Ducks pulling chickens feathers out.

[21hens-incharge]

A lot depends on your weather.

I get snow in the winter and bitter cold winds.

That means I give my birds extra space in the coop. I allow 5 square foot per bird in the coop.
There are sometimes up to a week where mine refuse to leave the coop.
That little bit of extra space is very needed then.

Most people try to give them at least 4 square feet in the coop.

Ventilation is very very important. It helps keep moist air out in the winter and allows heat out in the summer.
I would build in a ton of ventilation and make covers so I can close some if needed due to blowing snow.

Better to have the vents than not.

 

[Kalyiah]

I live in Kansas so yeah we get the snow and the cold winds, Ok I'll talk to the hubby and get their coop started. We have some ventilation but with us adding on i'll make sure to add more. Thanks

 

[Kalyiah]

Also talked to my hubby we went out and measured i was sooo wrong, still too small for all my new chickens and ducks and turkeys lol. its 16x8

 

[21hens-incharge]

WOW that is a huge difference in size!

That should make it much easier to expand.

I have had a few more than I like to keep in my 8x14. There are 21 in there now and it doesn't seem crowded. I have had 24 in there but did see some pecking in winter.

 

[KrisCVT]

I posted about this same conundrum awhile back too....
I have 5 hens and 2 ducks- they all just turned 3years old- I got them at the same time as day-olds. My ducks started pulling my hens' feathers out as soon as they were all put in the coop together (I had to keep them in separate brooders because ducks are SO MESSY)...so badly that a couple hens were missing all their saddle feathers. I couldn't pin down what was happening- it was the worst when I was away on a vacation for a week and they were all locked up together.
I tried everything: increasing protein, applying no-pick lotion, having some hens wear hen-savers, increasing free-range time (they are out any time myself or my husband is home). It seems to be an aggression/dominance thing- and once the hens started "squatting" and not bothering to run away, it was impossible to stop. And the ducks would eat the feathers.
Right now, if I can't free range everyone, the ducks get kicked out into the yard to free range, and the hens stay locked up in the coop. Basically I try and keep them NOT locked up together until it's nighttime. SO far that has helped- but my ducks will still chase and attack a hen while in the yard together. My ducks are total a-holes.

 

[Kalyiah]

WOW that is a huge difference in size!

That should make it much easier to expand.

I have had a few more than I like to keep in my 8x14. There are 21 in there now and it doesn't seem crowded. I have had 24 in there but did see some pecking in winter.

haha yeah it is, i just kinda thought in my head how big it was, its dark and coyotes so i didnt wanna go out on my own so i talked hubby into going out when i told him he's like no way in heck is it that small He's talking about leaving that one for the ducks and getting a shed/prebuilt thing for the chickens, fingers crossed

 

[Kalyiah]

I posted about this same conundrum awhile back too....
I have 5 hens and 2 ducks- they all just turned 3years old- I got them at the same time as day-olds. My ducks started pulling my hens' feathers out as soon as they were all put in the coop together (I had to keep them in separate brooders because ducks are SO MESSY)...so badly that a couple hens were missing all their saddle feathers. I couldn't pin down what was happening- it was the worst when I was away on a vacation for a week and they were all locked up together.
I tried everything: increasing protein, applying no-pick lotion, having some hens wear hen-savers, increasing free-range time (they are out any time myself or my husband is home). It seems to be an aggression/dominance thing- and once the hens started "squatting" and not bothering to run away, it was impossible to stop. And the ducks would eat the feathers.
Right now, if I can't free range everyone, the ducks get kicked out into the yard to free range, and the hens stay locked up in the coop. Basically I try and keep them NOT locked up together until it's nighttime. SO far that has helped- but my ducks will still chase and attack a hen while in the yard together. My ducks are total a-holes.

Awe mine got along so well for the first few days and then i noticed the duck grabbing the chickens wing feathers i was like noooo dont do that, I've never had ducks before so i was like whatttt

 

[21hens-incharge]

haha yeah it is, i just kinda thought in my head how big it was, its dark and coyotes so i didnt wanna go out on my own so i talked hubby into going out when i told him he's like no way in heck is it that small He's talking about leaving that one for the ducks and getting a shed/prebuilt thing for the chickens, fingers crossed

Did you get bantams in your surprise?
If you got bantams you could even divide it in half making 2 8x8 portions. Then that second coop for the bigger breeds.

 

[Kalyiah]

Did you get bantams in your surprise?
If you got bantams you could even divide it in half making 2 8x8 portions. Then that second coop for the bigger breeds.

No bantams, theyre smaller than normal chickens right? i dont think i do... all of them seem the same size, sorry i've never had bantams lol

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yes bantams are much smaller than layers.

I have a picture of one of my bantams next to a regular hen.....



Not the exact pic I was looking for but still shows how small they are in comparison.

I think if you had them you would either know or be asking what is wrong with the tiny chick.