considering a couple of ducks

[new2chicks17]

I have 5 chickens and am now considering a couple of ducks. Can I put the ducks in with the chickens, or should we build another coop and run. Do I need to have a male duck in order to get eggs from the girls. I would really appreciate some responses. Thanks ahead of time.
My chickens are 8 months old.

 

[BarredBuff]

You don't need a male duck for eggs. You could keep them in the housing setup, but be warned ducks are nasty, wet creatures and will ruin feed and murk up water. I suggest separate housing. I love Ducks, but they are gross. I'm contemplating getting me some more.

 

[wordgirl]

The answer to your consideration is YES. You need some ducks.

They are messy but you will love them! They are a big pain with water, but they are so funny and cute that they make up for it. And we finally figured out a solution to the water mess (an enclosed "washroom" that has a tub in a wire-covered frame to catch splashes underneath their water bucket) and now our bedding is nice and dry. I can post some pictures if you'd like.

As to your other questions

Some people have put their ducks in with their chickens, but having kept both (not together) for a few years...I wouldn't necessarily advise it! Ducks WILL get the coop wet (unless you give them water only outdoors or figure out some sort of water-containing system), and chickens prefer being dry! As BarredBuff said, they are definitely messy little buggers, too! They WILL murk up any water they can reach, and will splash it as much as they can. Their droppings are also wetter and more abundant than chickens, due to all the water they drink (being waterfowl after all

). It would probably be easier in the long-run to build separate housing if you can, but housing them together can potentially be done.

I'm sure you can find some BYC'ers who have figured out a workable solution to keeping both together, so if you'd like to hunt around for threads, I bet you could find some. It just may take some work and planning (separate water stations, for instance). I've heard people suggesting putting a waterer up where the ducks can't reach for the chickens so it can stay clean (in addition to one for the ducks at a lower level). Most ducks can't fly or jump well, and chickens are expert hoppers. Also, I don't know if you use pelleted feed for your chickens, but as a tip, I've found that pellets work well for ducks (who can't scratch and peck up crumbs as well as chickens). I've used pellets with my adult ducks for a long time, and I don't think a whole lot gets wasted.

You don't need a male (drake) for the duck hens to lay eggs. In fact, if you keep ducks with the chickens, I've heard drakes can potentially actually seriously injure chicken hens if they try to "do the deed" with them.

Hope this helps! You should try ducks! They're fun!

 

[Rooster123]

if you put ducks with chickens they probobly wont get along and i like ducks also but you should probably think of getting doves

 

[StruckBy]

My ducks & chickens have always gotten along fine. They share the same coop/run but I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen ducks sleep inside in the last decade. They are messy with water. I would suggest only getting females (drakes cause as many problems as roosters & are totally useless unless you want to breed). I am one of the people who puts water for the chickens up on a little stand & has a kiddie pool for the ducks (well I did...now we have a real pond). They waste far less with pellets than crumbles. Ducks need MUCH more space than chickens. I'm not sure I'd be willing to do anything other than free-range them. The smallest I've tried for confinement that seemed to work was 6 chickens & 8-12 ducks with a 8x8 coop and attached 20x30 run. But that was in the desert & I only did it until I got the dog & raven predation issues under control.

Just a warning...once you start eating & cooking with duck eggs, even your free range chicken eggs taste bland & mealy. :

 

[new2chicks17]

Thank all of you for your much informative responses. I am anxious for Spring as nd the thought of a couple of ducks. I live in northern califirnia and wonder what breed was be the most fun and hardy to raise. I just love this site so much.