Ducks and chickens?

[chicken995]

My chicken coop and run is quite a ways away from being finished and that has given my wife time to think. And that usually spells trouble for me. lol. She is thinking it might be fun to have some ducks along with some chickens. So, can ducks and chickens be kept together, or is this something that is not recommended?

If they can live together then...

...can they eat the same food? I've heard they eat different food as chicks/ducklings, but that they can eat the same food as adults.

...how much water do ducks need? While a small rubbermaid storage tub suffice if supplemented with occasional trips to a bigger pool/pond?

...is there any type of duck that doesn't really care for water?

...is there any type of duck that gets along with chickens best?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[duckking]

Many people have different thoughts on this. I think if you do a search for 'ducks and chickens together', you will get all the opinions you need to make a personal choice. We DO keep them together.

Ducks did not eat the same food as chicks. Chicks on medicated starter, ducks on waterfowl starter. Once old enough were both on same grower feed and now on same layer feed.

Ducks drink a ton of water and are messy as heck. We have the chicken half of the run where their coop is and duck half where the duck house and pool are, but they all have access to both. The difference in run conditions is amazing. I believe Muscovys aren't keen on water. I have Mallards and Rouens who LOVE their pool and spend lot's of time in there splashing around, mating and just floating quietly.

Our ducks and chickens were brought up together. They are all within 2weeks of age. In view and contact during chick/duckling stage, but kept apart by wire because of different food and ducks were too messy with their water. Put together once both on grower feed and outside. They get along well. The chickens have their own pecking order, the ducks their own. The ducks can be a bit obnoxious with the lowest chicken, but she is obnoxious with the lowest duck. Nothing serious, no real fighting, just chase each other if they get too close. I think the more docile the type of duck and chickens, the better chance of them getting along. We have Mallard and Rouen ducks. All very calm, friendly birds. We have a Gold-laced Wyandotte who is very calm and friendly and 2 RIR's who are the same. I think we just lucked out. We are getting more of each and are picking types who are known for their calmness. Welsh Harlequins, Jumbo Pekins, and various types of chickens (Orpingtons, Brahmas mainly)

 

[chicken995]

Thanks for the info oh mighty duckking.

lol.

Do you happen to have a photo of your setup? It sounds like I may want to do something similar.

 

[duckking]

I don't, but I can take some tomorrow. It's nothing fancy by any means. We are also getting more ducks and chicks over the next 3 weeks or so, so I could show you the set up we have to brood them when they are in the house. You'll love them! We fell in love with them instantly!

 

[whitedove]

I thought the same thing when we walked into our TSC and I fell in love with the ducks. It's insane how messy the ducks are though. Had I known in advance I might have thought better of it, but I'm already hooked. The opinions of keeping them together definitely vary. I've found that many people have them together when they are older and separate in the brooder. We started out with ours together and all was well for about a week. However one night I came home a little later than normal to an absolute mess. The ducks soaked the brooder and made such a mess that the chics were wet and filthy. We ended up losing two chics from it. It also gets pretty stinky pretty quickly. But its so much fun too!

 

[EricH]

i have both in my coop/run. they typically leave eachother alone for the most part. the rooster sometimes chases them from some treats but thats about it. i use a metal oil drain pan with a swamp cooler float for water so i dont worry about them running out. they do like to bathe, so the water gets dirty quick. i love the ducks. i used to have to shoo em in the coop every night and i finally learned they dont care so i dont either - they stay out in the run in the rain where they like it. haha. very trouble free, VERY entertaining. they do their thing and thats that.

i raise mine on medicated chicken feed - as per Metzer farms instructions. John Metzer told me what the medication to avoid was and that is hardly used these days by the companies i deal with, so naturally i forgot the name of it. doh. never had a problem - if they are strong enough to make it out of the shell, theres pretty much nothing stopping them from growing up - very hardy. my run is about 50x50 so i keep the water in one lower corner to avoid flooding. it all depends on your set up. not a lot of room = maybe use a very small auto waterer that they cant fit their butts in.

Muscovies arent water proof - so they sleep in the coop with the chickens on rainy nights. muscovies are a lot less flighty in my experience than mallard-derived ducks. but i wasnt able to spend a lot of time with my ducks growing up so theyre kind of flighty. also, the muscovies dont make the raspy drake call or the loud QUACK QUACK QUACK when the hens are hungry. they do their neck bob and shake their tails and make a weezing sound. muscovies are super hardy as well.

like whitedove said, they do get stinky in the brooder pretty easily. they need to drink as they eat to get it down, so they tend to throw both food and water on the ground - mixed with heat lamps = stinky.

this is just what i know from my experience. i think the ducks are awesome. whichever breeds you get - welsh harlequins are beautiful, so are any mallard colored duck in my opinion (love the blue arm band). and muscovies come in a HUGE array of colors and patterns.

 

[aussieheelr]

If they can live together then...

...can they eat the same food? I've heard they eat different food as chicks/ducklings, but that they can eat the same food as adults. The concern is the medication in the medicated chick feed. I just get unmedicated chick starter and they do dandy. Once they're grown they all get the 16% lay mash (I get this in bulk from the local grain elevator)

...how much water do ducks need? While a small rubbermaid storage tub suffice if supplemented with occasional trips to a bigger pool/pond? Durring the winter we use a heated water bucket, I think it's a 3gal. And fill it every day or two. Durring the summer we have a 3'x2'x2' cement pond the DH made and drain, rinse and fill about twice a week for the 5 ducks. This covers all their drinking water, keeps them clean and happy. I swear all they do is get in spalsh around, get out to preen and get right back in. They even sleep in the silly pond. Their favorite time of year.

...is there any type of duck that doesn't really care for water? Hmm don't know this one... like the phrase goes, "Takes to (fill in the blank) like a duck to water."

...is there any type of duck that gets along with chickens best? Ours are penned seperatly but the chickens on the other side of the fence could really careless about the ducks and vise versa... except the rooster-he thinks those girl ducks are little hotties. He's always dancing for them

On a different note... Story time.... we live at about 5400 ft altitude and until I had duck eggs to cook with I failed miserably with angelfood cake. Now with my duck eggs I get requests for my angelfood cake it's so fluffy and light

 

[chicken995]

Thanks for all of the information. If any of you have any photos of your setup that you could post here, that would be totally awesome.