I have been toying with the idea of adding a couple of ducks to my chickens...keep in mind I am just starting out with my chickens at the moment (5 - 8 weeks of age for all).....I currently have 4 EE's 1 Barred Rock and 1 Bantam Cochin....an EE, BR and cochin are newbies and will be doing their first night in the coop with the other 3 ee's...(fingers crossed all gets worked out quickly with little issues)....my questions are as follows when is it a good time to introduce ducks? what age should the ducks be at? what is a good breed? (looking for egg layers) (live in southern ontario region, must be hardy) anything i have not taken into consideration thank you
A few years ago I decided to get 5 chicks and 2 baby mallard ducks. When they got older, the ducks constantly fouled the chickens water. They have a habit of drinking water then taking their beak and running it on the dirt then back into the water. The water was dirty in minutes. It is impossible to keep the water clean which is important to chickens health. At times the male duck would grab the hens by the neck and almost choke them. I also had a kiddie pool for them which they polluted within minutes. The chickens would also occasionally drink out of this. It is not a good idea to mix ducks and chickens unless you keep them in separate pens or let them free range. You will have yours hands full trying to keep clean water and a lot of spilled feed on the ground. Good luck in your decision.