Help me figure out how to add a duck housing to my coop

[justinwithpoultry]

1. Yes, or the whole thing...leaving a 3 sides solid walls for wind protection.
@Texas Kiki did this not sure if she has pics.

2. that could work.
3. that could work too.
How to house ducks with chicken is beyond my experience, no ducks here.
If I had ducks I would likely have totally separate housing.

Eaves can be covered form outside, easier, IMO.
More pics here https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-coop-page.65912/

Thanks! And yes, I'd considered going out to the facing of the roof, but then I'd have to install a facing on the roof, and keeping the HC all inside seems more aesthetically pleasing. This definitely gave me some good ideas though.

 

[justinwithpoultry]

Alright, so, progress here. I'm leaning toward just adding the duck house as a small "extension" to the chicken structure.

Here are some plans in a variety of formats (sketchup (crude)), some overhead view, and a couple photos. It's coming along well!

I've actually been just letting the ducks sleep in the run the last couple nights (it's in the 80's overnight), but want to get them into a "house" overnight.

We're up to 3 ducks actually, 2 rouens (about 4 weeks old) and a ~1 week old pekin.

 

[justinwithpoultry]

The intention is to be able to hose the duck goop out to the wood/property (away from the chicken run) pretty readily.

 

[DuckMama9]

Thanks! I almost put in that I'm in Texas but somehow didn't get back to do that. So it's HOT.

I live in Lubbock! It is so hot here right now!

 

[DuckMama9]

I have seen people keep ducks and chickens together successfully though I haven’t tried it myself. It is a lot easier if you get them all while young so they integrate as one large flock. The thing to worry about is introducing new smaller birds in with bigger birds...you definitely don’t want to just throw new ones in there with bigger ones. The way I introduce new babies is to put a divider with hardware cloth on it so the the new birds and the older ones can see each other and get used to one another without getting at each other. After a day or two (May take longer with older or adult birds), I can remove the divider.

Another thing I might worry about with mixed poultry is that I have heard of chickens drowning in water if you use a pool or pond for the ducks. Ducks don’t necessarily need swimming/bathing water but they will be happier. At a bare minimum, ducks need water they can dip their bills and heads in to clean their nares and eyelids—this could just be a deep dish or a bucket. A tub or a baby pool to bathe in would also be nice. Another difference with ducks and chickens is that gravity waterers and feeders that you might use for the chickens will not work for ducks! Nipple waterers are seen as a challenge and the ducks will empty a 55 gallon water tank in a matter of minutes. And because ducks require water to swallow their food they go back and forth between the water and food getting the food wet...so a gravity feeder will get clogged up from the water!

Ducks also do not roost and they are not vertically mobile as chickens are so if the house is not on ground they need a solid ramp with good traction to waddle their way on in.

Ducks actually are more heat and cold hardy than chickens once fully feathered, but they do need protection from these strong Texas winds and rains we get!

Ducks don’t use laying boxes like chickens do, but they will need some soft bedding (wood shavings or straw) that they can create their own nest in...probably a corner in their house. A bit of privacy like a board propped up against a wall would be nice too.

Also, ducks need a bit more square footage per bird in their house than do chickens. Give at least 4sqft per duck. So for your three ducks you’ll need at least 12sqft, however, as long as they have access to all that covered run area you might get away with the smaller house.

Another thing you could do for the ducks is to give them a dogloo or dog house within a covered run.

I think you can definitely keep a mixed flock but these are some of the things to take into account in your setup.