ducks and chickens

[MNmommy]

I am getting baby chicks in a couple weeks and I was wondering if I could get a couple baby ducks at the same time and keep them together? I am building a coop for the chicks but wondered if the ducks would need something different?? I have a big pond in our yard so they would have that to use but what about their sleeping quarters? Could they live in the hen house?? I am such a newbie and have no idea?

thanks

 

[EngieKisses]

We had seperate brooder tubs for our chicks and ducklings, but 4 of the chicks wont let the ducklings live by themselves. So in one tub there is 8 chicks, in the other there is two ducklings and 4 chicks. They get mad when they are seperated. Both the chicks and the ducks.

 

[Wifezilla]

Awww! They are brooder buddies

Brooder buddies get very mad when they can't see their friends.

 

[EngieKisses]

They make an awful fuss when they are apart. When it is freetime outside, all the chicks and both the ducklings go in the same pen now and play. They have a blast.

 

[ChanceRider]

My chickens and ducks are all housed together in the same coop and run. When the chickens were first learning to head into the coop at night to roost, the ducks would herd them in!

The biggest challenge to keeping them together is water. My ducks love to play in their water and make a huge mess if the waterer is kept in the coop. Since they all have access to the run 24/7, I now keep the water in the run. I have a very secure run, 1" hardware wire around the top, sides and completely lining the bottom of the run. I decided against putting the ducks' livestock trough "pond" in the run, so I let the ducks out frequently to swim.

Good luck with your baby chicks and ducks... they're SO much fun!

 

[Brickman House]

We have both chickens and ducks, and while some people brood them together, and house them together as they grow, I just can't imagine it!

The ducklings make a hellatious mess, and I can't imagine trying to keep chicks clean and dry in it. We brood our chicks in a Rubbermaid tub, and the ducklings in our hall bathtub.

I guess for us, conceivably we could house grown ducks and chickens together in our chicken coop, but ducks don't roost at night like chickens do, and they'd be up running around the coop all night. We keep feed and water in the coop (don't want to leave food out at night to attract predators), and I can't even imagine the mess I'd wake up to every morning. So the ducks have their own housing and yard.

For us, it wouldn't work well to house them together, but I guess it would really depend on your individual set up.