I just ordered Welsh Harlequins

EosRisingFarm

Hatching
Jan 24, 2015
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I just ordered 10 little ducklings from Metzer Farm. I am excited for them to arrive, but also really nervous. Do ducks lay in a nest box like chickens? Can they share a house with chickens? Brooding Suggestions? I have a feeling ten chickens and ten ducks are going to mean worlds of difference.
 
How exciting! My welsh came from Metzer too. Ducks and chickens are quite different. Ducks are very messy especially as ducklings and grow really fast. Mine are too young to lay but some people have trained their ducks to use a nesting box but most don't. They tend to lay wherever they are at that moment.

Some people have great success housing chickens and ducks together while other have not. I think it depends on your set up and your birds. Ducks don't roost and sleep on the floor so they need a poop free area to sleep in. Also mixing males ducks with female chickes has a tendency to be problematic.

You will need a way to control the water mess. Ducks must have water deep enough to dip their heads at all times. They also must have water if food is out. And speaking of food they need more niacin than chick and some Brewers yeast sprinkled over their food will solve that. If you look through my pics I have some watering containers I used with my 4 ducklings.
 
I just ordered 10 little ducklings from Metzer Farm. I am excited for them to arrive, but also really nervous. Do ducks lay in a nest box like chickens? They do, but you usually have to keep them in their coop longer otherwise they'll just drop the eggs outside. Can they share a house with chickens? Yes, but they can make the chicken coop pretty messy.
Brooding Suggestions? You can raise them just like chicks. What are you feeding them? I have a feeling ten chickens and ten ducks are going to mean worlds of difference.
 
Welcome,
Love my Welsh Harlequins:

But make sure the food you feed the ducklings is un-medicated. It is common for chicks to receive medicated food for their health and growth, but from what I've read medicated chicken feed can be harmful to ducklings. I've always fed mine unmedicated Purina Layena crumbles, then pellets (even before they were laying).

My girls tend to lay their eggs first thing in the morning which is super convenient because I throw out some food, open their house, and while they are foraging I grab up all their eggs. Their eggs are scattered about their house at random. I picked up a small plastic rake so I can reach into the corners of their 10'x10' "Quack Shack".

Enjoy,
Rich
 

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