Can chickens and ducks be raised and/or kept together?

[Blackberry18]

Thanks for all the great answers! I still think I'm planning to keep my chickens and ducks together in the same coop, but thought I'd make a separate little area for the ducks with a pool to let them into once a day for several hours.

 

[Mortenson1987]

I keep my ducks a chickens together, the biggest thing I can think of is try and keep the water outside in the run or yard rather than the coop. Otherwise, they eat the same thing and do just fine as long as you provide some oyster shells as they require more calcium than chickens if laying.

 

[Duck Drover]

We have more than twice as many ducks than chickens and they are by far the easiest to care for and the cleanest. The chickens literally poop out goopy piles that have to be broken down with regular hosing in order to get them to absorb into the ground to feed the worms. We live in an area where it rains so we don't use any absorbant bedding of any kind except in the chicken coop. It is more economical to balance our ecosystem naturally than to buy shavings that go into our yard waste removal since we no longer compost them. The duck poop is already liquified and hardly noticeable, especially when it rains and cleans the ground for me. In dry conditions the liquid poop gets mixed into the soil or is hidden in the grass so a light spraying cleans it up and fertilizes the ground at the same time.

The ducks help the lawn grow while the chickens create bare patches with their scratching and chicken manure can burn the grass in penned areas if they are not hosed often because their manure is "hot" and requires aging. The duck poop is not "hot" so it does not burn vegetation and it is full of nutrients for fertile soil.

The ducks do poop in their bath water so it needs to be cleaned periodically but ducks prefer muddy water over clean water, perhaps because they like to dabble in the mud around bodies of water, so there is no point in trying to keep their pool crystal clean when they will just hate you for it and quickly bring in bills of dirt to fix it to their liking. Ducks have strainers on their bills so they dig around in mud and probably even poop out mud but they like it that way. We get algae growing in duck water and the ducks feed on the algae while chicken poop in water is a stinkier mess that would probably kill algae.

The basic difference is chickens need a dry environment with dust to bathe in while ducks bathe in water. Ducks are so much cleaner than chickens since chickens literally bathe in dirt. Ducks have superior preening oil that makes everything, including mud, roll right off their feathers while chickens poop on each other and it sticks to their feathers. I would snuggle a duck over a chicken anyday!

As mentioned, keep drakes away from chicken hens. Not only do they have a corkscrew penis but it is as long as their body and it has a highly explosive impact to penetrate a duck's corkscrew vagina. A drake will easily kill a chicken hen if he gets confused about his own kind. Chicks and ducklings should not be raised in the same brooder together because it adds to the confusion. Also, ducklings need their food to be wet to swallow it without choking (either you can wet it for them or let them make a mess wetting it themselves) while chicks need medicated feed or medicated water to prevent fatal diseases. Ducklings have a higher niacin requirement so they need a complete feed or a niacin supplement on their feed or in their water, which is almost the same if you let them mix water into their food themselves because they will likely get nearly as much food in their water as water in their food in the process.

Our two pound bantam Australian Spotted ducks lay the same sized egg as our 12 pound Orpingtons but they eat far less feed and forage more efficiently. They do not need regular ivermectin like the chickens and they are not vulnerable to chicken diseases, although they can be carriers. We separated our ducks and chickens because it is a NPIP recommendation, maybe even a requirement (we wanted to get NPIP certified to ship birds but we have not applied yet), but they have done fine together too. The chickens will bother the nesting ducks and even eat their eggs when they get off the nest but the ducks don't bother the chickens or eat their eggs. The chickens don't eat their own eggs but duck eggs are fair game for some reason.

If I was going to choose between having chickens or ducks we would keep ducks and not chickens. They are so much quieter than the chickens and thete are no ordinances anywhere prohibiting drakes like there are for roosters. We like eating eggs but we like hatching even more so we run roosters with our hens rather than keeping a flock of hens without a rooster. Everyone has a different experience depending on their set-up and their problem solving skills but I will always recommend ducks as superior to chickens.

 

[Blackberry18]

We have more than twice as many ducks than chickens and they are by far the easiest to care for and the cleanest. The chickens literally poop out goopy piles that have to be broken down with regular hosing in order to get them to absorb into the ground to feed the worms. We live in an area where it rains so we don't use any absorbant bedding of any kind except in the chicken coop. It is more economical to balance our ecosystem naturally than to buy shavings that go into our yard waste removal since we no longer compost them. The duck poop is already liquified and hardly noticeable, especially when it rains and cleans the ground for me. In dry conditions the liquid poop gets mixed into the soil or is hidden in the grass so a light spraying cleans it up and fertilizes the ground at the same time.

The ducks help the lawn grow while the chickens create bare patches with their scratching and chicken manure can burn the grass in penned areas if they are not hosed often because their manure is "hot" and requires aging. The duck poop is not "hot" so it does not burn vegetation and it is full of nutrients for fertile soil.

The ducks do poop in their bath water so it needs to be cleaned periodically but ducks prefer muddy water over clean water, perhaps because they like to dabble in the mud around bodies of water, so there is no point in trying to keep their pool crystal clean when they will just hate you for it and quickly bring in bills of dirt to fix it to their liking. Ducks have strainers on their bills so they dig around in mud and probably even poop out mud but they like it that way. We get algae growing in duck water and the ducks feed on the algae while chicken poop in water is a stinkier mess that would probably kill algae.

The basic difference is chickens need a dry environment with dust to bathe in while ducks bathe in water. Ducks are so much cleaner than chickens since chickens literally bathe in dirt. Ducks have superior preening oil that makes everything, including mud, roll right off their feathers while chickens poop on each other and it sticks to their feathers. I would snuggle a duck over a chicken anyday!

As mentioned, keep drakes away from chicken hens. Not only do they have a corkscrew penis but it is as long as their body and it has a highly explosive impact to penetrate a duck's corkscrew vagina. A drake will easily kill a chicken hen if he gets confused about his own kind. Chicks and ducklings should not be raised in the same brooder together because it adds to the confusion. Also, ducklings need their food to be wet to swallow it without choking (either you can wet it for them or let them make a mess wetting it themselves) while chicks need medicated feed or medicated water to prevent fatal diseases. Ducklings have a higher niacin requirement so they need a complete feed or a niacin supplement on their feed or in their water, which is almost the same if you let them mix water into their food themselves because they will likely get nearly as much food in their water as water in their food in the process.

Our two pound bantam Australian Spotted ducks lay the same sized egg as our 12 pound Orpingtons but they eat far less feed and forage more efficiently. They do not need regular ivermectin like the chickens and they are not vulnerable to chicken diseases, although they can be carriers. We separated our ducks and chickens because it is a NPIP recommendation, maybe even a requirement (we wanted to get NPIP certified to ship birds but we have not applied yet), but they have done fine together too. The chickens will bother the nesting ducks and even eat their eggs when they get off the nest but the ducks don't bother the chickens or eat their eggs. The chickens don't eat their own eggs but duck eggs are fair game for some reason.

If I was going to choose between having chickens or ducks we would keep ducks and not chickens. They are so much quieter than the chickens and thete are no ordinances anywhere prohibiting drakes like there are for roosters. We like eating eggs but we like hatching even more so we run roosters with our hens rather than keeping a flock of hens without a rooster. Everyone has a different experience depending on their set-up and their problem solving skills but I will always recommend ducks as superior to chickens.

Great info to know about! Thanks a lot! My chickens have pooped all over their run so it's basically solidified, broken down poo as dirt and it gets super wet, muddy, smelly, and downright gross after it rained. My poor girls get their feet all muddy, and then it gets on their back when my rooster mates with them. I'm thinking about getting some sand to put in so I could easily scoop up the poop to get rid of it. Would sand be suitable for ducks?

Didn't know about the niacin and moist food for ducks, and you're probably right about the confusion. I've already mentioned in my post that I would like to get chicks as well, so is there a time that I could integrate them in order to introdue them to the flock together without them hurting each other first?

 

[Duck Drover]

 Great info to know about! Thanks a lot! My chickens have pooped all over their run so it's basically solidified, broken down poo as dirt and it gets super wet, muddy, smelly, and downright gross after it rained. My poor girls get their feet all muddy, and then it gets on their back when my rooster mates with them. I'm thinking about getting some sand to put in so I could easily scoop up the poop to get rid of it. Would sand be suitable for ducks? 

Didn't know about the niacin and moist food for ducks, and you're probably right about the confusion. I've already mentioned in my post that I would like to get chicks as well, so is there a time that I could integrate them in order to introdue them to the flock together without them hurting each other first? 

I think once they are coop ready you will be fine. Ducklings move off heat faster than chicks and they tend to pile together to sleep and stay warm at night when temperatures are lower. Ducks are very social so they form strong bonds early and they are not as likely to be open to snuggling up with the chickens. At the same time, chicks have an instinct to roost so they will line up together as the daylight fades due to their night blindness while ducks are often active all night with the ones on night watch keeping an eye out for predators.

The saying birds of a feather flock together is true when they are raised together. Our duckling groups stay together in the yard long after the chicks form one combined group as they move out of the brooder into the coop. As long as the ducklings are with other ducklings and not mixed with chicks in the brooder they should get along fine with the chickens without taking an interest in mating with another species.

The important thing is to be aware of their differences and watch for known problems. Having a peaceful flock always comes down to individual personalities so any change can result in a shift in dynamics that disrupts the peace.

 

[arrowti]

Also, about ducks and chickens fighting... for the first two years, after the ducks got out of their teenage stage where they'd try to bully the chickens to see if they could get away with it -and they could except for one barred rock who puts up with no crap - there hasn't been any fighting.

And then we got some production reds, and they are aggressive as anything, and when they learned half the flock wasn't going to put up with them and fought back they tried to go after the ducks.

Opie - the drake - does not tolerate anyone attacking his girls, and he beat every single one of them into submission, and now whenever a red-colored chicken goes up to his girls (even if it's a red sex link or buckeye who are both peaceful) he chases them away.

If you have a drake he will keep his girls safe from any aggressive chickens - from my experience. I don't know if the same is true for every drake. We have two protective roosters, for example, and then one rooster who just stands there like a brick while everything is going to hell. So same could be true for drakes.

We have 5 girls and he's never tried to mate with a hen. I don't think he likes the chickens anyway. He's a bit picky about who he mates. He would never mate with our pekin because she was a white duck even though she kept getting into position.

If you have a dog, be careful. Some dogs go after ducks... and some ducks go after dogs.

Our Opie always viciously attacks our 50 pound dog who is terrified of him and won't leave the deck if he's outside the fence.

And lastly... keep a window open. If you have a loud, continuous quacking at any time (not pitched like the teenage duck that goes quack QUACK QUUUACCCK, but similar to honking, look outside. That's usually a warning call that there's danger or a predator, or they're being attacked (sometimes by a chicken). Sometimes they're just nervous, but best to be on the safe side. If you ever see ducks running away from the chickens then there was likely a fight. Ducks remember. They hate my sister because she used to chase them two years ago, and whenever they see her they get up and leave.

 

[Mortenson1987]

This is a picture of my free range birds living peacefully together, this was taken before "Daddy" disappeared a couple weeks ago

 

[pattyhen]

I have chickens and ducks and they all get along. The one thing I stress is do not put the ducks with the chickens in the same brooder. If you have a male duck he might mate with the chickens when he gets older. My ducks that were raised by a female duck or brooded seperate from the chickens have never tried to mate with a hen. I do have two seperate coops one for the ducks and one for the chickens. They all wouldn't fit in the same coop so I have them seperated.

 

[Goatduck]

My chickens keep drowning in the duck pond and I do not know what to do. I put a rock and wood in there so they could climb out if they fell in, but I just lost another chicken. Any suggestions?

 

[Amiga]

Do you have drakes? They might be a problem.

Some folks keep their ducks and chickens separate - - - each flock is unique, for some it works, for some it does not.