Keeping Ducks With Chickens?

[duck&chickencrazy]

i have always wondered that to...my mallards will fly out but they wont fly back in...weird

 

[snewman]

Mine all stay together, but I keep the food and water outside the coop because of the mess ducks make. I let everyone out to free range in the morning and they do whatever they do, then chickens go on their own to the coop at night and the ducks go to a pen. The ducks going to the pen is something they just sort of worked out for themselves. I originally just had the coop and the ducks just stopped going in, but then when a couple were killed in the night I built a separate small pen, herded them into it the first night and they've gone in on their own ever since. I close them up after dark and they (chickens and ducks both) just don't have access to food and water until morning, which seems to suit them all just fine. Diurnal birds really just shut down in the dark and don't think about eating until lights come back on, so they don't miss it.

When the chicks and ducks were all babies, yes the ducks made a huge mess and got the chicks all wet and soggy until I figured out a better water setup. But now they're all happy!

 

[snewman]

Oh, and also, I have runners and pekins, and either they can't fly, or at least they don't know they can, because they just walk/run everywhere.

 

[sweetie54]

my dont even know they can fly!!!! But they like to sleep in water so you have to put a kiddy pool in there sleeping area for them ok and then i have one outside the pen too!!!!!!!!! my chickens and ducks all live together and they love eachother too!!!!As far as a nesting box well i was worried about that too and it turned out they all share one box?????? Sometimes the ducks lay eggs in the pool but i dont keep those ones! Dont worry they will lay eggs just about anywhere!!!!!!

 

[goosedragon]

Fly back in? they are ducks and it is your job to wait on them!

Since I only had a pool inside the run they learned to land on that if they wanted to drink or take a bath.

 

[pringle]

it all depends on what breeds of birds you have.I use to have buff opringtons and i kept them with the ducks and they were fine but when i moved the ducks to the rhode island red pen they attacked the poor ducks.and if you are worried about them trying to fly away you can get a heavy type.I suggest you should just get pekins they are big so they will hold there own incase chickens try to attack them they are very affectionate and there eggs are reasonably larger than my khaki cambells and they lay 1 about every day.