Topic of the week - Keeping different poultry types together

[cockatiel]

I have not had luck with guineas and chicken. My little silkie hatch guineas, she raises them, I leave them with her until they are about 3 months old and for the second time this year the keets started to pick at the chicken.
On the other hand my pair of turkey is friendly with everybody
So the guineas have a coop, and the chicken have one as well

 

[chicksunderwing]

One year we had 8 chicks and 6 ducklings in the brooder. Those chickens grew up quite comfortable around the ducks, while the older chickens kept away from the ducks. The only problem was how much ducks always mess up their drinking water. But it was a fun experience.

 

[Petite Ferme]

We have a small farm in our back garden comprising of 13 chickens 21 chicks 1 rooster 2 geese 2 rabbits and 2 cats.
Last night was the first night the geese slept in the chicken house with all the chickens. We were a little worried that there would be some injuries in the morning when there is a stampede to get to the food first when we open the door. Much to our surprise the chickens waited till the geese were out then they came out. In the garden there are only a few altercations when the geese come too close to the chicks. The mother of course gets protective then the rooster gets into the act and chases the geese. Bit of sqwarking and feather flying but no damage. Other than this they are all happy free ranging together

 

[mamatink7]

We have a variety of breeds as well.
20 wks are black austrolorps, golden comets, easter Eggers, buff orpingtons & our only roo being a black copper marans
I have a feather fixer feed with separate container with oyster shell & Omega 3 for the layers. Can't do altogether due to Roo.
17wk golden comet, buff orpingtons and silver laced wyandotte
They are now on layer feed which will transition to feather fixer when I put them together--they all hate each other now.
Not sure who is best with whom yet. GC & BO seem to be most friendly so far. EE like to be with BCM or together.

oops I must've misread post & I can't delete it so apologies.

 

[sunnyfishy]

We keep ducks and chickens together. The ducks are small and large breeds, the chickens are NH Reds--we have found integrating the chicks/ducklings a pain in the *** when they are small, just because our adult hens can be very fussy. The birds all get along well, and when we let them free range, the birds separate into cliques.

All our birds eat the same feed, they all stay in the same pen and both sexes together. In the winter, the ducks make a total mess out of the house, so we've considered more than once putting the chickens into a separate pen, but because we're in NH it's so cold in the winter, it's still better for them to all stay in one house. We just have roosts so the chickens can get up higher if they like.

 

[ItsKendall]

i have been keeping my ducks and chickens in the same pen together for years. It has worked very well for me and I've never had a problem with it before so I would like to share some tips and photos!

first, housing. my coop is a large dog run on the side of my house. i have roosts set up which i made out of red wood material bought at Lowe's. my 5 chickens roost up there every night, and so did my rooster before i lost him the flooring of my coop is a deep layer of straw, which my ducks happily sleep in every night.

water. I use a kiddie pool, which all of my flock drink out of and my ducks swim in. I fill it up with fresh water about every other day or longer thanks to the straw the water gets less dirty.

for feeding, i use Purina layer pellets or crumbles, whatever my feed store has at the time. I currently use a 10 pound feeder which i have to refill about every three days but i am building a PVC pipe feeder that should be up soon. i also have tiny feeders, about 4, each with something different in them. one has scratch, one has dried meal worms, and the other has grit which, surprisingly enough, my birds don't eat any of it all at once. occasionally i will make a flock block for them and none of them fight over it.

I have a male mallard duck named Otis and I used to have a Langshan cross rooster named Murphy, who got along quite well with each other! Murphy was a year older than Otis and even though I introduced Otis to the flock at 3 months old, there was never a problem with territory.my biggest fear was having a fight between the females but there never was, in fact, the boys actually hung out together! Now that Otis is my only male, he takes care of Murphy's hens and his ducks

as chicks, I noticed that the ducks got hotter under the heat lamp and would stay out from under it. I eventually moved them to a bigger brooder, keeping the heat lamp on one half and the other side had the food and water which worked out well so both species were happy.

for nesting, the ducks have picked out a corner and made a nest of feathers and hay where they lay their eggs in everyday. even though they can reach the nesting boxes, they refuse to lay in them.

and when free ranging out in my backyard, they all hang out together in one big group unless the sprinklers are on, of course. then it's a feast for the ducks and the chickens all scatter back to the coop.

In the winter time, I put a heat lamp up in the coop where the roosts are so my chickens can stay warm when they are molting while the ducks tend to stay out from underneath the light.

If any of you guys have questions about multiflock housing I will gladly answer them!!


This is Maggie the Easter Egger, with her two siblings Samson and Delilah the Khaki Campbell ducklings! (before i switch the feed and water to the other side of the brooder)




here's the crew checking out Clyde in his 'catio'

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

i have been keeping my ducks and chickens in the same pen together for years. It has worked very well for me and I've never had a problem with it before so I would like to share some tips and photos!

first, housing. my coop is a large dog run on the side of my house. i have roosts set up which i made out of red wood material bought at Lowe's. my 5 chickens roost up there every night, and so did my rooster before i lost him the flooring of my coop is a deep layer of straw, which my ducks happily sleep in every night.

water. I use a kiddie pool, which all of my flock drink out of and my ducks swim in. I fill it up with fresh water about every other day or longer thanks to the straw the water gets less dirty.

for feeding, i use Purina layer pellets or crumbles, whatever my feed store has at the time. I currently use a 10 pound feeder which i have to refill about every three days but i am building a PVC pipe feeder that should be up soon. i also have tiny feeders, about 4, each with something different in them. one has scratch, one has dried meal worms, and the other has grit which, surprisingly enough, my birds don't eat any of it all at once. occasionally i will make a flock block for them and none of them fight over it.

I have a male mallard duck named Otis and I used to have a Langshan cross rooster named Murphy, who got along quite well with each other! Murphy was a year older than Otis and even though I introduced Otis to the flock at 3 months old, there was never a problem with territory.my biggest fear was having a fight between the females but there never was, in fact, the boys actually hung out together! Now that Otis is my only male, he takes care of Murphy's hens and his ducks

as chicks, I noticed that the ducks got hotter under the heat lamp and would stay out from under it. I eventually moved them to a bigger brooder, keeping the heat lamp on one half and the other side had the food and water which worked out well so both species were happy.

for nesting, the ducks have picked out a corner and made a nest of feathers and hay where they lay their eggs in everyday. even though they can reach the nesting boxes, they refuse to lay in them.

and when free ranging out in my backyard, they all hang out together in one big group unless the sprinklers are on, of course. then it's a feast for the ducks and the chickens all scatter back to the coop.

In the winter time, I put a heat lamp up in the coop where the roosts are so my chickens can stay warm when they are molting while the ducks tend to stay out from underneath the light.

If any of you guys have questions about multiflock housing I will gladly answer them!!


This is Maggie the Easter Egger, with her two siblings Samson and Delilah the Khaki Campbell ducklings! (before i switch the feed and water to the other side of the brooder)




here's the crew checking out Clyde in his 'catio'

The second picture in this is hilarious because usually it's the opposite. Cat on the outside, and poultry penned up.

I just bought some turkeys from a friend about two weeks ago. 4 midget whites, a Tom and his girls; so I am hoping since they are smaller turkeys, they will be able to shard the same coop with my chickens. It should be okay because I free range them most days. We shall see, I only have temporary shelter right now, with my new coop (an old shed) coming next week. So far I have 6 chickens sharing space with the turkeys, the rest of the chickens are a bit young to integrate yet.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I notice drajes and roosters do bot get along.I think its the aggressuve territorially male side of them that comes out.Not all of then seem to wanna take lead as alpha tofether.

 

[Jayzandra]

We house turkeys, chickens, ducks, and goats together. We keep flock raiser in a feeder that only the birds can fit their head into (so the goats can't eat it). We also give free choice oyster shell and throw scratch grains to keep them entertained. Everyone seems happy and healthy.

 

[HensDigMe]

Slightly off topic but, I have 6 RIR's hens. Most of the wild birds that "visit" my hens get along just fine. I often Several wild doves who drop into the Run and help themselves to feed and water. Finches and Robins tend to follow the hens when I let them roam the yard to scratch forage for seeds and bugs. We get Jays and Magpies that get aggressive but my hens just flap their wings a few times and the bullies become shy. My 4 cats don't bother the hens. They watch them with fascination but prefer to keep their distance. It's been hilarious to see any of my cats BOLT from their hiding spot when one or two of my hens go to investigate. But one evening as I was about to put the hens in their coop, one of my cats caught a rat and as the hens came to investigate the cat rubbed his head on each one, as if to say "You're my buddies. I did this". The hens didn't peck him but they didn't let him do it again.