Train moscovy ducks to use separate coop from chickens?

[Kyguylal]

Hi everyone,

We have a flock of 6 chickens. All hens and about 2 years old. They have an elevated coop and an enclosed run.

I'm building a new run and also thinking about getting a few female muscovys.

My coop is fairly small, only about 24 square feet.

If I built the muscovys (muscovies?) A second coop, would I be able to train them to use the separate coop while they all shared a run?

I'm ideally trying to keep the chickens and ducks separate at night while sharing a run during the day time.

Also, I'm only on one acre in a residential area with an unfenced yard. If I let the muscovys out during the day, will they come back? I am working on building a fence, about 5 feet tall. Would this be enough to keep them in or would they fly away?

 

[DukesDucks]

You should be able to train the chickens and ducks to go into separate coops. I would suggest using a broom or shavings fork to gently persuade and separate them. Throwing a few treats, like dried meal worms, inside the coop might help the ducks be more eager.

Female Muscovy ducks are strong fliers. I regularly find mine of the roof of my house and in the trees. A five foot fence will not keep them in. Many people clip their flight feathers. I don't but am sure if you do a search on BYC you will find out how to do this.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It’s easy to train them with herding them slowly where you want them to go. My Muscovy have their own coop separate from my chickens and Runners and Buffs they know which coop is theirs and go in on their own. I do clip my females one wing after fall molt because we are over run with predators and I want them to stay inside their fencing. And not be eaten.

 

[Kyguylal]

You should be able to train the chickens and ducks to go into separate coops. I would suggest using a broom or shavings fork to gently persuade and separate them. Throwing a few treats, like dried meal worms, inside the coop might help the ducks be more eager.

Female Muscovy ducks are strong fliers. I regularly find mine of the roof of my house and in the trees. A five foot fence will not keep them in. Many people clip their flight feathers. I don't but am sure if you do a search on BYC you will find out how to do this.

Great thank you for the info. I was concerned about giving them their own space since my chicken coop is set up specifically for my flock to the point where they each roost in a specific spot every night.

It’s easy to train them with herding them slowly where you want them to go. My Muscovy have their own coop separate from my chickens and Runners and Buffs they know which coop is theirs and go in on their own. I do clip my females one wing after fall molt because we are over run with predators and I want them to stay inside their fencing. And not be eaten.

I am definitely concerned with predators. Coyote, fox, bears, eagles and hawk are everywhere. My run is hardware cloth with an electric fence. I'll keep the wing trimming in mind. Sounds easy enough.

 

[frankenchick]

You should be able to train the chickens and ducks to go into separate coops. I would suggest using a broom or shavings fork to gently persuade and separate them. Throwing a few treats, like dried meal worms, inside the coop might help the ducks be more eager.

Female Muscovy ducks are strong fliers. I regularly find mine of the roof of my house and in the trees. A five foot fence will not keep them in. Many people clip their flight feathers. I don't but am sure if you do a search on BYC you will find out how to do this.

I don’t want to clip my ducks, but the 2 females that aren’t setting right now keep crossing the highway (leaving a 1.5-acre pasture) to get away from the drakes. Besides being in danger of being hit by a car, they’re causing some friction with the neighbors. The ducks go in their yard, and their beagle nearly slipped his tie-out trying to get at the ducks.

 

[frankenchick]

Hi everyone,

We have a flock of 6 chickens. All hens and about 2 years old. They have an elevated coop and an enclosed run.

I'm building a new run and also thinking about getting a few female muscovys.

My coop is fairly small, only about 24 square feet.

If I built the muscovys (muscovies?) A second coop, would I be able to train them to use the separate coop while they all shared a run?

I'm ideally trying to keep the chickens and ducks separate at night while sharing a run during the day time.

Also, I'm only on one acre in a residential area with an unfenced yard. If I let the muscovys out during the day, will they come back? I am working on building a fence, about 5 feet tall. Would this be enough to keep them in or would they fly away?

My Muscovies won’t be shut up anywhere! The only time they’ll go into any kind of enclosure is in Winter when the weather is really bad.
The one exception was last Summer. One of my ducks kept having her eggs stolen, so she decided to make a nest in the coop. One of my hens actually helped set the eggs and claimed one of them, hatching it and trying to teach her “special” chick to scratch.