How many is too many? And a duck?

[selah925]

A friend just offered us a couple of his laying hens and a duck. I know nothing about ducks. Does it eat the same food as the chickens? Would it need a different waterer rather than the nipple style we use for the chickens? Different feeder? Will it sleep in the coop at night or try to sleep outside? Will coyotes, raccoons, etc. get ducks? What is the main reason someone would want a duck? Better laying? Protective for the chickens? etc.?

And tell me ... would these all fit in our current conditions.... the coop is an 8x10 building. (We don't have a run.) So what would you assume the max number of chickens to be if they primarily free range, but do have occasions of being locked in the coop all day (if we are on a trip/vacation). I thought it was 4 square feet, but that would put the max at 20 birds and that seems like a lot? We keep the hanging feeder in the coop and the nest boxes (suspended off the ground but not really high enough for a hen to get under for floor space), so maybe that brings down our actual number of square footage?

I currently have 7 birds (10 weeks old), am getting another 5 barred rocks in a few days. Would an additional 2-3 laying hens and a duck be too much?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Ducks have different needs, and are very messy with water. Chickens don't do well in damp conditions, so most people house them separately. One lonely duck isn't good either; she needs friends. Adding birds from different sources can bring in diseases and social conflicts that won't be good. I'd pass on the adult hens and duck, myself. Mary

 

[Free Feather]

I have always had waterfowl in with chickens. I just keep most of the water bowls outside, and any waterers in the coop are where the waterfowl cannot get to them. The duck will likely not use the nipples, so put a water bucket outside. You have enough room for the birds. I would get another duck to keep yours company. Ducks will sleep outside if left to their own devices, but they will get the hang of sleeping inside if herded their a few nights. Never let them sleep outside, because if you do it once they will need to be taught all over again to sleep inside. Ducks have an easier time eating out of pans because their bill is bigger than a beak, and they can have trouble eating out of a feeder rim. Ducks can lay as well as chickens, but they typically lay in their sleep, and will not lay in a nest. They get the eggs dirty from sleeping on them (dirt and crap). If they have swimming water, they will want to sleep in it, so if they sleep on a pond they will lay their eggs in the water, and you will not get them. In my experience, predators go for chickens over ducks because ducks will flap their strong wings and bite, and will escape in the water. The are hardier than chickens overall and can take wounds and stress better. I had a duck lose all of her neck skin from her head to her chest the whole way around and live. They can survive from all kinds of wounds and cold.

 

[aart]

A friend just offered us a couple of his laying hens and a duck. I know nothing about ducks. Does it eat the same food as the chickens? Would it need a different waterer rather than the nipple style we use for the chickens? Different feeder? Will it sleep in the coop at night or try to sleep outside? Will coyotes, raccoons, etc. get ducks? What is the main reason someone would want a duck? Better laying? Protective for the chickens? etc.?

And tell me ... would these all fit in our current conditions.... the coop is an 8x10 building. (We don't have a run.) So what would you assume the max number of chickens to be if they primarily free range, but do have occasions of being locked in the coop all day (if we are on a trip/vacation). I thought it was 4 square feet, but that would put the max at 20 birds and that seems like a lot? We keep the hanging feeder in the coop and the nest boxes (suspended off the ground but not really high enough for a hen to get under for floor space), so maybe that brings down our actual number of square footage?

I currently have 7 birds (10 weeks old), am getting another 5 barred rocks in a few days. Would an additional 2-3 laying hens and a duck be too much?

Good thinking!!
The 4sqft thing can be tight, especially if you live in a cold, snowy climate where they may stay inside for days at at time in winter.

I'll ditto Mary-Folly's place in that I'd pass on the other birds....you'll have enough on your plate with the 2 groups you already plan on.
I'm assuming that you've never had chicken before.
Ducks do have different requirements and the water thing can be a real mess unless you've planned well for it.

Adding new birds can also bring problems:

Here's some notes I've taken on integration that I found to be very helpful.......
......take what applies or might help and ignore the rest.
See if any of them, or the links provided at the bottom, might offer some tips that will assist you in your situation:

Integration of new chickens into flock.

Consider medical quarantine:
BYC Medical Quarantine Article
Poultry Biosecurity
BYC 'medical quarantine' search

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact. Integrating new birds of equal size works best.

For smaller chicks I used a large wire dog crate right in the coop for the smallers. I removed the crate door and put up a piece of wire fencing over the opening and bent up one corner just enough for the smallers to fit thru but the biggers could not. Feed and water inside the crate for the smallers. Make sure the smallers know how to get in and out of the crate opening before exposing them to the olders. this worked out great for me, by the time the crate was too small for the them to roost in there(about 3 weeks), they had pretty much integrated themselves to the olders.

If you have too many smallers to fit in a crate you can partition off part of the coop with a wire wall and make the same openings for smallers escape.


The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide out of line of sight and/or up and away from any bully birds.

Read up on integration..... BYC advanced search>titles only>integration
This is good place to start reading:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock