Pekin duck with chickens

[eatingabook]

Hi,
We got a pekin duckling and two (I believe) Rhodesian red chicks and they have been indoors with a heat lamp together for about three weeks now. They are all probably about four weeks old tops. We built a chicken coop for when the chickens are old enough to go outside, but we didn't initially plan on getting the duckling as well! Would they be okay to live together as adults? I know the ducks need a water space to splash and clean themselves, this might pose a problem with the chickens, right? Should we build another coop/dog run for the duck to live alone? I've read a lot of things online but am curious if anyone has raised them together and how they fare on their own, comparatively. Thanks! Any suggestions will be much appreciated

 

[Pyxis]

They will be okay to live together. Just make sure that the water source is not somewhere that could cause the chickens issues, such as in the coop (the duck will splash it all over) and that your chickens can't accidentally fall in and drown - make sure they have a way to get out if they were to fall in.

Also, you will need another duck. Ducks are very social creatures and chickens will not be good enough companions for it. The duck will not behave as they do, and will want company when it is swimming and doing other things chickens don't do. It will also like a friend that speaks the same language as it does.

Another reason to get another duck is because if you have a male duckling, when he grows up, he will try to mate with your hens because he will have no females of his own species, and thanks to anatomical differences, this can kill or seriously injure the chickens.

I'd go ahead and try to find another duckling that is the same age as yours so yours will have company

 

[eatingabook]

Thank you!
The duckling was the last one, we had gone to the feed store a few days prior and saw him/her (we aren't sure yet haha) with the siblings and the next time we went, he was by himself so we picked him up. I will check back and ask them if they can find me another one!

Our coop we built has a fairly large floor section and a ramp leading to the roost (I believe this is the term, I'm still learning all the lingo) but the entire covered coop is in a larger fenced in area we originally built for my son's play area. So would it be okay to put the water area outside the coop, but in the larger fenced in area and let the duck out frequently? That was my concern too, about the chickens possibly falling in. I might try to build a ramp into/out of the water pool.

 

[Pyxis]

Yes, that would be fine - that's actually what I do with my ducks' pool. I keep a cinder block in it so that any chickens that fall in can get out using the cinder block. Good luck finding your little one a friend!