Ducklings and Chicks

[aaungier]

I am new to having chickens and ducks. I am looking to have maybe 6 chicks and 6 ducks and i want them to live together. To make it easier, I know that ducks are messy but i am looking to have the chickens free range and leaving the ducks in a coop and having a run for them with a pool or pond at some point. I am just looking for general tips for the beginners. The coop is just about built and its gonna be in a corner of a barn. I am just wondering how to go about the brooder since they need different kinds of food. Any tips and suggestions are welcome! I am looking to get them from either tractor supply or runnings in the the next couple of days.


Also what can of bedding should be in the brooder and coops.

 

[FarmInProgress]

Hi I have had ducklings before and they’re messy!! When you get them maybe put a short container underneath the waterer so that can’t try to swim in it. And shavings are good in the brooder and hay would be good in the coop

 

[JaeG]

It would be best to brood them separately because chicken chicks don't like to get wet, and ducklings love to make everything wet. They need different brooder temperatures anyway and ducklings can be weaned off the heat faster than chicks.

 

[aaungier]

It would be best to brood them separately because chicken chicks don't like to get wet, and ducklings love to make everything wet. They need different brooder temperatures anyway and ducklings can be weaned off the heat faster than chicks.

If I brood them separate can they still be together in the coop?

 

[JaeG]

If I brood them separate can they still be together in the coop?

Yes, they should be fine. Are all the ducks 'ducks' (ie. no drakes)? From what I've read drakes can cause trouble in a mixed situation when they don't have enough ducks (2-5 ducks per drake depending on his personality).

 

[Isaac 0]

I am new to having chickens and ducks. I am looking to have maybe 6 chicks and 6 ducks and i want them to live together. To make it easier, I know that ducks are messy but i am looking to have the chickens free range and leaving the ducks in a coop and having a run for them with a pool or pond at some point. I am just looking for general tips for the beginners. The coop is just about built and its gonna be in a corner of a barn. I am just wondering how to go about the brooder since they need different kinds of food. Any tips and suggestions are welcome! I am looking to get them from either tractor supply or runnings in the the next couple of days.


Also what can of bedding should be in the brooder and coops.

Keeping chicken and ducks is fine, but there are a few things that need to be considered first. Most important thing is that they never be together in very close quarters 24/7, Ducks often make bedding wet which in turn may cause several diseases to the chickens. When young they should either be in a totally different brooder or be separated from the chicks using a wireframe or whatever will work to make a wall, once they are older and each species is allowed more space they can easily be housed together.

It is also important you have a correct ratio for each species so they don't try to mate with each other, a good "guideline" is one drake per five ducks and one rooster per twelve hens. For feed, I would recommend an All flock feed or a Purina Rasier feed which can be fed to both species in all growth stages of life, just make sure to provide oyster shells once they are of laying stage.