Cooping Chickens and Ducks Together.... please help!

[Alla123123]

For the ducks to could put their water not in where they sleep but in the yard type place and put a lot of bowls and kitty pools and that for them to swim and drink

 

[kimthom66]

Ok, I need similar advice...I have a small coop and run (10 x 12) that currently houses 4 chickens, 2 silkies (a roo and a hen) and 2 barred rocks (hens). The Barred Rocks were (and still are on occasion) mean to the silkies (mixed two different flocks) and they are probably going to be re-homed. But I have since gotten 4 chicks and 2 Cayuga ducklings (within days of hatching and each other) They are currently all in the same brooder and doing ok...a few test pecks at each other initially but so far so good! Plus the Cayugas are a milder breed than mallards or Pekins so I think that helps.

The ducks I would like to be free ranging but we need to place them at least in the run at night, due to predators. I was thinking of getting a smaller house (small dog house) and place it inside of the run for the ducks. Has anyone ever done that basically 2 sleeping places inside of 1 run? Will the ducks try to go into the coop and visa versa? I am going to have to separate the chicks and the ducklings soon as the ducks are larger and outgrowing the brooder quicker and make a bigger mess! but since I've had trouble with my current flock getting along I really want these guys all raised together?

Any suggestions I would appreciate.

 

[Going Quackers]

Ok, I need similar advice...I have a small coop and run (10 x 12) that currently houses 4 chickens, 2 silkies (a roo and a hen) and 2 barred rocks (hens). The Barred Rocks were (and still are on occasion) mean to the silkies (mixed two different flocks) and they are probably going to be re-homed. But I have since gotten 4 chicks and 2 Cayuga ducklings (within days of hatching and each other) They are currently all in the same brooder and doing ok...a few test pecks at each other initially but so far so good! Plus the Cayugas are a milder breed than mallards or Pekins so I think that helps.

The ducks I would like to be free ranging but we need to place them at least in the run at night, due to predators. I was thinking of getting a smaller house (small dog house) and place it inside of the run for the ducks. Has anyone ever done that basically 2 sleeping places inside of 1 run? Will the ducks try to go into the coop and visa versa? I am going to have to separate the chicks and the ducklings soon as the ducks are larger and outgrowing the brooder quicker and make a bigger mess! but since I've had trouble with my current flock getting along I really want these guys all raised together?

Any suggestions I would appreciate.

Unless you lock the ducks in the one house, there will be no guarantee they won't go into the chickens... i don't raise my ducks and chickens together, period to much mess from the ducks for the chickens to be content and i have drakes too.

 

[Rhonda0115]

I have 4 hens, a rooster and 2 Pekins in the same coop/run. They have always been together since I purchased them. I am having some problems with the Rooster trying to mate with the ducks recently, so he gets to stay in the run while the others play in the field. Water is an issue though...the ducks clog the fountain with straw and mud all the time. I have a small pool in the run for them to play in also.

I probably will move the girls out of the coop. I've been leary of it since they lay eggs for me but I have 7 ducklings (about 12 weeks old) that should be with them and I'm hoping it doesn't upset them too much.... It will help with feeding, watering, etc.

Now to work up the nerve to move them... They will miss their buddies....

 

[WalterRadz]

I raise my chickens, pheasants and ducks/geese together. They have separate houses and in the coop and covered run I use a chicken fountain (nipple waterer). The only open water is in buckets in the free range areas. All 60 chickens/roos 6 pheasants, 12 ducks and 4 geese all get along fine. Never had any issues.

Walter
Semper Fi Farm
New Britain, CT.

 

[yoyosma]

We have a similar set-up to Walter's (although smaller) in that the 14 hens and 5 ducks roam around together amicably all day, but sleep in separate, secure coops. They have enough room and everyone gets along.
The Pilgrim goose and White Chinese goose had to go, though, as they'd attack any bird they could catch. They're much happier in their new, more secluded, home; I think they were over-stimulated by walkers and joggers and bicyclists going by all day. They certainly complained a lot.

 

[blondiebee181]

I suggest reading an article I published recently about raising chicks and ducks together and how to handle their housing...I too have both. The article is called "To Brood or Not to Brood: Ducks and Chicks Together" In short I can tell you there are a couple major considerations:

Ducks are extremely messy with water so I strongly advise against cooping them together unless you have a very large space, however sharing a run should be fine. Sand will be your best friend with all the water mess. DO NOT allow water inside the coop, only in the run otherwise you will have a mucky mess in an hour or less. (that rhymes!) And duck poo is extremely watery too by the way. The good thing is that duck housing is A LOT easier than chicken housing. An old dog house lined with a few inches of straw is sufficient. You should also know that ducks do not sleep through the night like chickens, so they will more than likely not put themselves to bed.

Pekins are large and take up a lot of room. Are the ducks male? Do you have female hens? Male ducks and female chickens MUST be housed separately. MUST. Drakes that attempt to mate with chicken hens can SERIOUSLY injure them. Chicken hens do not have the same plumbing as ducks do.

Ducks and chickens can all eat the same feed....just in the case that you have females, put out a separate dish of oyster shell when they reach about 18 weeks. Males won't touch it, females will take what they need. I happen to have all females, so I feed everyone layer pellet, but there are a variety of mixed poultry feeds that both species can eat. Good luck!

 

[malindaa2005]

I have chickens and ducks together. Both breeds are banti (silkie and call ducks). To keep the main area dry, it is best to supply an outside area with the water to play in. The feed and water can be together but if you put rocks around the out side of the waterer the ducks will not be able to get a beak full and drag it out to wet their feathers and groom. This will encourage them to do grooming in the kiddie pool or what ever you decide to supply for splashing. I think the aggression is due to the breed of ducks and chickens. Brahmas tend to be passive and the pekings are aggressive, especially if there is a drake involved. My problem right now is that my drake has fallen in love with my black silkie-she does not like this! He has two hens but just can not leave poor little Dalia alone. As soon as the breeding season is over I can put them in the same pen again. They call it bird brain for a reason!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

We tried it after I asked around on a bunch of threads and everyone said its possible. Well everything was fine until the drake decides to pick on and start making gashes in our expensive brahma roosters, one had a gash four inches along his wattle, ducks were sold in a few days after this started in breeding season!
I then posted around again and I asked if this is normal and then I was told, well what do you expect when its breeding season....

you will need to separate them! ummmmm

 

[NH-Chooks]

Hi Chickiee,

We have 9 Orpingtons (1 Orpington rooster) and 6 Astrolops along with 6 white layer ducks (and 1 male); and 6 Cayuga ducks all in the same area. Each have their own "home" - a duck house complete w/pool and a hen house w/roosts.

We had the chickens first and added the ducks a year later. They get along fine but both will nip at each other should someone do something the other doesn't like but this has not been a big issue for us - they sort it out.

The ducks and chickens both go into each others houses during the day but at night both migrate to their specific homes. We too have to lock them in at night due to predators. That is why we have the duck house because they need water constantly, the chickens do not as they sleep at night, ducks do not!

Both eat layer pellets and both were raised from 3 days old here. They are free ranged during the day and we supply layer pellets, oyster shell, sunflower seeds, and green food (lettuce, spinach, strawberries, etc.) via a raised garden within their area during the summer.

We live in NH so, like you, it gets cold during the winter. We heat the duck pools with the same electrical tape that people use to heat the edges of their roofs to melt ice during the winter. We also rapped this heating tape along a hose which we put into PVC piping out to their area to make it easier to clean and fill their water each day.

We keep no water in the chicken coop, only in the duck house, and that is kept outside their sleeping area. We use pine shavings for both and change once a week.

Their outside watering bowls are automatically filled as are both the duck pools. It is easier to just dump the dirty water (from the ducks) and let it refill automatically a couple of times a day. The pools are done twice a day as the ducks are messy. They are both heated during the winter. We keep the chickens water raised and the ducks on the ground as this tends to keep the ducks out of the chicken's water.

I'll try to attach a picture of their area... I've never done this before so will keep fingers crossed it works!





First pic is of both "homes" - Second the gang together...