Confused about duck/chicken run

[nachoqtpie]

So... I asked in the chicken section and kinda asked here as well... and I'm kinda really confused.

My idea for a chicken/duck enclosure is to make it 8'x24' with a chicken coop and duck houses at one end (farthest from the garden) and a shallow (1-2') long stock tank with a "deck" on the other end (closest to the garden).

Now here's where I'm getting confused

Most of y'all are telling me that it sounds like a fantastic idea, and some of you have even done something similar. (which I like to hear btw... ) and in the chicken section, I hearing basically it's a horrible idea, and that I should even consider putting wooden lattice in a kiddie pool to keep chickens from drowning.

So... which advice do I follow??

I don't want to step on anyones toes, I just want my chickens and ducks to peacefully co-exist without me being a nervous wreck about the chickens drowning.

I made a sketch of what it would possibly look like. Nothing is to scale, it's just a paint sketch. (I didn't say it was a very GOOD sketch... haha)


The pink is where the chicken coop would be, the green would be the duck houses (which are converted dog houses), the blue the stock tank and the grey would be like the deck. I would also provide feeders and more waterers as well. I'm hoping that 8x24 will provide them with at least SOME grass.

 

[dennin7418]

Wouldn't the chickens just avoid the water...or just fly out if they happened to wander in?

Never heard of a chicken drowning but I also haven't really thought about it...

 

[larkflying]

I have chickens and ducks and geese. The geese/ducks have kiddie ponds (those big round plastic swimming pools for toddlers) and buckets, the chickens have their own waterers . . .

What happens is that the chickens (not being very smart) will perch on the edge of the kiddie pond and drink. Doesn't seem to matter that they have their own waterer, or that the duck water is nasty stuff sometimes. Sometimes, usually when the geese are feeling possessive, or the ducks are being silly, one of the chickens will fall in the water after being bumped. They splash around and then hop right out. It has only been the bantam chickens that I have seen do this. They don't have trouble getting out because the kiddie ponds are so shallow. Since you are putting in a stock tank, there is more of a chance that a chicken falling in the water wouldn't be able to get out. Again, most of my chickens drink out of the ponds and have never fallen in. It is my feather footed bantams that have trouble gripping the pond edge sometimes. If the stock tank is away from the chicken house, and you have other waterers , and no bantams, it is possible that it will never be a problem. The edge is probably not as slippery as the curved plastic edge of the kiddie ponds. Unless the chicken fell on its head in the kiddie pond and knocked itself out, I doubt that it would have trouble getting out. They are pretty shallow. I have never lost a chicken and I've had geese/ducks and chickens all together for a year now. But, I could see that a deep stock tank could possibly be different.

The other thing that I have heard of is ganders dragging chickens into the water to mate with them - I don't think drakes will do the same, and it sounds like you don't have any geese, so I doubt that would be an issue.

Everyone has a different set up and they all seem to work pretty well. I'd think the stock tank would be fine with most chickens (they do have some sense of self preservation . . . if you keep all the waterers full they won't have as much need to drink out of the stock tank I'd think. Your set up looks workable . . . although the grass won't last long. . .