New to BYC... and chickens and ducks n general

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lguth1oh

lguth1oh

Hatching
Jul 4, 2015
8
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7
NC
Hello!

Just started my adventure into having chickens and ducks yesterday. The hubby, friends, and I have spent the better part of two months designing and building a chicken/duck coop with a 12'x12' enclosed run (which we're thinking of expanding as it isn't enough space in my opinion for the kiddie pool and dust bath container and running around space for them).

We have 5 total in our flock: 2 Fawn and White Runner Ducks, 1 Golden Comet, 1 White Rock, and 1 Dark Cornish.



Since I'm new... I was wondering if what I saw this morning (literally 18 hours later) is normal??

The chickens had completely covered their food and water containers with bedding... while the ducks had emptied the water container everywhere! I was told by the farmer to keep them in their coop for 2 weeks so they know where home is... but that seems really long to me and I don't want them to get sick from being enclosed in there for so long while messing up their food/water. The type of water containers and feeders I got are the typical ones from ACE hardware (hindsight - $3 may have been too good to be true).

We're going to be finishing up predator proofing the run tomorrow so we can let them out to move around and air out the coop/play in the water/dust.

Suggestions are welcome for better feeders/waters... and Happy 4th!!
 
Welcome!
We hung our feed to keep the litter and bedding out, and raised the water up to breast height for the same reasons.
They are just being chickens, and scratching and tossing bedding about is what they do.
Once they get to go out and be real chickens and not inmates, they will use their coop for eating sleeping and laying eggs.
It will become a bit more settled.
happy forth and happy chickens!

...and ducks!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X2 on @3goodeggs advice. Chickens love to scratch! They will cover anything in their way. They love to dig in the bedding and make a mess. Put the food and water containers somewhere where they can't kick junk into them and soil them. You're just asking for more work if you put them on the ground in the bedding. I suggest elevating them to make it harder for things to land inside them.

Your birds are very pretty! Looks like you are enjoying raising them! Good luck and welcome to our flock!
smile.png
 
Thanks for the height suggestion @3goodeggs and @Mountain Peeps . I went out there again and put rocks in the coop (large ones are free and a plenty in the mountains!) and put the waterers on them... hoping things are cleaner when I check later.

Anyone have luck with the watering systems with the red nipples? I was thinking of putting a 2 gallon one in the run and then smaller ones (water bottles maybe... kind of like what rabbits/hamsters water containers are) in the coop to cut back on spillage for future.
 
3goodeggs said:
We hung our feed to keep the litter and bedding out, and raised the water up to breast height for the same reasons.
Click to expand...
That can't be done with ducks. They won't be able to drink from that height and will choke.

Anyway, welcome! If the run is enclosed you can let them out earlier than 2 weeks. Just feed them in the coop and they will know it is home.
 
Ahhh that's good to know! @HeritageGoose13 I put it up an inch on a rock for them and they're runner ducks so they're pretty tall... hoping that isn't too tall?? I'll be checking on them soon once the downpour subsides.
 
Chickens can be taught to use nipple waterers. Ducks love to splash and make a mess out of water wherever they find it. That's what ducks do. That is why they don't make the best roomates with chickens. Chickens do not like to be wet and chicks would be chilled.

You could post on the Duck Thread, to see is they have any better ideas. Welcome to Backyard chickens - so glad you joined the flock.
 

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