when you've been trying so hard to keep it alive in the Florida heat

Awesome and informative post!