There are a couple pros and cons to both methods:
Pros:
It will probably be less hassle in the long run to brood them together, as long as you are getting no more than 3 ducks and not too many more chicks. This way you won't have to think about brooding chicks and settleing them and then turning around and brooding ducks.
You won't have to fuss with integration if you raise everyone together.
Ducks are just so darn cute, you can't resist their sweet little beady duckling eyes or their soft little webby feet
Duck eggs are DELISH
Both species can be fed an all-purppose NON-MEDICATED variety of feed. Ducks cannot have medicated starter, it can make them sick.
Cons:
Ducks WILL make a bigger mess of the brooder if you don't set it up properly and keep it clean. This sounds a bit "duh" but trust me, there are some do's and don'ts that didn't originally occur to me.
- Ducks dabble their water constantly and only actually drink it half the time so you have to elevate the water and/or set inside a larger dish that can catch overspill and never use waterers that ducklings can get into. Baby ducks can swim even on their first day, but only under constant supervision in warm water and never for more than a few minutes at a time. They must also be hand toweled after until they grow in adult plumage.
- Duck poo is wet wet wet. Shavings and newsprint all go to hell in a handbasket within a few short hours with just 2 baby ducks. Using horse-stall wood pellets is the way to go. Super absorbent and good smelling
- Ducks grow more quickly typically than chickens (they are much bigger to begin with) so you have to be carefull that you do not overcrowd chicks with too many ducks or the competition for space at water, food or light could mean trouble. I used a cardboard box from work to start, prob 1 1/2'X2' and after about 2 weeks I attatched another one on to allow more room.
Female ducks do quack louder, but I find the sound quite endearing actually and the neighbors don't seems to mind (or at least they haven't complained yet....egg peace offerings help)
If you raise all together at the same time, the laying ablilities of all your hens will drop at the same time too. What I mean to say is, some people purposefully brood a few at a time every couple years so that they always have younger ones taking up the slack of older hens. This will be more time consuming over an extended period however.
Even after brooding is over and everyone is outside, unless you have a big facility that will allow you to walk in and thoroughly clean, and often, I would house adult birds seperately. Hope this helps, good luck, ducks are a blast I would go for it. Cayugas are beautiful birds too. Their eggs I hear are almost black sometimes! Indian Runners are my favs though, have fun!
Pros:
It will probably be less hassle in the long run to brood them together, as long as you are getting no more than 3 ducks and not too many more chicks. This way you won't have to think about brooding chicks and settleing them and then turning around and brooding ducks.
You won't have to fuss with integration if you raise everyone together.
Ducks are just so darn cute, you can't resist their sweet little beady duckling eyes or their soft little webby feet
Duck eggs are DELISH
Both species can be fed an all-purppose NON-MEDICATED variety of feed. Ducks cannot have medicated starter, it can make them sick.
Cons:
Ducks WILL make a bigger mess of the brooder if you don't set it up properly and keep it clean. This sounds a bit "duh" but trust me, there are some do's and don'ts that didn't originally occur to me.
- Ducks dabble their water constantly and only actually drink it half the time so you have to elevate the water and/or set inside a larger dish that can catch overspill and never use waterers that ducklings can get into. Baby ducks can swim even on their first day, but only under constant supervision in warm water and never for more than a few minutes at a time. They must also be hand toweled after until they grow in adult plumage.
- Duck poo is wet wet wet. Shavings and newsprint all go to hell in a handbasket within a few short hours with just 2 baby ducks. Using horse-stall wood pellets is the way to go. Super absorbent and good smelling
- Ducks grow more quickly typically than chickens (they are much bigger to begin with) so you have to be carefull that you do not overcrowd chicks with too many ducks or the competition for space at water, food or light could mean trouble. I used a cardboard box from work to start, prob 1 1/2'X2' and after about 2 weeks I attatched another one on to allow more room.
Female ducks do quack louder, but I find the sound quite endearing actually and the neighbors don't seems to mind (or at least they haven't complained yet....egg peace offerings help)
If you raise all together at the same time, the laying ablilities of all your hens will drop at the same time too. What I mean to say is, some people purposefully brood a few at a time every couple years so that they always have younger ones taking up the slack of older hens. This will be more time consuming over an extended period however.
Even after brooding is over and everyone is outside, unless you have a big facility that will allow you to walk in and thoroughly clean, and often, I would house adult birds seperately. Hope this helps, good luck, ducks are a blast I would go for it. Cayugas are beautiful birds too. Their eggs I hear are almost black sometimes! Indian Runners are my favs though, have fun!
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