raising chickens and ducklings together?

[L*A*G*]

if u had grown ducks and chickens together, would the babies be half duck and chicken?

 

[babylady4]

Duckens!

 

[1234duck]

No... NO, Chucklings....

 

[FowlRanger]

I have 10 Ten-Day old Chicks (hens) and 2 Pekins one Drake one Duck that I'm brooding together so far. I hope that they become accustomed to each other, but they can not imprint at this stage. If I understand correctly, Baby birds imprint soon after hatching only one time.

Here is a quote from a book that helped me alot: "A peculiar kind of larning behavior called IMPRINT happens to waterfowl hatchlings during their first hours after hatch. The first large moving object they see becomes mom. To the day they die they will bear a particular affection toward whatever they imprint. This abrupt, unreinforced learning is only dimly understood. It is apparently the mechanism by which hatchlings are supposed to learn what species they are. But if their natural mother or another of their own species doesn't happen to be around at the right moment, they may have the misfortune to imprint on a human, or a teddy bear, or even a passing Ping-Pong ball." --'Ducklings and Geese in Your Backyard (pg. 10)

I hope this helps a bit, I started looking into Breeding so I can have my beloved birds imprint on me instead of "Jim-Bob at the Hatchery"

 

[Sleonard]

We are first time chick and duck owners. But we introduced three day old ducks in with our three week old chicks, and at first the chicks almost killed the ducks. So we separated the ducks from the chicks for three or four days then reintroduced them to the chickens. The ducks had grown quite a but and the chicks had been near the ducks, so the second time the chicks pecked at the ducks feet but eventually they got along. They were so cute when my six chicks and three ducklings would all lay together.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I hate to be a big downer, but problems can arise with drakes who are raised in close relation to chickens. "Duckens" or "Chucklings" were on his mind & he almost killed my SLW one day. He'd never gotten as much as 2" off the ground, but one day he found the where-with-all to fly over his fence, down the hill & land right on top of the poor thing.
(He was fenced off because of a series of other disturbing attacks on my girls.) Unfortunately, my guy was just too comfortable with the chickens. I now have a "Girls Only" rule on my property - but then, I am trying to keep my "operation" small.
I know not every drake behaves as badly as mine did, but it is something to bear in mind when planning to raise them as one big, happy flock.

 

[Echo5]

Wow, thanks for posting this! I'm getting ready for my order thats coming in this Wednesday! Preparing the brooder. Was going to just put them all together, but thinking I may make a divider just in case the ducks get too messy or rough, going to use my large rabbit cage.. getting 4 Pekin Ducks, and 6 chicks... Hopefully it works out!!

 

[LukesCityHens]

When everyone says they are "messy" what exactly do you mean? Im considering a couple of ducklings if I can talk someone into it!!

 

[TLWR]

Messing ducklings?
CHeck out the ducks forum. But ducklings love their water. They play in it. And it goes EVERYWHERE in the brooder for a wet soggy mess.
Their poop is watery.

Ducklings are super cute for a reason.... messy little buggers.
But if you manage their water, it really isn't so bad. You can put their water up on something that will catch a radius of water that they fling and it will keep the mess down a bit. They run to the water with a mouth full of food and end up with food in the bottom of the waterer. Messy little buggers. But worth it.

 

[P-Funk]

Wow thanks, TLWR. I put two Pekins in the coop with 6 hens and couldn't figure out what all that mess was in the water bowl. The bell waterer even has to be changed twice a day.