Hello all! This is my first thread on BackYard Chickens, even though I find all my necessary answers on here anyways. So thank you for the continuous support from afar. So, I just ordered five ducklings, three white and fawn Indian Runners and two White Pekings. I have a large coop area, and I have 8 chickens as of right now. All Rhode Island Reds but one Dominique and all of them are laying hens. I guess my main concern is first with raising the ducklings, I have done a large amount of research, yet I still have a few questions. Is it okay to raise the ducklings with the laying hens or should I have a separate coop for them? My intentions are for them all to get along, as my hens are very docile and very sweet creatures, except for one or two of the Reds who seem to pick on one another. I have never experienced high aggression towards them and other animals. I live in Nevada, so the temperatures until late March is usually very cold, but who knows, we had 68 degree day yesterday. In terms of moving the little ducklings out into the coop, would it be best until it is consistently 60 degrees at night? Sorry for such an extensive way of asking two simple questions!
I'm about to combine too, but I'm adding chickens to my existing ducks. From what I've read and learned from others is, this is perfectly fine as long as you're good at keeping the mess from the ducks to a minimum. Ducks are naturally wet and sloppy and make mud and goo out of the ground if you let them. As far as letting a hen raise ducklings, I have no idea. Wish I could help. I have seen duck eggs hatched by hens and the hens were great mothers to the ducklings, but I don't know about already hatched ducklings.
I have heard chickens and ducks (especially ducklings) don't mix well. In fact the chickens will probably seriously hurt or kill the ducklings. A separate house will probably be best. For the ducklings, they should not stay permanently outside unless they are a month old and it is 70 degrees F outside or warmer. They can permanently stay outside no matter what the weather when they are fully feathered. If it is about 50 or 60 outside, month old ducklings or older can go outside for SHORT visits. You do not want them to catch a chill. Hope this helped! And welcome to BYC! Good luck
