Brought home two ducks yesterday....a few questions

[jadeybaby70]

Hi everyone!! I am new to duck ownership. I brought home two little ducklings from the feed store which I believe are mallards. They are super cute!! The gal at the feed store told me that the males were supposed to have bigger heads and so I picked out two little babies which I hoped were a male and a female. Who knows what I will end up with?!?! I don't know if she knew what she was talking about but I had no idea so I just went with it. I have two flocks of about 20 total chickens, including a young roo. I have two coops with attached runs and no room to build a third one. Can my new little duckies live and sleep in one of the coops/runs with the hens when they are bigger? Can ducks catch any diseases from chickens or visa versa? Also, how much water do they need? What I mean is, how deep should their pool be? I am concerned that the chickens might get in there. Has anyone had an issue like this. I know, all questions I should have had answered before I brought their cute little butts home but I couldn't control myself. Not to mention, my husband was the one who encouraged me to do it. This guy fought me every step of the way when it came to getting the chickens but he's excited about the ducks! Any answers are welcome and feel free to add any more info for this duckie newbie. Thanks!!

 

[desertdarlene]

Hmm, I've never noticed that male ducklings have bigger heads. I don't usually see any differences between the genders until at least 1 month old.

I wouldn't leave any swimming water in with them and should always be supervised when swimming.

 

[jadeybaby70]

Hi Darlene, they only have their drinking water in with them for now. What I mean is, how much water will they need when they get bigger? Someone once told me that they need a pool deep enough that they are unable to touch the bottom but I worry that, if they are living with the chickens, that the hens might fall in. They make a mess of the water right now and are constantly preening their down with it. I noticed the today that their little tongues come out when they drink. CUTEST thing I ever saw!!!

 

[crazybarnlady]

Well if you actually have a husband that's on board with getting ducks... how could you NOT take advantage of that ?!?!

It'll take about four weeks for them to get their feathers, so until then supervised swimming only as they can soak their down through, get chilled and if they panic and can't find a way out of the pool they can die (tragic first night when I got ducklings the first time

).

Ducks can live together with chickens no problem, but they do make a big mess! I use a Mr Turtle pool/sandbox for my ducks, it works perfectly... it's made out of a heavy duty plastic that doesn't crack in cold weather when you flip it, it's easy for the ducks to get in and out of, and the water's about 6 inches deep.

Ducks generally prefer wet, and chickens generally prefer dry so it may be a bit of a juggle depending on how big your run is, but ducks are totally worth it! With a shallow pool, your chickens will be fine. Good luck!