Chickens and ducks

[Lorbetal]

Hey everyone! We recently just got a few varieties of chickens (10 total) and have a coop with a fairly large run. I also got 4 baby ducklings that I’ve been raising in our enclosed patio until they’re old enough to not have heat. Now that they’re getting bigger we’re slowly introducing them to our chickens outside (all around 8-10 weeks old). Any tips on ducks and chickens co-existing? Do any of you have ducks that use the coop as well? We were also thinking of building a duck house they can use to sleep in at night that would be outside. Any tips are appreciated!

 

[aart]

Ducks can make a mucky mess that is not real good for chickens.
So you'll need a way to keep the wet mess somewhat isolated from the chickens realm.

Male ducks can really damage a female chicken if the duck mates the chicken.
You might need to totally separate them or not keep any male ducks.

I'm sure that someone who actually has both species will chime in soon.

But meanwhile..... Welcome to BYC! @Lorbetal
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Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
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[Jenbirdee]

I have 13 ducks who share a 3000 sq foot yard with 2 chickens (choc orpington hens) But my ducks are ALL females. I tried sleeping the chickens in with the ducks, the chickens had a roost to jump down onto the ducks and that was scarey.. it was kinda okay for a while, but my ducks are much happier w/o chickens in their house at night. Soo, I got a seperate coop for the chickens at night. But during the day they are fine all out together because theres is a lot of space to get away from each other, the chickens go to the high ground where its always dry, the duck pools are downhill. and tons of hiding places... kid's playhouses, etc,, however, chickens been eating duck food ...