Someone wants to give me 2 male ducks

[destinduck]

As long as there is no girls you should be OK. They shouldnt fight and they probably were raised together which is even better. Yea they can be together but of course its better to have them in seperate pens. They are messy but you will love em.

 

[RedheadErin]

My only options right now are putting them in the chicken shed or leaving them outside under the side porch. Everybody would have free run of the yard. The garage door is broken so Im afraid it would not do much good to put them in there.

Don't anybody suggest the updatirs bathroom again!

 

[sherylreno]

I have 3 ducks in my coop run with the chickens. The chickens go up to the coop and the ducks stay locked in the run. Everyone is happy. I haven't noticed anything different with ducks. The ducks even clean up the chickens during the day. They get to freerange when I get home and they all hang together there too.

 

[Amiga]

The ducks need to be safeguarded as they're quite susceptible to predators especially at night. If they're going to be under a porch, they need to be protected by sturdy fence - including half inch hardware cloth, and something on the bottom to keep things from digging under the fence. I used coated chain link under the pen for my ducks, and just sprinkled soil on top of that, with straw bedding and gravel around their swim pan.

As mentioned, drakes seem to get along fine without competing for females.

And they're much quieter than the girls!

 

[EmAbTo48]

Well for now its safer to keep them with the chickens, but watch them closely, maybe you can find a cheap small shed or you can even make one for cheap then they can free range during the day but there food and water and sleeping area is seperate from the hens???

Even a dog house that you add a door to it so you can lock them up at night will work since you only have 2!

 

[HJECG]

I'm also interested in getting one or two ducks as pets, and I already have a small flock of chickens. Because I live in the city, I'm thinking that a pair of male ducks would maybe be better due to the noise factor. However, I wasn't aware that male ducks were so aggressive toward female chickens. I definitely don't want a duck hurting any of my hens. Are all duck breeds sexually aggressive toward chickens or only some? Are the dwarf duck breeds less likely to hurt chickens? I do have two Silkie hens so if even a small duck went after them, they could be injured.

 

[Lana_the_farmer]

2 drakes can be great buds, unless you add in females then the fighting will start. But if you plan to just keep these two bachelors they should be just fine.

I would recomend not putting them with your hens since they might try to mate them (which will kill them). Plus ducks are so messy with there water! They need to be able to have deep enough water to get there entire head into. It also is nice to give them a kiddie pool/pond, not just for their enjoyment but its very pleasurable to watch them youself an there excitment of the pool

Have fun!

I have two drakes, raised together, living with my four chickens. The two ducks keep to themselves, they do fight but the dust settles. One of the ducks has established dominance and my other duck is missing feathers on the back of his neck. They try and mate as they would with a female duck, with one another. You can't change nature.
I have not experienced any issues in their interactions with the chickens. They get along find and during their mating season, they're a little more stand-offish than anything with the hens - no mating whatsoever.

Another thing I noticed during mating season (and largely why one duck is missing feathers right now) is that they seem to be drawn to acts of domiance. When my two large dogs playfight, the ducks run towards them and want to be in and around the action.

Overall, you won't know until you try but two male ducks raised together 'should' be fine and can be mixed with hens. There are far too many variables for a generalised statement. Enjoy!

 

[Miss Lydia]

A video of said duck along with its voice will sure help.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

Don't trust a vet to tell you, as did I. The duck he said was a female turned out (ay 4 months) to be another drake. As sibling to my large drake I assumed he was right because that duck was smaller and did not hiss (or show aggression) as did the drake. The tails looked very different as well. Also didn't progress (caruncles, wing and feather acquisition, & flying) as did the obvious drake. That said even with 2 ducks sometimes it is not so obvious!

Thanks for the info so I guess I’ll wait and see if it lays any eggs. Meantime I think it’s kind of lonely hanging out with the chickens. When the chickens go to roost in the evening the duck kind of wanders around takes a while to settle down. It quaks - somewhat quietly. I think it’s a girl. I’ll wait a few weeks to see if there’s any signs of the mail and then get myself another girl so she won’t be so lonely and we’ll get eggs.

 

[cincyfarmgirl]

A video of said duck along with its voice will sure help.

OK I’ll try to get that listen