Housing Chickens w/Ducks

[playswithfowl]

I have one muscovy duck in with my hens too

She isn't really friendly yet but there isn't any fighting. And with only having one she doesn't make too much a of a noticeable mess. She doesn't realize to go in the copp at night so I will have to make a little hut for her...

 

[wendy]

Quote:
Ah yes, I can see the ads now: "Ducks! The anti-drug." Mine sure do a lot to calm my nerves and relieve tension in my life.

Sporttees, are you asking because you already do this or are you planning to build/remodel your coops? If you stick with just your 4 chickens & 2 ducks, you probably could keep them all together without too much trouble. But if you plan to expand these flocks, you might want to at least have separate sleeping quarters for each species.

hey nothing wrong with it

they say having a dog/cat can lower blood pressure, etc. i am sure other animals do the same, my ducks actually make me laugh and put a smile on my face the way they play in there pool

wendy

 

[ChickenToes]

I have one pullet that gets horribly picked on by the other chickens, so she's in with the ducklings.

I wouldn't exactly say that they get along. They tolerate each other, but that's the extent of it. When the ducklings reach their full size, they may become more territorial and pick on the hen more, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

 

[Yardegg]

My grandpa used to say that one duck will starve a whole flock of chickens. If kept together, ducks will eat feed untill they nearly choke, then head for the waterer and spit up about half of it in the water. Then take a bill full of water back to the feeder and spit that in the feed. It doesn't take long for both the feed and water to be contaminated.

Having said that, I confess that I weakened and let my two kids by a pair of Call ducks each. They were very tame and cute, but I had to get seperate pens for each duck. The males harrassed the females relentlessly, and the males fought each other all the time. I was afraid they would be featherless by the time the 4-H fair rolled around. Unhappy with the way I had to keep them, I found them a home with a pond where they are much happier. The chickens are exstatic.

Yardegg

 

[MissPrissy]

I do not house different fowl together. Some people do it with no troubles. I do not advocate keeping them together.

Ducks love water. Chickens do not. The wet muck and mess that ducks make is a rampant breeding ground for cocci and other nasty things that will over take a flock of chickens like wild fire.

Ducks will also dominate the food sources.

 

[SandraMort]

I did. Past tense. For *one* night.

I have a stall in the barn with a bazillion 19 day old freedom rangers and haven't gotten the other two stalls cleaned out and pred-proofed yet, so tossed the two scovy ducklings in with them last night.

In my exhaustion, I forgot something. Ducks need deep water. And chicks can't swim. This morning, I woke up to a dead chick at the bottom of the water bowl.

Tonight we're putting the ducks in the stall *in a dog crate* and putting plastic mesh around it to keep the chicks from visiting the ducks. A bummer, really. But until the chicks are old enough to keep from falling in, or until someone tells me a safe way to get the ducks the water, they have to be apart.

 

[jacyjones]

I keep my white khaki campbell with my chickens without a problem. She has to be a bit quick on her feet cos she gets pecked sometimes but it is generally harmonious!!

 

[SportTees]

I'm working on moving my chickens to an area beside the duck pen and I thought maybe I could just open the door and let them mingle? O.k. I did a trail run-- I put the ducks and chickens together for a few hours and decided they need separate homes. My ducks are terrified of the chickens!!! The chickens chase them around pecking at them. The chickens wouldn't even let them in there kiddie pool. My ducks are very docile and I guess the chickens aren't.

 

[chickmamawannabe]

When I was younger, I had 2 BR's and 2 ducks that I raised together. When I say "together", I mean that when they were babies they were in the same box, but seperated by wire so that they could see each other but not get each other's food. When they were old enough they all got put out together into a single coop with a very large run. They followed each other everywhere! Even when they free ranged. I imagine it had to do with them being raised together, though. Adult birds would probably take a lot longer to acclimate to each other.

 

[ole-crone]

I can hardly wait to have my ducks and chickens apart. We have one muscovy that the hens torment - chase her off her nest, away from food - etc. But most of the time it is the other way around. The other ducks pluck the tail feathers from all the hens, then they go for the other feathers. They play in the waterer during the summer until it is dry - then they go play in their pool and the chickens hope someone is available to give them more water.

Love my ducks but not the mess and not the cost of feeding them laying mash.

Here's to fluffy chickens again rather than ratty looking hens.