Turkeys & Ducks?

[Dolly1218]

Hello Everyone! I was considering adding some Turkeys this year, but I had a few questions about housing. Can they be housed together with Ducks? I know they cant be housed with Chickens because of blackhead. Can they be housed with any other poultry (geese, guinea, quail). I would like to have just one very large coop for all the birds (more like a barn with adjustments), with a large run. As soon as they are older my ducks will go outside and forage all day. And as I add more birds I will let them free range and coop them at night, but also have an attached run incase I have a late start in the morning lol. All your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Frosty]

I don't mix poultry and waterfowl if I can avoid it because waterfowl are real slobs with the water. They foul the water up fast and make a muddy mess. If blackhead isn't a problem where you are, they turkeys can be kept with the chickens but if a tom tries to breed with a chicken it can kill it. If blackhead is a problem there, you'll possibly have problems just from keeping them on the same property.

 

[Dolly1218]

Ok thank you!!

 

[Wayne&Kim1963]

I have run them together for years. But the ducks and geese don't just muddy up the water up by chicken house they spend their day at the pond and only come up to house to eat or lay eggs in chicken houses. I am sure if they were tight penned together with the ducks and geese mucking up water could but unhealthy for everyone.

 

[Dolly1218]

I have run them together for years. But the ducks and geese don't just muddy up the water up by chicken house they spend their day at the pond and only come up to house to eat or lay eggs in chicken houses. I am sure if they were tight penned together with the ducks and geese mucking up water could but unhealthy for everyone.

Oh ok. Well there is a house we are looking at that has a horse barn with a fairly large corral attached. I thought I could spruce it up and have the birds have their own stall and they could share the run (corral that will get covered so predators cant get in). Just until I let everyone out to free range for the day. I thought that might be a little easier then building 8 or more different coops and runs for all the birds. I was just wandering if they transfer diseases amongst each other, not including chickens. Do you think this would be a good idea to convert the barn? I keep things clean and would have the duck/goose pools outside of their pen/run. I also do not plan on having a ton of birds. Only a few of each (duck, goose, turkey, quail, guinea). I was planning on building a chicken coop further away from the other birds too.

 

[Wayne&Kim1963]

If your birds were sick when you start could be problem but if you start all as babies or be real careful with any adults you get. I myself would rather get babies and raise them up and keep them together from when they were little so they know each other and no one is trying to beat the other one up. That way you don't bring in a bunch of adults after everyone raised, then you will have very little disease. The way you get disease and illness is if you bring in alot of adults from differrent places and sales then you will have sick animals. I myself if I want to have geese after I have adult chickens and adult turkeys then I will put goose eggs under broody hen. She hatches out babies then thinks oh the geese are baby chickensand I love them so much and then all the chickens think we love those baby chickens as they grow up and then everyone is like these chickens are little big but we like them and then you will have your geese as part of your flock. Lets say you want to add peacock well again broody hen and set peacock eggs under her let her hatch them and you cut down diseases major time some diseases can be in egg but have found that to be few, then she hatches them and raises them and everyone gets along... geese, ducks, turkeys, and chickens and now peacocks. I just found never bring in adults and always clean your shoes if you go over to someone elses chickens i like to spray bottoms of shoes with lysol or bleach water to prevent illness.
I think that is absolutely great idea to give them nice place to sleep. I hope all works out with your house and exciting thing of fixing up place to have chickens and turkeys and ducks and geese. I can hardly wait to hear how converting the barn goes for you. As long as place at night is sealed tight with ground difficult for something to dig in you will have it made. I myself believe in free range but pen babies and fryers and small ones unless with mamma hen. Always lock everything up at night.
It is horribly difficult to run guineas with chickens and turkeys due to aggressive nature of guineas. I do not reccommend mixing them with any other poultry.

 

[Dolly1218]

If your birds were sick when you start could be problem but if you start all as babies or be real careful with any adults you get. I myself would rather get babies and raise them up and keep them together from when they were little so they know each other and no one is trying to beat the other one up. That way you don't bring in a bunch of adults after everyone raised, then you will have very little disease. The way you get disease and illness is if you bring in alot of adults from differrent places and sales then you will have sick animals. I myself if I want to have geese after I have adult chickens and adult turkeys then I will put goose eggs under broody hen. She hatches out babies then thinks oh the geese are baby chickensand I love them so much and then all the chickens think we love those baby chickens as they grow up and then everyone is like these chickens are little big but we like them and then you will have your geese as part of your flock. Lets say you want to add peacock well again broody hen and set peacock eggs under her let her hatch them and you cut down diseases major time some diseases can be in egg but have found that to be few, then she hatches them and raises them and everyone gets along... geese, ducks, turkeys, and chickens and now peacocks. I just found never bring in adults and always clean your shoes if you go over to someone elses chickens i like to spray bottoms of shoes with lysol or bleach water to prevent illness.
I think that is absolutely great idea to give them nice place to sleep. I hope all works out with your house and exciting thing of fixing up place to have chickens and turkeys and ducks and geese. I can hardly wait to hear how converting the barn goes for you. As long as place at night is sealed tight with ground difficult for something to dig in you will have it made. I myself believe in free range but pen babies and fryers and small ones unless with mamma hen. Always lock everything up at night.
It is horribly difficult to run guineas with chickens and turkeys due to aggressive nature of guineas. I do not reccommend mixing them with any other poultry.

Oh ok thank you. I did not know guineas were aggressive. I hear so many people have guineas with chickens mostly free ranging though.

 

[stacir]

I have raised Eastern Turkeys with waterfowl, peahens, chickens and guineas. They are all free range. Most of the time they all get along. The turkeys roost outside at night in the trees, and all the others roost in the barn and sheds.

I haven't had problems with the guineas and turkeys or chickens. Although, last year my guineas did get a little aggressive mostly with my male peacock. They really harassed him, ganged up on him and kept trying to jump on his tail and pull out his feathers. They were nesting so that is probably why they were so agressive.

I've also noticed the turkeys have been chasing my younger peahen around a bit now. Everyone is getting antsy for the Spring.

 

[zzGypsy]

I've got gu.ineas, turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese, and they're all housed together...
we've got two areas with roosts that the roosting birds prefer, and the waterfowl sleep on the floor of the building. when we've added new birds, there's a bit of pecking-order sorting, but it seems all our birds know what breed they are, and pecking order sorting is limited to a day or two of posturing and an occasional squable, no real harm done.
we've had no problems with transmitting disease.
we do not keep water in the night hutch, they have access all day, free range and eat/drink as they choose, but are dry at night - cuts down the mess a lot, keeps the hutch dry.

 

[Dolly1218]

I've got gu.ineas, turkeys, chickens, ducks and geese, and they're all housed together...
we've got two areas with roosts that the roosting birds prefer, and the waterfowl sleep on the floor of the building. when we've added new birds, there's a bit of pecking-order sorting, but it seems all our birds know what breed they are, and pecking order sorting is limited to a day or two of posturing and an occasional squable, no real harm done.
we've had no problems with transmitting disease.
we do not keep water in the night hutch, they have access all day, free range and eat/drink as they choose, but are dry at night - cuts down the mess a lot, keeps the hutch dry.

Ok thank you. This may be a stupid question but is the blackhead a disease other birds can get/give even if their are no chickens? How do you prevent it if it is a problem in your area? And how do you find out if it is a problem in your area? I cant seem to find any of this lol

I have raised Eastern Turkeys with waterfowl, peahens, chickens and guineas. They are all free range. Most of the time they all get along. The turkeys roost outside at night in the trees, and all the others roost in the barn and sheds.

I haven't had problems with the guineas and turkeys or chickens. Although, last year my guineas did get a little aggressive mostly with my male peacock. They really harassed him, ganged up on him and kept trying to jump on his tail and pull out his feathers. They were nesting so that is probably why they were so agressive.

I've also noticed the turkeys have been chasing my younger peahen around a bit now. Everyone is getting antsy for the Spring.

Hmm maybe I wont have guineas then.. Thank you for the information.