How much space will I need for my meat chickens and ducks?

[Hetherlynn]

Hello!

We currently have 5 laying hens who will be transitioning to their coop/run soon. Their run is 80 Sq ft. and their coop is 120 Sq ft. We also have 3 ducks that will be sharing the coop with them. Could the ducks also share the 80 Sq ft of run or do we need more space?

Also, in a few months we will be getting 4 NH reds, 4 Buckeye and 8 Buff Orpington. These will be separated from the laying hens and ducks as we plan on using them for meat. How large should their run and coop be?

Any advice at all is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[chickenchicklady]

I am not an expert on ducks, as I don’t raise them, but for chickens you need 4 sq/ft per chickeN of indoor space, and 10 sq/ft per chicken in the run. I have read that chickens and ducks can share a run, but you might want to consider that ducks need to be able to swim in water, and chickens don’t have waterproof feathers to keep them dry and warm and if they get wet, they can become chilled and/or get sick. Also, ducks are significantly messier than chickens. There are certainly some things to think about. But you could definitely try it.