I had my ducks and chickens housed together at one point and they all got along fine. Ducks don't roost like chickens do, they just sleep on the coop floor. They need a little more coop ground space than chickens do. My ducks slept right under the roosts and got pooped on by the chickens.I bought some white layer hatching eggs so we shall see.
For all you duck lovers who have chickens. Did you guys build a separate location for them? I know I need to set up a more permanent pond situation so they can do their waterbaths, because I am not interested in doing the daily emptying/washing of the kiddy pool! lol I can feed them flock raiser, correct? And just have the oyster shell as free choice.
Are there any special requirements for their coops or roosts? Do they even roost? lol Too curious! And too sleepy.. sorry for 2100 questions, but these are the things I ponder at 2:15am EST.
Ducks are also very messy with their water. They can turn just a little bit of water into a mud puddle. So the chickens will be getting right into the fun with the ducks if they're housed together. So It just depends on what you're willing to deal with. Ducks can eat whatever you feed your chickens, but I recommend a gamebird feed with around 20% protein because they seem to want to eat all the time (at least mine did). I don't give mine free-choice food because they'll eat waaay too much. And I sprinkle their pellets on the ground rather then putting it in a feeder to slow food consumption. I currently have my ducks and chickens housed separately. I allow my ducks to be out on our pond during the day but they get put up at night. I just sprinkle a little bit of food in the pen to lure them in. It's just easier and cleaner for me.
