Raising Chickens and Ducks in the Belize Jungle: What Worked for Me (and What Didn’t)

Key Takeaways

• Raising chickens and ducks in Belize requires patience — what works for others might not work for you.
• Local chickens and ducks have pros and cons, but for me, layers and broilers are the most efficient.
• Ducks may look fun, but they can threaten wildlife like turtles, frogs, and tadpoles.
• Experimentation is part of self-reliance; every homestead setup evolves over time.

A lot of hobby farmers, off-grid dwellers, or homesteaders have all sorts of advice on raising chickens and ducks in the Belize jungle, including dos and don’ts, chickens vs ducks, and more. By all means, follow the wisdom of experienced chicken and duck owners. My advice is simple: “What works for me may not work for you.” You’ll likely have to try a little of everything before you find what works best for your setup.

This post isn’t about detailed care instructions — there’s plenty of information already out there. Instead, it’s about the journey I took raising chickens and ducks, how my approach evolved over time, and what I’ve finally settled on. After all, what works for me might not work for you.

Transporting my first chickens home

My Chicken Journey in Belize

I started raising chickens simply because it made sense that you should try to grow as much of your own food while living in the jungle. Until I moved to Belize full-time, I never kept any kind of farm animal. Keeping chickens has been almost a four-year journey that has never stopped evolving.

Hens with chicks, raising chickens in the Belize jungle

Building My First Chicken Coop

I started by building a main chicken coop (8ft x 9ft) for local chickens. I have no idea what species the “local chicken” is in Belize; I just know it’s local. I then built a double hen house because I knew eventually chicks would be hatched and need to be raised in an enclosed area.

My main coop, no door or window yet.
Notice the mud.

My first hen house pen.
The first photo is a makeshift disaster.
Notice the flooding.
The second photo is a properly rebuilt pen

My second hen house pen

My third hen house pen

At first, I was frustrated at how slowly it was to produce chicks from my hens. Eventually, I finally got some. With chicken wire, I put up a makeshift fence around the hen house. Very quickly, chicks started to disappear from the hawks. I put a makeshift cover of chicken wire over the pen. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the hawks. I ended up tearing down the pen and built it properly with 2×4 framing and a fully enclosed chicken wire ceiling.

Things got out of control fast.
Welcome to Chicken City

Learning From Mistakes and Expanding the Flock

Then I built a second double hen house. Learning from my first mistakes, I properly framed and enclosed this coop. I had a few hens going, but I was still frustrated at how slow my flock was growing. So, I purchased a dozen layers, assuming that layers were the same as locals. It turns out they aren’t. It was over four months before I learned that.

In the meantime, I was feeding them corn instead of layer mash. I eventually released them to free range because of how slowly they were growing.

The main coop – before and after
Dirt floor vs. cement block floor to facilitate better cleaning and no mud

Discovering Broiler Chickens

Then I built two single hen houses specifically for broiler (meat) chickens and attempted to raise a few of them. At first, I wasn’t really into that, and I never kept a proper routine for them. Shortly after that, I converted one of the broiler houses into a third chicken coop as my local chicken population was starting to grow.

It was about then that I slaughtered a few local hens and discovered they had very little meat — a hen gave me enough for two meals, while a broiler chicken gives me about six and a half meals per bird.

Broiler chickens are the ones you eat in restaurants or buy in grocery stores. The meat grows fast — from tiny chick to a 5–6 pound bird in just 6–7 weeks. There’s no way that is healthy.

Broiler (meat) chickens.
Notice the PVC feeders

The Compost Coop and Chicken City

The next chapter in my chicken-raising saga was building a large 12-foot by 12-foot coop designed to house chickens and act as a composting system — a place to throw all my compost and collect all of the chickens’ fertilizer.

I decided to raise layers in this coop and feed them the proper mash. After about four and a half months, twelve layers were giving me twelve eggs a day.

My couple of chicken coops had very quickly turned into what I affectionately refer to as Chicken City.  Now that I was caring for a city, I decided to get serious with broilers, since I couldn’t afford to eat hens, and raising enough locals for meat wasn’t realistic.

While predation hasn’t been as bad as I feared, I still lose the occasional chicken to jungle predators.

My final and last coop – My compost coop
I throw all my scraps and loads of vegetation inside and let the chickens do their thing.
Notice the raised hen house for extra floor space.
Notice all the floor areas are now cement block floors.

Cement block floors to prevent mud.
Facilitates easier waste removal.

Layers vs. Locals

One key observation was that I really wasn’t getting that many eggs from my locals. Some laid eggs in the main coop, some under the house where the dogs found and ate them, and others laid who knows where. Sometimes they seasonally stopped laying altogether.

Layer chicks in pen being raised for eggs in Belize jungle homestead

But my twelve layers laid twelve eggs — every single day.

Quite a while ago, I stopped letting the locals sit on eggs. Raising them no longer made sense. I bought eight more layer chicks, raised them in my third coop, and planned for them to live there permanently — providing eggs and compost.

Two weeks later, I realized that if I slaughtered off all my locals, I could raise another dozen layers in the main coop, now connected to the second coop. I bought another dozen layers and began quickly phasing out the locals.

My Final Chicken Plan

The final plan is simple: no more chickens running loose. I’ll have 32 layers producing 32 eggs a day, plus plenty of fertilizer. I’ll continue raising broilers for meat as I’ve done for the last two years — I haven’t bought a package of chicken from the grocery store since.

Broilers also produce a ton of fertilizer, helping my garden thrive.

A boa constrictor I found hiding in the main chicken coop.
Notice a scorpion also in the photo

Why I like chickens

• I don’t really.

Why I Don’t Like Local Chickens, especially chickens running loose

• Roosters crow all day and as early as 3 AM.
• Chickens eat all the frogs, tree frogs, and baby snakes — I prefer reptiles and amphibians.
• They spend a lot of time underneath my house pooping.
• Even if I wanted hens for meat, I’d need far too many.
• I don’t collect enough eggs to justify the time and feed.
• Predation occasionally takes a few.

I’m not saying there aren’t ways to improve or manage these issues, but for me, the effort isn’t worth it. What works for you might not work for me.

A dead chicken, and the boa constrictor that was responsible

Final Thoughts on Keeping Chickens

I’ve watched countless YouTube videos about raising chickens, but ultimately my chicken plan evolved through real-world experience.

Over nearly four years, what began as an experiment in jungle self-reliance has become a small, productive system that fits my needs, commitments, and lifestyle in Belize.

I had already learned a lot from my earlier experiences with chickens and from reading guides like Backyard Chickens – Raising Chickens Basics, but ducks turned out to be a whole different story.

Me posing with two chickens while raising chickens in Belize backyard

My Journey with Ducks

Almost two years ago, my neighbour brought me ten ducklings. One was a runt, six ended up being males, and three were females. Four males were slaughtered, and a year later, the original three females, one way or another, gave me about forty more ducks.

My first Muscovy ducklings

Raising My First Ducks in Belize

Originally, I quickly preferred the ducks to the chickens — that was until I noticed them with what I originally thought was a stone in their mouths. Pretty quickly, I discovered these “stones” were actually baby turtles.

I love turtles and reptiles and consider myself to have a sixth sense for finding them. When my first ducks were big enough to swallow a baby turtle, I routinely noticed ducks running around about three times a day for at least two weeks with new baby turtles in their mouths.

These sightings were completely by random chance, and they still happened about three times a day. I had no idea I had that many turtles in my yard, and I look out for them all day, every day! After a couple of weeks, they ate them all. Fortunately, they were the most common turtle in Belize — the Red-cheeked Mud Turtle.

A baby Red-cheeked mud turtle.
What I thought were stones in the ducks’ mouths were baby turtles

Deciding Whether to Keep or Eat Ducks

After slaughtering the first couple of ducks, it became apparent that I wasn’t going to be eating duck. The main reason I kept going with them was that another guy living on the farm ate them. Duck for him meant more chicken for me.

At the time of writing this post, he has informed me of his plans to move away. That’s all the information I needed to decide to get rid of all the ducks as quickly as possible.

Organized chicken food storage box for raising chickens in Belize

Why I Like Ducks

• They’re entertaining to watch play in the pond — almost like pets.
• It’s cool to see them fly around the yard.
• I’m pretty sure they help control the mosquito population.

Why I Don’t Like Ducks

• They lay their eggs everywhere — I may collect a third of them, if that.
• Their eggs are mainly only good for baking. The yolk is thick, gooey, and unpleasant.
• When slaughtering them, plucking feathers is like pulling teeth — a lot of hard work.
• They eat all the frog and toad eggs along with the tadpoles.
• They eat baby turtles — I prefer turtles over ducks any day.
• I don’t eat duck meat as it’s very tough unless you have a pressure cooker (which I don’t).
• They eat (and sometimes kill) various plants that I intentionally plant.

Makeshift barrier protecting garden plants from ducks 

Opossum visiting chickens 

Final Thoughts on Keeping Ducks in Belize

Keeping ducks in Belize was a short but valuable experience. While they’re fun to watch and have some benefits, they don’t fit my goals of living self-sufficiently in the jungle — especially since they compete with the wildlife I value most.

For me, ducks were more of a lesson than a long-term addition to my homestead.

For more detailed guidance on raising waterfowl, I also found Raising Ducks for Eggs and Meat to be a helpful resource.

Comparison of duck egg and chicken egg

Chicken vs Duck Comparison Chart 🐔🦆

*Large cats = jaguars, mountain lions, jaguarundi, and ocelots

My Final Chicken and Duck Plans

• Slaughter off all local chickens and get rid of all ducks.
• Raise layers for eggs
• Raise broilers for meat
• No more chickens or ducks running loose

I’m looking forward to the frogs, tree frogs, turtles, and snakes returning to the yard.

Chicken sunning itself in my backyard.
I always think I’m coming across a dead chicken when they do this.

Rabbits

It’s always been my plan to start raising rabbits. My problem is that I have never eaten rabbit before.  So, until I can try rabbit, I will hold off.

For broader insight into sustainable agriculture in Belize, consult the official programme page from the Belize Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise.

This boa somehow squeezed through the chicken wire and swallowed a small chicken

FAQ: Raising Chickens and Ducks in Belize

Q1: Can I let chickens or ducks roam freely in the jungle?
A: Yes. But you need to factor in predators, and your own wildlife (frogs, turtles) will be affected. Enclosed pens are safer and more productive, but more expensive to build.

Q2: Should I raise local chickens or layers?
A: Local chickens would be healthier, but layers are more efficient for consistent egg production.

Q3: Are ducks better than chickens?
A: If you don’t like raising ducks, the answer doesn’t matter.

Q4: How many chickens do I need for eggs and meat?
A: A layer hen lays one egg a day on average.

For chicken, ask ChatGPT – How many broiler chickens should I raise — and how often should I start new chicks — so that I always have a steady supply of fresh meat without needing a large freezer, if I eat chicken about 4.5 times per week?

The variable is how often you eat chicken and how many people you are cooking for.

Q5: Can chickens and ducks coexist?
A: They can. I often used my local chickens to incubate my duck eggs. Eventually, the mother duck would join, and the two would incubate in cooperation.

Final Thought

What works for me might not work for you, but prepare for something of a journey until what works for you works.

Arie Hoogerbrugge is an adventure seeker who spent 2 years biking 26,000 km across Canada to his home in Belize from 2019 to 2021. Since 2021, he has been living at his home in the jungles of Belize, working hard and writing blogs.