Keeping Pet Ducks

[BarredRocks3]

Hello BYC, I am going to be getting a small flock of ducks for pets. I live in New Hampshire so, what breeds are very cold hardy? What is the best time of year to get ducklings? I've raising chickens, is there any difference between brooding ducklings and chicks? And my final question, can ducks with a flock of chickens that has a rooster? Thank you.

 

[Going Quackers]

Well i have 3 breeds of ducks here, Calls, Buff orpingtons and Muscovy, all are pretty cold hardy, the mallard derived being the most so( first two)

Keys for keeping ducks in cold is similar to chickens, dry, well vented housing, good feed, the only issue that is bigger is the need of water, they must have access to some deep enough to clear the nares.. i use a couple of methods here..

one rubber livestock bowls, brilliant things, durable.. you can stomp on them.. re-fill and they tend to freeze at deeper temps.



Next, i have heated buckets, not huge ones but like these...



My final one isn't one everyone can do but i keep a 50GAL trough with a tank heater in it, this is no cheap option. You can see if off to the right here, the heater is built in, it;s a trough by rubbermaid and the heater specifically designed for these.



Biggest difference between ducklings and chickens is the mess, ducks are water, water, water... they will drive you ever lovin' bonkers and you will count down the days till they leave the brooder... here i'll give you the care and raising duckling sticky, it'll help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

Ducks and chickens housed together? some do it, me no... ducks are messy, chickens are drier and roost(with the exception of the scovies they do, unusual trait) so i would defer to others with this one, my standard chickens do free range with the big flock but house separate, honestly, my ducks fear my chickens lol considering the majority are Muscovy(so big) it's kinda funny. Also you gotta watch drakes with chicken hens, some will try breeding with them which can cause harm or even death, it's something i am always watching for with my guys but they have a lot of ladies and again seem to fear the chickens.