Chickens and ducks, Best breeds to mix?

[maralynn28]

Hello all,
Moved to new state and starting over with new flock. I want to do chickens this time but the kids insist we get ducks also. I was thinking mixed flock of 3 chickens and 2 ducks all female. They would all be raised together. We are in a more urban area so noise is concern. I will be building an A frame tractor for them, but expect them to free roam fenced yard once I can trust dogs won't bother them. I guess some squabbles to be expected to iron out pecking irder but I don't want to worry about ducks getting pecked too bad or hens being bullied. We had ducks in the past. Cayugas were a dream. Harlequins were sweet but skiddish, Rouens were bullies! I'm wondering if Muscovy or call would do well? Otherwise, I'm thinking we might stick to Cayuga and mixed chicken. IDEAS? Thanks!!!!

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hello all,
Moved to new state and starting over with new flock. I want to do chickens this time but the kids insist we get ducks also. I was thinking mixed flock of 3 chickens and 2 ducks all female. They would all be raised together. We are in a more urban area so noise is concern. I will be building an A frame tractor for them, but expect them to free roam fenced yard once I can trust dogs won't bother them. I guess some squabbles to be expected to iron out pecking irder but I don't want to worry about ducks getting pecked too bad or hens being bullied. We had ducks in the past. Cayugas were a dream. Harlequins were sweet but skiddish, Rouens were bullies! I'm wondering if Muscovy or call would do well? Otherwise, I'm thinking we might stick to Cayuga and mixed chicken. IDEAS? Thanks!!!!

OK, I vote No ducks and chickens mixed in the same pen---ducks mostly keep the pen a mess. I have had ducks on the pond and chickens in the pen---let the chickens out to free range but the ducks do not go in their pen. Just My Vote----to each person---they are yours---raise them the way you want!!

 

[maralynn28]

Thanks for your input. I will have ducks and chickens, they will have plenty of space. If I need to separate, I can, but I dont want them ALWAYS separated. I'd like them to be a cohesive flock. I am just searching for advice/input on which would be the calmest, the birds most likely to get along. Thanks again.

 

[LeiaLayers5]

I have both Ducks and chickens and we have huge run and coop setup. They share the run but chickens live in coop, ducks have a house below coop but hardly use it. They really prefer to be outside all night from what I have seen with our ducks. They may go in occasionally, but not consistently. Our chickens and ducks co-exist just fine and we have a large variety of breeds. I will say, we do not have any roosters and only one male drake. If you plan on all females, I think you will have little to worry about as long as they are all full grown and that they have lived near each other prior without being in same penned area. They have to co-exist in close quarters without being on top of each other for awhile before you can have them living together full time. If you do that, you should have no issues. Heads up, if there is great size difference, Chickens will go after younger ducklings, but from my experience the ducks generally leave chickens alone entirely. If you are worried, I would pick a more docile breed of both ducks and chickens. Favourelles are sweet hens and Silver Appleyard ducks have been sweetest of the breeds I have owned so far. Good Luck!

 

[maralynn28]

Thank you! This is the type of info Im searching for. Ive heard cochins are calm too? Favourelles and appleyards also tend to be on the gorgeous side!

 

[LeiaLayers5]

We have had no experience with Cochins, but I have also heard they are calm. The favourelles funny enough we got last year when we ordered chicks just to get to the minimum for our order and my husband was not sure if he would like them, but now they are his favorite, because he says they are so neat looking and sweet. They have extra toes and are very soft feathered. I just noticed your duck names and I think that they are awesome, because we have named all our ducks based on Star Wars. We used to have a Pekin Drake named Han, Silver Appleyard drake Luke, Khaki Campbell Drake Wicket, and Silver Appleyard duck Rey. Unfortunately the boys passed due to a respiratory illness after a bad batch of straw and Rey recently got attacked about a week ago by stray neighbors dog and we had to put her down. That was really hard. Our remaining ducks are Leia, who is a mix between we think a KC and maybe a rouen, and Chewy who is a mallard drake. I am trying to convince my husband to let me get ducklings again after the recent sadness, as we have lost Rey and two chickens just since the beginning of 2017. I would love to hear how you like your Cayuga compared to other breeds you have owned. We are trying to get new breeds if we get more, just because I do not want to replace the ones we lost by getting the same kind again so soon.