Separate duck and chicken coops w/ shared run

[HappyDuckie]

If you want quiet ducks, Muscovy are the way to go! The hens are pretty small, but the drakes are large. All of the other duck breeds can be quite loud, but Muscovy stay quiet and aren't capable of making much noise.

Yeah, or Muscovy. I’ve never had any, but they seem great.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Hi again,

We have seven chickens and I was planning on building a large shared coop, a large run and adding ducks.

I was then wondering if I could just build the large run, stick my existing chicken coop in it and build another coop for the ducks in the same run?

Essentially, my existing coop is set up for chickens. Would everything work if I just stuck another coop in there for the ducks to use and had it set up for just the ducks?

Not sure if it would be better to keep them together or not. The run should have enough room for them to do their own things.

We have a big predator issue with bears, coyotes, and foxes so I was going to use a fully covered dog kennel with welded wire and hardware cloth on the bottom section with a trenched skirt and then an electric fence surround.

Just came across this post, so possibly you have already decided what to do.
I have a 20'x14' run that has a chicken coop and a duck coop. I have it divided with a panel of welded wire (2"×4"). Originally it was there to keep the chickens and ducks separate. I have drakes and duck hens. However, I have decided not to trim my muscovies wings since they free range in an open yard (no fence at all) and I want them to have a chance to escape if needed. So, they can fly over the fence. The juvenile males are getting to the point where they can't fly due to weight, but I have one that can still get over the fence. The female muscovies fly over all the time. 2 of my girls prefer the chicken side so they are always over there. They also are always inside the coop which is built up off the ground.
When I open the whole thing up while cleaning or letting everyone out for free range time, the muscovies will go up into the coop - male and female. They love the chicken coop!
The duck coop is built to sit on a pallet on the ground. The chickens love to explore in it.
I don't keep feed or water in either coop so there isn't an issue with moisture in either coop. The two girls that prefer the chickens, they actually sleep in the chicken coop. If they don't make it in before the auto-door closes, then they wait for me to pick them up and put them in the coop.
The run is open up every morning and the ducks go in and out during the day. The chickens are contained on their side with the welded wire. I am more protective of them I guess and so they only get free range time while I'm out there.
My muscovies are afraid of the chickens (except they will reach out and pull a feather given the chance); and, I've not had any problems with the drakes and chickens. I'm not saying it can't happen, but my drakes show no interest in the chickens.
If you won't have drakes, keeping them separate would only be because of their different needs. The chickens have a dirt area under their coop for dust bathing. They like and need to keep dry. Whereas the ducks have a water trough for swimming. My chickens have closed containers for their water, but the ducks have open rubber bowls for their drinking water. With that said when it's a free for all, the ducks drink from the chickens waterers and the chickens love the ducks water bowls. It's actually quite amusing to watch. Also, muscovies like water, but they aren't attracted to the water as much as other ducks. Also, ducks don't always put themselves to bed, so that's extra work for me - since I lock my ducks up in their coop every night.