a duck amongst the flock

[ladybird12]

I would love a duck

but was wondering if its okay to keep one with my 11 hens and 1 cockeral ?:

 

[Wifezilla]

Many people keep ducks and chickens together...but I wouldn't get just one. Get 2 so it has a buddy.

 

[ladybird12]

Yes if I do I will get 2

any ideas what to use as a water supply for them ?

 

[lilchick]

Every time I keep a duck, even just 1 with the chickens it is not good.. The ducks love to dribble and play in a waterer and can easily empty a 3 gallon one in no time! And the area around the waterer will get damp and smell and can cause disease.
I finally gave up and have my ducks in a separate pen with tub of water outside.....

 

[Siler]

I have 1 duck with 9 hens and 2 cockerels. He's a troublemaker! Like lilchick said, they can wreak havoc on the water supply. I use a short bucket for water in the coop and I have to put in a large rock to keep him from jumping in and taking a bath. If he gets his bill muddy then he'll make a total mess of the water too. He's a disaster! Just like children.....it's like having one adventurous little boy with several precious little girls. He's going to cause some trouble, make a mess, and then there's screaming.

 

[mommyofthree]

I have 11 hens and 2 ducks and so far so good. But they were all together from the time they hatched so that probably makes a difference. Like others said though the ducks will go through water like crazy, they make a mess with it!! We have a kiddie pool outside for them during the day so then they leave the actual waterer alone, I don't know what we'll do in the winter though. My ducks are hilarious, they can't live without each other!! When everyone's free ranging in the yard the ducks stay side by side and if one wanders away from the other, once they realize it they'll start quacking like the world is ending and run back to each other. They're so funny, today after a short separation in the yard they ran to each other and rubbed their heads together like they were hugging.

If you want a duck, you have to have at least 2.

 

[shchinchillas]

We got our chicks and the ducks at the same time, and housed them together to start. The ducks however drained the waterer, and the chicks were soaked so the ducks got their own brooder. The ducks were the filthiest, messiest animals I've ever raised. Within minutes of putting down the water, they would swarm it and dribble water all over the place, draining their waterer within a few short hours.. Mixing their feed, droppings etc in the water into one huge mess. I swear, they LIVED to make a mess. I couldn't wait for them to be outside! The ducks now share a nice pen with our peacocks, and have their own kiddie pool. I need to keep the peacocks waterer up, or the ducks will drain it-- they just use the kiddie pool.

 

[NYRIR]

I agree...my ducks are VERY messy! Water fanatics...I very quickly realized they were better off separated because EVERYTHING gets soaked!I have the ducks in a run and the chickens in the fenced in backyard.Right now at night the ducks come inside to their bedtime plywood boxes,but I can't WAIT to have the duck hut built! I love them but...P.U.! Ducks are a bit smelly!Also, I had them together as babies but the ducks grew so fast and were "bullying" my chicks,so in my experience it was easier to separate them.

 

[Tater n Beans]

We keep our 25 chickens and our 10 ducks together in a large tree shaded paddock. The chickens have a two waterers, one inside the coop and one outside, the ducks don't use them much and they are refilled daily. The ducks prefer their 4ft diameter kiddie pool that gets drained and refreshed every other to every third day.

Edit: However, We did have a couple of roos in there that were almost ready to be butchered became rather aggressive in the lovin' department and would tag team the ducks...They were a bit under weight but tasty if I recall.

 

[Jeeper1540]

i have 7 hens, 3 pullets, and 4 ducks. seem to live fine together, other than the occasional 'i have more power than you' peck from the adults. i find it funny that my 2 pound leghorn pecks at and scares my 5 pound Pekin Drake