Duck Breeds

I've kept my Muscovy's with the chickens before, but you should still let them out or into a different pen with water once in a while to clean themselves...i imagine they'd get pretty filthy if they couldn't. They also muck up the chicken yard pretty bad tho too .

 

You can raise any duck without anything more than drinking water but the question remains why would you want to raise a waterfowl without water?

Water is very important for their health & quality of life. Not only do they thrive on having water to dabble in & swim in, they use it to keep their feathers in good condition & it also helps keep their airways/nostrils clear.

Muscovy do not create near the mess that a mallard derivitive does. Even a small rubber feed tub that's 4" deep or so would be sufficient for a single duck & would both give them that which they naturally crave & would be sufficient for maintaining good feather condition & health.

 

Khakis and runners can go without swimming water, but they reallllyyyyy love it and you can just give them a kiddie pool to play in and they are quite happy.

 

You don't technically need a pond or kiddie pool to raise ducks, but I recommend that you have one. My ducks have been without bathing water all winter and they are pretty dirty. Besides, there are few things better in life than sitting outside in a lawn chair and watching ducks rocketing around and diving in a kiddie pool.