A few duck questions for a duck newbie

[WillowWispFarm]

Hey everyone. So I have chickens right now, 16 of them. 12 are normal sized and 4 are bantams. Well I am separating those guys because of bulling issues. Recently my neighbor said that they had ducklings and i've been wanting to get a duck for a while now. They are just babies right now but I was wondering if it would be safe to put them in with the bantams so they grow up with em? If not I would have to figure something out but they are probably the same size right now.
If it would be okay how many ducks would i need to have? I would be fine with one but if i needed two that would also be okay. I just want to know who they would go in with if they even could

 

[Charmedlady]

I know that people do it, but I personally have had a bit of a hard time with my ducks bullying my chickens. I came home one day to a Polish hen with a bloody foot. I don't house mine together, I just let them free range in the yard together during the day and the ducks are always snapping at my chickens. I have 2 ducks (1 male, 1 female), and 6 chickens. I am a beginner with ducks too though : ) mine are 6 months old and the female just started laying.

 

[WillowWispFarm]

Ah alright. Well I was hoping to get them tomorrow and if I did they could grow up with the bantams who are already older but the same size.

 

[pawabovefarms]

I think it all comes down to the breed of the duck. I raised my khaki's in with my chickens, which I do have four bantams also in my flock, and the chickens took to the ducks and vice versa. However, the ducks grow quite quickly. If you turn up with a drake, he can be quite pushy and persistant even with chickens. However, I have kept female ducks with my chickens just fine with no problems. Just make sure their water and food access is well away from the coop, and that you clean up regularly inside the coop from the ducks. Ducks are quite dirty little beasts and will foul (hehehe... fowl) a coop quite quickly.

 

[WillowWispFarm]

I think it all comes down to the breed of the duck. I raised my khaki's in with my chickens, which I do have four bantams also in my flock, and the chickens took to the ducks and vice versa. However, the ducks grow quite quickly. If you turn up with a drake, he can be quite pushy and persistant even with chickens. However, I have kept female ducks with my chickens just fine with no problems. Just make sure their water and food access is well away from the coop, and that you clean up regularly inside the coop from the ducks. Ducks are quite dirty little beasts and will foul (hehehe... fowl) a coop quite quickly.

Oh i love making bird jokes lol do it all the time. I"m actually not sure what kind they are at all or even genders, but if something comes up that idn't a good situation i'll be able to seperate them and go from there. I am only planning on getting two

 

[Charmedlady]

Yes my male is the one who tends to go after my chickens. I think 2 females would have been better. Also my ducks are Pekin ducks and are fine with my full size hens and my bantams are the ones they bully. I just reread your thread and wanted to add that. You of course can always try it out and see how they go, I would just be prepared to alter living situations if need be.

 

[Amykins]

Oh i love making bird jokes lol do it all the time.

What the duck are you talking about? Bird jokes are so corny, it's un-bill-ieveable. I don't mean to ruffle your feathers, I'm just sayin' it'll get you goose-egg.

(Oh god stop me before I pun again)

 

[pawabovefarms]

Definitely two would be a good starting point, as lone ducks are never a good thing. Just keep a close eye out for those drake signs to pop up and be prepared if you get a drake, for the sake of your chickens, they will need to be seperated. Hopefully you will get two females and everything will be a-ok!

Best of luck to ya!

 

[WillowWispFarm]

Yes my male is the one who tends to go after my chickens. I think 2 females would have been better.

I think they are only a few weeks old, is there a way to tell or is it kind like chickens where you have to wait till they are older?

What the duck are you talking about? Bird jokes are so corny, it's un-bill-ieveable. I don't mean to ruffle your feathers, I'm just sayin' it'll get you goose-egg.

(Oh god stop me before I pun again)

omg I didnt even think of the un-bill-ivable one haha

 

[pawabovefarms]

Quote:
Sometimes you can tell on younger ducklings depending on breed, there are certain color traits and characteristics that are sex linked. If you are super experienced you can sometimes spot certain behavior patterns even in young ducklings. However, for the most part you won't be able to really tell until they are fully feathered out. At that point start paying attention to their quack (a male will often be low and raspy, while the female will be a loud traditional quack-honk), and keep an eye out for the curly drake tail feather. I have noticed some differences before they have feathered out that led me to suspect, and later proved themselves true. I noticed with both my Pekins and my Khakis that the females have been super vocal even as young ducklings. They were the ones to peep bloody murder over anything and everything, while the drakes typically weren't as vocal even as ducklings and rarely reached that ear shattering high pitched peep.