Male Ducks and Chickens

[FaithArthur123999]

Hello! Ive posted here before about 2 Runner Ducks I rescued at 9 weeks old and have had some brilliant support from people here. I am a chicken owner with 6 hens and are a learning duck owner. My aim was to hope to keep my ducks in with my chickens as the chickens have their own garden area, however was not sure on the gender of the ducks, I didnt know the dangers of moving male ducks in with chickens etc but they live separate at the moment. My Ducks are about 11/12 Weeks now and I am 90% sure they are both boys, raspy noise but no drake feather yet. I have learnt they their colouring is 'Mallard Duck' from the runnerduck website but still believe they are both males. I let them out in the garden with the chickens but the ducks dont particularly like the chickens and the chickens keep chasing them with their feathers puffed up. Im not sure to know what is normal but always supervise them to make sure no one gets hurt. I was made aware when I first got the ducks by someone here that I shouldnt keep 2 males with my hens as there would be problems, which I am completely supportive of as I want no one to get hurt.

What I think I am asking is what I should do, I am definitely keeping the ducks as I love them already but was wondering if I should just keep them separate from the chickens permanently or if I should introduce some female runner ducks and see if they all get along. I understand that I need many many females to accomodate the males so this was my only put off as I am not sure how many girls I would need and if they all could live togeather in harmony in the future.

Does anyone have any advise or experience in this?

To buy more ducks, or not to buy more ducks

 

[Callender Girl]

Runners are totally adorable and easy to love! Congrats on rescuing them.

I have read about many folks having problems with male ducks and female chickens. I have had runners for several years, and while they LOVE to mate with female runners, I have never had one attempt to romance a chicken. The ducks are housed separately from all the chickens at night, but they are loose together all day -- along with a couple of sassy geese.

I have usually had fewer than the recommended number of female runners with my drakes without serious incident, although some girls lost plenty of head feathers. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Currently, I am down to two drakes and five females. Three of my first four runner ducklings were males; maybe because they grew up together, there were very few fights among them. My two remaining drakes -- my last original boy and a later arrival -- do go imbecilic in the spring when hormones are raging. It's kind of funny to watch the two boys "steal" each other's girlfriends, leading the females away from the main group and their rival.

If you're asking if I would buy more ducks, my answer is always YES! Is it necessary? I don't know. But, I'd still get more girls! Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hello! Ive posted here before about 2 Runner Ducks I rescued at 9 weeks old and have had some brilliant support from people here. I am a chicken owner with 6 hens and are a learning duck owner. My aim was to hope to keep my ducks in with my chickens as the chickens have their own garden area, however was not sure on the gender of the ducks, I didnt know the dangers of moving male ducks in with chickens etc but they live separate at the moment. My Ducks are about 11/12 Weeks now and I am 90% sure they are both boys, raspy noise but no drake feather yet. I have learnt they their colouring is 'Mallard Duck' from the runnerduck website but still believe they are both males. I let them out in the garden with the chickens but the ducks dont particularly like the chickens and the chickens keep chasing them with their feathers puffed up. Im not sure to know what is normal but always supervise them to make sure no one gets hurt. I was made aware when I first got the ducks by someone here that I shouldnt keep 2 males with my hens as there would be problems, which I am completely supportive of as I want no one to get hurt.

What I think I am asking is what I should do, I am definitely keeping the ducks as I love them already but was wondering if I should just keep them separate from the chickens permanently or if I should introduce some female runner ducks and see if they all get along. I understand that I need many many females to accomodate the males so this was my only put off as I am not sure how many girls I would need and if they all could live togeather in harmony in the future.

Does anyone have any advise or experience in this?

To buy more ducks, or not to buy more ducks

I wouldn't trust the drakes with only chicken hens- but if they have duck females, in ratio, they may be okay and leave the chickens alone.
Thing is, the ratio is 3-6 ducks per drake- I would get perhaps 8 girls and see how they do. If you cant really have that many- I would have a pen set up for the ducks and house separately.
Thats just my thoughts on it, I've never dealt with this situation, but thats the precautions I would take!
Good luck with your ducks! It's awesome that you took them in!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here my drakes Runner and Muscovy leave my chickens alone and they have females so getting your drakes some females would be the best unless you just want to keep the two drakes separate from your chickens for good. They may change their minds about the chickens once those hormones are soaring.