duck eggs

[cluckcluckluke]

Why cant you just put out a water bowl for the ducks and water bowl for the chickens or do the ducks just dirty them all???
I plan on getting runners soon and was told by my local Livestock store and by many other people on BYC that ducks and chickens can live in harmony.
One question though if i get ducks will they be part of the chickens social structure or will they have there own and avoid the original 22 hens i have right now???

 

[Ashburnham]

You can have a water container for the chooks higher up that the ducks cant reach,
but that wont stop the chooks drinking the dirty duck water.

 

[Kadjain]

I've had ducks and chickens for 40 years and it has always happened/
maybe it depends on the breed- I have always had Pekins or Khaki Campbells.

I've had Runner drakes for the most and could not stand them. They would constantly over top the duck hens to the point they would be screaming and hating it. Never with the chickens though. I ate all my Runner drakes after they would start acting like this except for the last one which I sold. He was actually a nice guy and not a total jerk.
I recently got my first Khaki drake and he seems like a nice guy so far. I also got my first Muscovy drake about a week ago but I don't think his true attitude has come out here yet.

Why cant you just put out a water bowl for the ducks and water bowl for the chickens or do the ducks just dirty them all???
I plan on getting runners soon and was told by my local Livestock store and by many other people on BYC that ducks and chickens can live in harmony.
One question though if i get ducks will they be part of the chickens social structure or will they have there own and avoid the original 22 hens i have right now???

If the ducks can reach the water they are going to dirty it. My chickens and ducks have always lived in harmony and I don't think the water issue has led to any chicken problems. I was just mentioning that they do dirty the water very quickly. They are constantly digging their bills in the mud and as soon as they drink from a waterer there is mud coming off their bills.
All my ducks stay together most of the time and don't really care about the chickens. If I hatch chicks and ducklings out together and raise them together it is the chickens that will try to stick with the ducks. Those particular chickens will stay out later with the ducks and not go to roost until quite a while after everyone else. That is until they mature and realize they are not ducks.

 

[PtJudeRI]

Im new here, been lurking a while, but I also have been raising chickens for a long time. This past spring, I purchased a dozen WH from Metzers. I have been very pleased, and I find the ducks to be a great addition to the backyard. I have culled a few extra Drakes, but Im still down to a 1:1 ratio with my ducks. So far, no problem. The eggs have been coming, and I have been getting 3-5/day right along. Depending on how many ducks you are looking to get, I would separate them from the chickens with respect to the water issue. My ducks have 2 waterers and a pool, and every 3rd day or so that pool is rank. Other than the water issue, I love my WH's!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Im new here, been lurking a while, but I also have been raising chickens for a long time. This past spring, I purchased a dozen WH from Metzers. I have been very pleased, and I find the ducks to be a great addition to the backyard. I have culled a few extra Drakes, but Im still down to a 1:1 ratio with my ducks. So far, no problem. The eggs have been coming, and I have been getting 3-5/day right along. Depending on how many ducks you are looking to get, I would separate them from the chickens with respect to the water issue. My ducks have 2 waterers and a pool, and every 3rd day or so that pool is rank. Other than the water issue, I love my WH's!

 

[mandyslot]

i have just bought 4 chickens and two runner ducks , i am keeping together in a large pen and a shed converted to a nice coop / duck house , they all sleep together ducks on the floor and chickens roost on perches or sit in nest boxes , the male duck has not even looked at the chickens , they all seem to keep themselves to themselves, we have a pond and area on higher ground so thats the muddiest area, and the lower groung is much drier, for the chickens , all seems to be working fine , we have even had some eggs from the chickens, and i . have only had them a week . i hope it carrys on like this , its perfect, just waiting for the duck to start laying, apparently the start again in feb . around valentines day . xx

mandy

 

[cluckcluckluke]

If the ducks can reach the water they are going to dirty it. My chickens and ducks have always lived in harmony and I don't think the water issue has led to any chicken problems. I was just mentioning that they do dirty the water very quickly. They are constantly digging their bills in the mud and as soon as they drink from a waterer there is mud coming off their bills.
All my ducks stay together most of the time and don't really care about the chickens. If I hatch chicks and ducklings out together and raise them together it is the chickens that will try to stick with the ducks. Those particular chickens will stay out later with the ducks and not go to roost until quite a while after everyone else. That is until they mature and realize they are not ducks.

Oh O.K i was just getting a bit worried that i would have a whole other plate of issues on my hands from disease, but if i keep it all clean and the ducks will be in their pond out in the field away form the chickens all should in theory go well. That is funny though how the chicks think they are ducks.lol.
When do ducks start to lay does any one know is it around 18 weeks like chickens???

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh O.K i was just getting a bit worried that i would have a whole other plate of issues on my hands from disease, but if i keep it all clean and the ducks will be in their pond out in the field away form the chickens all should in theory go well. That is funny though how the chicks think they are ducks.lol.
When do ducks start to lay does any one know is it around 18 weeks like chickens???

usually 5 months & up before eggs.

 

[swampyacrefarms]

I was told that if you house ducks and chickens together that ..Ducks create loads of moisture when they breathe and can cause respiratory issues in chickens if they share a coop.??

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I was told that if you house ducks and chickens together that ..Ducks create loads of moisture when they breathe and can cause respiratory issues in chickens if they share a coop.??

In my case I have 3 ducks to 22 hens so I'm not shore that they will do that much damage.