thinking about getting a couple of ducks. questions

[boykin2010]

I have 10 hens in a chicken tractor and i was wondering if getting 2 ducks would be bad. I have been reading a lot on here and i know they are VERY messy but i think i can handle it. I have spare time and like today i was bored and just sat outside with my chickens. I have a couple questions i couldnt get 100% positive answers to on the internet.
1. Do ducks have to have water to swim in? Would they be okay just living like a chicken. Since my run and coop is moveable they will access to fresh grass. I guess i could get a cat litter pan and fill it with water for them...

2. Can ducks eat the same food as my chickens? I feed my hens layer pellets.

3. In your opinion what is the friendliest egg layer breed of duck. I would mainly want them for the eggs but i want to make sure they will be nice to my hens and to me.

4. How much room does a duck need in the run and in the coop?

5. Do ducks need special nesting boxes or will my chicken nesting boxes be ok?

 

[boykin2010]

anybody?

 

[duckyfromoz]

How big is the chicken tractor?? I take it you were wanting to house them in it with the chickens ?? Ducks dont need to swim every day- as long as they have water deep enough to wash their faces in every day. It really is better if you had something bigger than just a cat litter pan for them- they are " waterfowl" and love to swim not just wet their feathers. Could you provide them with something larger outside the coop where they can still get to swim- but without making too much mess inside the run?

 

[boykin2010]

The run is probably 6 ft wide and 12 ft long. The coop is 6 wide and around 8 to 10 foot long. I guess i could get a kiddie pool and let the ducks out during the day to free range and swim in the pool. Yes, i did want to house them with the chickens.

i thought of one major problem! I have a large swimming pool ( for humans ) probably 75 feet away from the coop and i DONT want ducks in MY swimming pool. They poop way to much to do that