Keeping ducks and chickens together

[txredneckmedic]

IDK what the big problem is. I have 8 BSL hens, a roo, 3 pekin females and a pekin drake all in one pen. They have a pool in there and several areas to sleep and nest. The mess isnt that bad. I go out every two weeks and get the compressed wood chips that expand with water and that takes up the mess. Theres no smell from my place either....cept when I have to change the pool water.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
I keep my ducks and chickens together. Both are raised on different feeds and the ducks are kept in dog crates until they are able to have the same food as the chickens. (The place where both animals are kept is really the chicken's coop, but I've adapted it to suit the duck's needs as well.) When they are very young, I raise all hatchlings in my basement and they are kept in the brooder until they feather out.

I wouldn't raise them together in the same brooder. Ducks are messy and create a bad environment for baby chickens, and sometimes they can't handle that lifestyle. Ducklings play with the water and get everything soggy and messy and the brooder has to be cleaned almost constantly. Ducklings are also alot rougher than my chicks, too. IMO.

I have never had a Runner but I hear good things about them. I prefer my Muscovies for their pet-like behavior, hardiness, and egg-laying abilities.

I also like my Call ducks because they're very small, easy to handle, and good fun.

Edit: But I don't think I'd push it with a large drake. My Call drake is very small so I don't worry much, but I hear that large drakes can try to mate with chicken hens and hurt them in the process.

On the subject, most ducks require some sort of large water feature. Another reason I prefer Muscovies: they don't need a large water source for swimming in like other breeds. We did build one eventually (pond) so they'd stop swimming in the chicken's drinking water, and when we got the Call ducks shortly after, I began to notice that the Calls wouldn't have done so well if not for the pond.

We free-range our ducks. But they bunk in with the chickens at night and are not let out in snowy weather.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Muscovies need, desire and benefit from bathing water just as much as any other breed.

 

[mrpeepers]

I have 1 pr of Chinese goslings, 4 mixed sex ducks [2Cayuga, 2 Runners] and 2 Cochins raised as babies at same time and housed in a 6 by 6 wood w/ netting at windows coop.I also have a 6 by 8 fenced in run
with a concrete/rock pool I dug out [w/drainige] for the ducks. They all get a long well at now 10 weeks old. The Cochins are 1/5th the size of the ducks and probably 1/8th the size of the geese. They do get bounced around at the feed tray but find a way to get back to the feeder and/or scrape the ground for the food the ducks scatter. I use poultry starter grower feed nonmedicated. Others have mentioned how messy the ducks are splashing water. This is so true and the only drawback I see sofar.

 

[americamom]

I pen my 3 month old chickens with my 3 and 2 month runner duck hens. They all seem very happy together. I put water into the chicken coop where the ducks do not go so it pretty much always stay clean. For the ducks, I put a plastic drawer that is big enough for them to actually bathe in while they are penned up at night. Mostly they just drink it and swim the rest of the day. Sometimes, the ducks do not want to go into the pen when the chickens go in which makes it hard for me to get them in because they have a difficult time seeing the pen opening. And I cannot leave the chicken pen door open because then a predator could get into the chickens easier.
I am thinking of eventually build a bigger duck enclosure so that I could get to them easier if I need to (since they seem to go to a part of the run that I cannot reach if I need to, like a hurt duck or eggs).

 

[LilyAshley11]

I have 3 ducks, 2 pekins and 1 magpie, one day my uncle gave me 2 star chickens, and they got along very well with the pekin male, but no with the pekin and the mapie female, They pecked at the them, and i sold the chickens

 

[boise cluckers]

We have one duck and 3 chickens that all stay together 24/7. They eat, sleep and play together. When our rooster crows, the duck starts quacking. Entertaining to say the least! All are about 6 months old and were bought at the same time from D & B.

This is our first time raising back yard chickens and am greatly appreciative of all the wonderful, informative threads on this site.

 

[wafflechicken]

We have one duck and 3 chickens that all stay together 24/7. They eat, sleep and play together. When our rooster crows, the duck starts quacking.

Oh that's adorable.

I have ducks and chickens together. I will leave a waterer on a cobbled sand bed in the coop (to keep splashing down) at night. They get minimal water at night. So the ducks don't crap up the coop except when they crap up the coop, if you catch my drift. During the day they have access to all kinds of water.

Note that these are older ducks. Young ducks need food and water access 24/7 and yes, it becomes a huge mess rather quickly. That wet environment is not only unhealthy for the chickens, it's actually also unhealthy for the ducklings! They love water but they DO need to be dry occasionally.

 

[HorsesRule]

I have 12 chickens and I'm thinking about getting 2 or 3 female pekin ducks. Ive never had ducks before but really want some.
Their sleeping incloser is pretty big as well as their cage, but the pond is outside the coop. Everyday I let my chickens out of their coop to explore the garden and they always return.
I'm just wonderong..

Is pekin the best breed? If not what is?
Is it ok that the pond is outside the coop and if yes, will the ducks return at night?
what age do the ducks have to be before I don't have to supervise them around the pond?
And last how long should I separate the ducks from the chickens before their introduced?

Please help!

 

[Kymarose]

Keeping ducks and chickens together depends on how much space you have. I have always kept mine together since I started my little chicken, duck, geese hobby about 8 years ago. The little barn they are housed in is about 40' x 12', and that being divided into three rooms each with outside doors. The first two rooms have a high passage way that the chickens can fly from one room to the other. My two geese, 10 ducks and some of the chickens go into the first room on their own each night. Chickens only go into the second room on their own each night. And the Muscovies go into the third room. Sometimes a rooster and/or a couple of hens will also go into the third room. They all seem to get along just fine. No problems between ducks, geese and chickens. Only problem I have seen is between the female Muscovies, four of them, and the one Muscovy drake. The females can be jealous of each other, when that happens usually one Muscovy duck will choose to roost in the second room with the chickens. There are roosts in all three rooms... they choose where they go. Sometimes I think they are smarter than the humans that take care of them. During the day they all free range over about 1.5 acres. That, in it's self, is a blessing. They have plenty of room to get out of the other's way. I do, however, have a problem with too many roosters... as is the case right now. I just haven't culled my roosters this year. In culling, I give them to a friend. I would like to put them in the freezer... but can't get hubby to do the "deed". I won't kill them either... so no stew pot roosters for us. Hubby will soon be 77, and I'm 75... so you see.

I enjoy my little foul hobby more than I can say... and I'm sure my family doesn't fully understand. Basically I had Runner ducks.. a pair of China geese, and various type of chickens. This spring I acquired Muscovies... they are now my favorite. Love 'em