Ducks and chickens

[noah_lives]

I recently inherited two ducks from a neighbor and wondered if it is safe to house them with my banty chickens? Any problems with disease or the size issue?

 

[LinckHillPoultry]

Ducks and chickens will get along and can coexist well.

What I would do in your case is house them together for a bit and monitor their actions and such and see how well the get along.

 

[noah_lives]

Thank you I was mostly concerned with disease but will give it a try. I also might section out part of the coop and put the ducks in there but seperately for a bit. They are such interesting critters. I think I may have to get a few more in the spring LOL

 

[Heather J]

I wouldn't worry about diseases and such, as long as you aren't concerned that the ducks are sick right now and you don't know it. My geese/ducks have a separate pen from my chickens, but only 2" chicken wire runs between them and they free range together when I let my chickens out in the evening. I haven't had any problems. My chickens picked on my muscovies when I first got them, but they mostly get along just fine. The Muscovies get picked on a lot by the geese, so I put up a separate structure for them in the chicken run and they sleep there at night, but range with the other water birds most days.

All of my birds get locked behind a six-foot fence covered in netting at night to protect them from predators.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

I have 16 chickens and 6 ducks living together in the same pen. Every once in awhile the ducks will nip the chickens when they are pestering, but never anything serious. They get along great. I have never had any health problems at all and they have been living together for a long time.