Backyard ducks?

[RouenDuck]

I hadn't considered mucovies because they are in the "large" class. My chicken tractor is going to be a 4x7 coop on top of a 4x7run. They would be allowed to roam the fenced yard whenever i was home, but not more than that. Can a muscovy fit comfortably in that?? Especially if I need two of them, along with 2-3 chicks.. ayyayay. I need a bigger yard!

I was tentatively thinking the "light" class welsh harlequin. Are they fairly calm?

And- If I need to get two ducks, is one male one female okay, or will he pester her too much? I'll have 2-3 hens but no rooster.

Thanks for all the advice! Y'all are awesome!

I have a welsh harlequin. she was very shy when she was a young duck,and very nervous. Now she's the friendliest thing in the coop!

 

[RouenDuck]

I hadn't considered mucovies because they are in the "large" class. My chicken tractor is going to be a 4x7 coop on top of a 4x7run. They would be allowed to roam the fenced yard whenever i was home, but not more than that. Can a muscovy fit comfortably in that?? Especially if I need two of them, along with 2-3 chicks.. ayyayay. I need a bigger yard!

I was tentatively thinking the "light" class welsh harlequin. Are they fairly calm?

And- If I need to get two ducks, is one male one female okay, or will he pester her too much? I'll have 2-3 hens but no rooster.

Thanks for all the advice! Y'all are awesome!

I have a welsh harlequin. when she was a young duck she was very shy and nervous, and now she is the friendliest thing in the coop!

 

[RouenDuck]

oops double post. is there a way to delete one?

 

[Miss Lydia]

oops double post. is there a way to delete one?

ask a mod. use the red flag bottom left hand of your screen.

 

[Supajen]

I do not recommend keeping them together - I just built a separate duck/goose run to separate mine. (we have chickens, ducks, geese). They all free range together during the day and all get along well.

I was not aware of how serious "imprinting" is in ducks until recently - we got our first duck and a turken at the same time and they got along fine. A few weeks later we decided to get the duck a friend and that work out fine. Well they all grew up and everyone got along until drake decided to try mating turken. She was NOT happy! the duck ONLY goes after the one chicken - I guess it imprinted on her and thinks she's a duck? This can be dangerous, drakes can be very aggressive when mating and prefer to do it in water. Can also damage her lady parts! Aside from this - they make an absolute mess of all the water and was constantly having to change it for the chickens.

 

[keirys]

As I said before we have a very small yard. I house the ducks under the chicken coop. They all have the same run 6x30. I can tell you from experience it is pretty easy to deal with but I agree with the other posters that the ducks are really really messy. I keep all my food & water in the run. I put a small 1/2 gallon bucket of water for the ducks to drink out of. I just bring the bucket with me when I close the coop up & fill it with fresh water when I let them out. I also have a small plastic cement mixing tray for them to swim in. They all get along great BUT my duck has gone broody, this is were it has gotten tricky. The chickens like to lay there eggs on the ducks nest. So I have to constantly check her nest to make sure there are no chicken eggs in there, because she is so heavy she can sometimes crush them. She has crushed a few of them & I had to change out the nest

... If I had more room in my yard I would put the ducks in there own area or there own run. That way it would be less work for me.

 

[fifenashia]

We have 4 adult chicken hens (and 5 more babies getting ready to be independent in the coop). AND I have 2 big ole drakes that are a Cayuga and Pekin cross. They all get along great and in fact my ducks are like the bouncers of the back yard, they protect all the girls and defend against the neighbor's rooster who tries to come over and woo my ladies haha

.

I have raised mallards alongside rhode island reds and golden comets without any problem at all. I actually call them my chiduckens as not a one of them realizes what they actually are! The brooder CAN definitely be messy with the water spillage, but It wasn't too bad.

I have found that the ducks are more independent then the chickens. The girls will go to bed at night, the ducks like to roam the yard and party until the wee hours of the morning if left to their own devices. Definitely entertaining!

 

[keirys]

I have found that the ducks are more independent then the chickens. The girls will go to bed at night, the ducks like to roam the yard and party until the wee hours of the morning if left to their own devices. Definitely entertaining!

I find that interesting my ducks go to bed before the chickens

. Maybe I have some weird ducks or something but when I go out there to lock them up- the ducks already put themselves to bed.

 

[fifenashia]

That IS funny! I wonder if it's a breed thing

I think though that my boys may be more like on guard duty then partying. They are pretty territorial!

 

[smccuen]

I think Mallards are a pretty quiet and calm choice for a backyard setting. Drakes are quieter than the hens/ducks. I've raised chicks and ducklings simultaneously but not in the same enclosure as the ducks are VERY wet and their bedding needs changed more often. They are housed side by side in 10 ft by 20 ft runs in the yard and can see each other but cannot access each other - tried that once and the chicks were MEAN to the ducklings immediately. The chickens tend to call it a night right at dusk....the ducks tend to have one more little pool party as dark falls and then preen, flap and cuddle up as the lights go out.