Do hens and female ducks get along?

[firehog]

I have 8 hens who I have had for about 6 years. No roosters. I noticed an ad on craigslist of a lady posting to give away 2 female ducks that were a couple of months old. She was concerned that the ducks would be well taken care of and I felt so sorry for them when I saw their picture I wrote and said if she can not find a good home, I would take them in just to prevent them from being put down or someone taking them for dinner purposes.
We are going to introduce the ducks to the chickens in the backyard this Sunday to see if any of the hens will be aggressive to them.

I have seen many pictures of chickens and ducks together but was wondering if anybody here has had experience with the 2 groups co-mingling, sharing food and shelter? Thanks

 

[cmoore333]

Mine do, well kind of... They share food, but I have several food station set out...some times the hens chase the ducks away, but they do that with the chicks too. The ducks wait till the chickens go up in the coop and then they will go in the run at night. All mine free range during the day, so they have lots of room to roam..

 

[scooterward]

We have 8 chickens and 2 ducks (well, technically, as of Wednesday, 1 duck but we are getting her a replacement) since 2010 so they all grew up together. At first when they were younger, the chickens would chase the ducks then when they were all grown up, it was role reversal. I have a coop and I also have a seperate house and run for the ducks. I purchase the same food for everyone. They all free range together but do not share the same living quarters (nor would I recommend it). Personally, I think two female ducks is good to go with. What breed of ducks does she have that you are interested in?

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have or offer advice etc.

Good luck!

 

[firehog]

Thanks, my chickens roam for the first 5 hours in a secure fenced area and then I let them range in the greater back yard which is also fenced but no overhead protection. I have a creek in the back and wild ducks are always flying around so i wonder if these ducks will fly away to join the other ducks?. I will post in the duck section this question.

 

[bpendleton77]

I got my chicks (5) and Ducks (2) at the same time, they have been raised together since day one and they all get along, no problems as of yet They will be 8 weeks old this week.

 

[firehog]

Thanks. It was easy for you if you got them as babies and raised together. My ducklings are just losing the last of their down so quite young but also quite full grown. The problem is the older hens who did not like these newcomers intruding into their space. They will chase them out of the henhouse and really flair up, ruffled feathers and all if the ducks get close while they are eating my treats. they are spoiled chickens and quite jealous of any affection i show the ducks. i need to post a question on what kind of food ducks like. i got a flockraiser feed from the feed store for both the chickens and ducks plus scratch grains. I noticed the ducks love lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms and really love worms but would like to know what else they like. They are getting spoiled already, waddling around after me quacking constanly when I am in the backyard.. I hate to get attached to them like I did my chickens since i am really just a foster dad of them since the young lady was looking for a place to adopt them out but i would rather see they go to someone who has mostly ducks so they will not be stressed out by the chickens.