NEWBIE- Plenty of questions!!

[jbarnes05]

Hello!

My boyfriend and I bought our first little home on some land! Not much land but enough. We finally have our whole house fenced and our dogs are really enjoying it but NOW is the time where I want to get into raising chickens, ducks, possibly small goats if my space acquires it! Any who here are my few questions:


1) How MESSY are ducks, really? I understand when they eat they need to drink, they need some water source. People keep telling me not to do it because of the mess but honestly I love ducks and always have.

2) How hard is it to co-habitate the chickens and ducks in the same area? I understand chickens need to be in a coop at night and ducks just need something to be covered in (dog house). I know once they are older you can feed them the same food.

3) Last but not least how much room do pygmy goats need? I know they need toys so they don't get bored and I have heard they are good with sharing space with poultry. I only want a total of 4 birds, I would then add the 2 pygmies as I know they need a friend. How do you separate the goat from eating the birds food? I understand that two goats can share a large dog house as well. My biggest concern is letting them have enough room to roam.


Thanks so much, I know there was a LOT of questions but I am so excited to get started!!

 

[MrsGrambo]

I loved my ducks!! I had domestic Mallards, they didn't fly so it was easier to keep them than the chickens.. I had a kiddie pool for them with a little made up ramp and they loved it.. Good luck and have fun!! (I know nothing about goats, sorry)

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Hello!

My boyfriend and I bought our first little home on some land! Not much land but enough. We finally have our whole house fenced and our dogs are really enjoying it but NOW is the time where I want to get into raising chickens, ducks, possibly small goats if my space acquires it! Any who here are my few questions:


1) How MESSY are ducks, really? I understand when they eat they need to drink, they need some water source. People keep telling me not to do it because of the mess but honestly I love ducks and always have.

2) How hard is it to co-habitate the chickens and ducks in the same area? I understand chickens need to be in a coop at night and ducks just need something to be covered in (dog house). I know once they are older you can feed them the same food.

3) Last but not least how much room do pygmy goats need? I know they need toys so they don't get bored and I have heard they are good with sharing space with poultry. I only want a total of 4 birds, I would then add the 2 pygmies as I know they need a friend. How do you separate the goat from eating the birds food? I understand that two goats can share a large dog house as well. My biggest concern is letting them have enough room to roam.


Thanks so much, I know there was a LOT of questions but I am so excited to get started!!

Hi and

! Congratulations on your new homestead.

I don't have goats, so I'll leave that to the BYC goat experts...but I do have chickens and ducks. My responses:

1) A big difference between chickens and ducks is in how wet their poop is (duck poop is basically "splatty", with high moisture content), and ducks will get into any water they can, in addition to needing it to help wash down their food. Ducklings are going to splash water around in a brooder, whereas chicks can use a fountain waterer without creating much of a moisture problem. As adults, chickens will readily drink from a nipple waterer, further reducing the chance of a spill...ducks can learn to drink from a nipple waterer, too, but will consistently need a water source deep enough to blow out their nares to prevent respiratory problems. I provide several gallon-sized plastic pails and, weather permitting, kiddie pools. In short, ducks are going to make a water mess, and will also drill holes in pretty much every muddy area.

2) In my experience, adult chickens and ducks do well together if they can free range and go into separate coops at night. There may be some teasing - I had a drake that liked to sneak up on roosters and pull out their tailfeathers - but mine get along well, and I think there's "safety in numbers" when they're out foraging, especially for the chickens. I have ducks that occasionally sneak into the chicken coop at night, but they have a bad habit of pooping in the nest boxes (and it's a big, messy poop), so I try to discourage that by relocating the wayward ducks back to their own coop when necessary.

Despite the "messiness" of ducks, they are eminently enjoyable, and their eggs are wonderful. I highly recommend them to those who are prepared to meet their specific needs (and understand their challenges - my Muscovies will not go into the coop voluntarily at night, and must be herded...they know what they're supposed to do, they just require encouragement, lol).

Best wishes for your duck adventure, should you embark on it!

 

[ninjawesome]

Hi there and

! We are glad you could join the flock!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under jbarnes05

Welcome & Congrats on your new home!

You have received some great advice from FoodFreedomNow and as I have no experience with Ducks, I will not add to that.

However, I did just want to mention that BYC has a Duck Forum for future reference: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks

I definitely also have no experience with Pygmy Goats but the folks on the Livestock Forum should be able to assist: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/22/other-pets-livestock

Or, you could try BYC’s sister site Backyard Herds: https://www.backyardherds.com/

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also pop in and say hello on your local thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you ‘Find your State’s thread.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[drumstick diva]