Those who have chickens living with their ducks...

[DuckDuckSook]

Hello friends!

So, we have moved our ducklings outside and I think they are so happy to be in the fresh air all day long. Currently, two (mostly one) of our chickens are not too happy about sharing their space now with ducks. We have a run that is 10x10 and the ducks hang out one one side and the chickens on the other, which is fine and seems to be working out. However, at night, I had wanted to lock them all up in the coop. I don't think that is going to fly with the two unhappy chickens. They do this puffed up, bully stance when the ducks get too close to the coop. I separated out the unfriendly chickens and had the ducks sleep with just our two friendly chickens in the coop overnight and everything went well. However, I can't keep bringing the unfriendly chickens in the house. My question is this: What if I were to just leave the ducks in an exercise pen within the run at night? My run is secure and I think they might like that better than going in the coop with the unhappy chickens. Thoughts? Advice? Ideas? Thanks so much!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My ducks never went in the coop at night. Our coop has a space beneath it that they claimed as theirs

 

[KaleIAm]

If your run is truly secure (what about digging predators, can racoons reach through the bars, do you have weasels?) then that is probably fine. I hear that ducks prefer to sleep outside.

I feel super paranoid about predators, and we live in a predator rich area. We have a predator proof aviary (I think), but I'm worried that if my ducks are outside after dusk I will tempt night time predators to agressively attempt to get inside. So I lock my ducks inside a barn. The key word is that I'm paranoid. You probably don't need to be - but I have never lost a duck to a predator in over 6 years. Our neighbors lost all their chickens and their ducks to predators.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

If your run is truly secure (what about digging predators, can racoons reach through the bars, do you have weasels?) then that is probably fine. I hear that ducks prefer to sleep outside.

I feel super paranoid about predators, and we live in a predator rich area. We have a predator proof aviary (I think), but I'm worried that if my ducks are outside after dusk I will tempt night time predators to agressively attempt to get inside. So I lock my ducks inside a barn. The key word is that I'm paranoid. You probably don't need to be - but I have never lost a duck to a predator in over 6 years. Our neighbors lost all their chickens and their ducks to predators.

I am a bit paranoid too. I have plans in the near future for a larger coop and run, which may alleviate my concerns. I feel my run is secure. I have wire buried down 18 inches and skirted. It is entirely enclosed. I even put layers of large rocks around the border. Nothing has ever tried to dig in, to my knowledge. Also, the chicken/duck coop and run are inside a fenced in area with our sheep so maybe some predators see those big balls of wool and steer clear? I just feel like when the chickens are locked up I know that they are inside. With the ducks not being in an enclosed space, I think about how animals could see and smell them more and I don't want to tempt them even though everything is locked down. I plan on keeping them inside the run in an exercise pen just to keep them away from the edges of the run as an extra precaution. Ugh. I know I'm going to have many a sleepless nights about this.

 

[KaleIAm]

I am a bit paranoid too. I have plans in the near future for a larger coop and run, which may alleviate my concerns. I feel my run is secure. I have wire buried down 18 inches and skirted. It is entirely enclosed. I even put layers of large rocks around the border. Nothing has ever tried to dig in, to my knowledge. Also, the chicken/duck coop and run are inside a fenced in area with our sheep so maybe some predators see those big balls of wool and steer clear? I just feel like when the chickens are locked up I know that they are inside. With the ducks not being in an enclosed space, I think about how animals could see and smell them more and I don't want to tempt them even though everything is locked down. I plan on keeping them inside the run in an exercise pen just to keep them away from the edges of the run as an extra precaution. Ugh. I know I'm going to have many a sleepless nights about this.

If you are buried and skirted then it sounds safe. Our set ups sounds very similar, actually. I know lots of BYC members let their ducks sleep outside.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

If you are buried and skirted then it sounds safe. Our set ups sounds very similar, actually. I know lots of BYC members let their ducks sleep outside.

So, I totally chickened out (no pun intended) and locked the ducks up in the coop with the chickens. When I went out early this morning to let them out, I think everyone was getting along. I didn't hear any commotion. The ducks were in a corner when I opened the door, but I expected that. I didn't see any aggressive behaviors or any injuries or anything so I am guessing it all went well. I ended up letting the chickens put themselves to bed on the roosts and then after they were already in the coop, I herded the ducks in. The chickens were already sleepy so they didn't put up a fight. I'm going to go with that method for now unless things change. I just can't stop worrying about predators at night even though the run is secure.

 

[DuckDuckSook]

Update: So, my Brown ISA chicken is actually getting more aggressive with my ducks. I thought we were past it and she was warming up to them, but today, after I had her and her chicken sisters free-ranging all day and put her back in the run, she went after the ducks and this time, she pulled out feathers. She really went nuts. I picked her up and brought her in the house. She's down my basement in a makeshift coop (exercise pen with netting). I'd like to just give her some time away from the other birds and see if her attitude improves. However, I'm not so sure it will. At this point, what would you do? Do I still hold out hope and keep trying to acclimate her to the ducks or do I try to find her a new home? My other 3 chickens are all Black Stars and they haven't had any issues with the ducks. I don't know if it's the breed or just her place in the pecking order but I won't stand for a mean bird. Any advice is greatly appreciated.