I have both chickens and ducks, and I keep them separate. Their lifestyles are very different. Chickens are ladies, and ducks are total slobs. Also, when allowed to go back and forth between the duck and chicken yards, the chickens will go immediately to the duckyard and bully the ducks out of their food. They have those pointy faces, don't you know.
They all free range while I'm cleaning coops and co-exist quite placidly. It's just in confinement that I separate them. That way the ducks don't make a mess of the chicken coop and the chickens don't scratch escape holes in the duckyard. But it's only because I'm lazy. The birds wouldn't mind.
Drakes don't always fight, but you wouldn't know that until they started fighting, and then what are you going to do? Folks say you should have at least 3 ducks to every drake, but I wouldn't ever have more than one drake again, no matter how many ducks I had. I had two drakes briefly, and they drowned one of my ducks, so it's probably PTSD. Drakes are very aggressive in their mating habits.
Duck eggs taste to me exactly like chicken eggs, but some folks say they can taste a difference. They are about 10% larger and have more protein, which makes them silkier and richer. If you google the nutritive differences, you'll be surprised by how much better they are for you. Well, at least, I was.
I'm nuts about Runner ducks, but I expect that, whatever breed you decide on, you're going to love them. There's nothing funnier than a duck.
They all free range while I'm cleaning coops and co-exist quite placidly. It's just in confinement that I separate them. That way the ducks don't make a mess of the chicken coop and the chickens don't scratch escape holes in the duckyard. But it's only because I'm lazy. The birds wouldn't mind.
Drakes don't always fight, but you wouldn't know that until they started fighting, and then what are you going to do? Folks say you should have at least 3 ducks to every drake, but I wouldn't ever have more than one drake again, no matter how many ducks I had. I had two drakes briefly, and they drowned one of my ducks, so it's probably PTSD. Drakes are very aggressive in their mating habits.
Duck eggs taste to me exactly like chicken eggs, but some folks say they can taste a difference. They are about 10% larger and have more protein, which makes them silkier and richer. If you google the nutritive differences, you'll be surprised by how much better they are for you. Well, at least, I was.
I'm nuts about Runner ducks, but I expect that, whatever breed you decide on, you're going to love them. There's nothing funnier than a duck.
