Mixing Ducks with Chickens

[TMarie]

My friend is also considering getting ducklings, but he already has 4 chickens (No Rooster). He has built an amazing coop for them with several floors and a run. Would the chickens get along with the ducks okay if he kept them together?
Thanks in advance!

 

[moselys]

My ducks and chickens get along fine, except for one chicken she likes to chase the ducks. Ducks are a lot more messy then the chickens and make everything wet. They do need some space of their "own" for swimming since chickens don't swim. I have a large hard plastic kiddie pool at one end of the outdoor run for the ducks to swim in and they share the rest of the outside and inside space just fine.

 

[TMarie]

Oh good, thank you! Will the chickens be nice to the ducklings, or will he have to keep them separated until the ducklings are older? If so, how much older?

 

[jdywntr]

Some will get along, some will tolerate each other, some will fight. It depends. Unless you have 4-6 females do not get a male. Male ducks will try to breed with chickens which is dangerous/deadly for the chicken.

As with any type of bird, you should not introduce them until they are similar size. Ducklings should not be outside without a heat source until they are fully feathered, about 8 weeks. Chickens have beaks and can injure/maim when they peck.

 

[jackhorn01]

Good info. What about a rooster being in a coop with ducks?

 

[jackhorn01]

Also my two ducks are the regular solid white common duck. How do you sex them?

 

[tankerman]

We put our ducklings in with similarly sized and quantity of chicks and it instantly turned into all out war.

The chicks weren't at all interested in sharing any space with the ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We put our ducklings in with similarly sized and quantity of chicks and it instantly turned into all out war.

The chicks weren't at all interested in sharing any space with the ducks.

Point taken.

 

[Marty1876]

Ducks and chickens are not always ideal. Ducks can carry illness to the chickens, like A.I. They might fight, they might ignore each other, hard to say. Ducks would prefer to be outdoors year round, and require little sheltor (but I lock them up at night for safety) If the pen is quite large, put a pool in a corner of the yard, and the ducks will pretty much live right there.

Sex white ducks: After age 4 months (maybe sooner) watch for 1 or 2 very curly feathers on a males tail, by their back. No curl for a girl. Also, boys make muffled quackish sounds, and girls have loud clear QUACKS.

 

[jackhorn01]

How big is your coop they went to war in?