I have a call duck whose name is Goat who refuses to believe she is not a chicken. So she lives with the Flock of chickens and she does not have to live in the the duck yard, because whenever I put her in there, she shows back up in the pet area with the chickens somehow. Each situation to itself, it depends on what you are prepared to deal with?
Your duck will want/need more water than chickens, and will happily make an incredible mess of it every chance it gets. Whether it be a water dish, a bowl, a small tub or pool....I think Duck Poo smells worse than chicken poo too! It's wetter and gooier. Their water gets bad depending on what is around it - mud equals mud - some people change it daily, others every few days, others weekly - a small bowl will need a daily wash? A smaller pool can last longer. It's your nasty mess -
As to the coop, again, it depends on your setup...my ducks like to stay outside all the time...they hardly ever go inside any of the structures I have for them, except sometimes to lay eggs! They will stay on the floor, so nice flooring/coop bottom is good. Goat sleeps in the "barn" with her best friend, my Pygmy goat, and our Llama and potbelly pig. She sleeps in straw. She is also a Houdini. Somehow she managed to join the Penedesenca's in their enclosed Breeder pen...so she was a Penedesenca for about 5 days too. She is a duck again now though.
Female Ducks, except Muscovy's, tend to be louder than males. Call ducks, which are small, are VERY loud. Runner Ducks, which are medium sized and very tall, are not as loud but can still wake up your neighbors. My Khaki Campbells are more soft spoken in my duck yard - then again, they are being drowned out by Call ducks and Runner Ducks!
Ducks, like chickens, maybe more so, will become friendly depending on the amount of handling that you do with them - and I know how you are with your chickens! If you hatched a duck - I imagine it would imprint on you and it would think you were momma forever!
A duck or two would probably not be too bad depending on your space and the size of the ducks. Runner Ducks are about as big as you would want to get, and they lay fairly well/often. Khaki Campbells lay really well, but they are probably too large for your birds to mingle with, I wouldnt recommend it. Call Ducks are small, they dont lay as well as the others, and again, the NOISE! But they are the cutest!
You can get sexed ducklings from some hatcheries...just not that few??? You may at the feedstores, but I think they are straight run for the most part....you can sex them yourself with practice....by the sound and tail! But I cant tell til they're a bit older myself....so hope that works out for you!
I am getting duck eggs every so often, from my Runner Ducks, Call ducks, and I have 2 Khaki Campbell hens with them (there could be Khaki Campbell/runner mixes) You can have some!
Oh, yes, ducks are worth their cuteness!
Tina
