Soon2BChixMom
Herding ducks and Wrangling chickens
- Jan 8, 2017
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Ducks tend to be messy with their water. They love water and love to swim and noodle in it. They will make clean water dirty in a matter of seconds.
Ducks are messy with their food. They like to drag their food to the water to swirl it in the water and leave trails of food along that path. The good thing is that chickens can clean that up if given access.
Male ducks have an actual penis whereas roosters mate vent to vent with a chicken hen. A duck penis can harm a chicken if they attempt to mate.
My drake and rooster do not get along so are separated. I thought they would be ok in the open yard - nope. My ducks and chickens are separated. Ducks poo is very watery since they love the water. Oh, and chickens will drink the dirty duck water even if they have their own.
Ducklings from feed stores usually are not sexed and if they are, you still have a good chance of getting a drake. You can only vent sex ducklings and should be experienced in doing so.
Once they get old enough to quack or are feathered out, you will be able to distinguish the two apart (except maybe those new to muscovies).
You should get at least 2 ducks so that they have some other species that they can actually communicate with.
As well, if your chickens are older there are integration issues to consider as they will likely not enjoy a strange bird's presence to their flock.
I would say in order to have the two species coexist effectively, you need lots of space.
Ducklings are cute, but I see lots of older ducks listed on Craigslist because they are no longer those cute ducklings they once were. Oh and a duckling brooder tends to get messy quickly no matter how you try to contain the mess.
Good luck with your decision. I love both my chickens and my ducks for different reasons, but most days wish I only had one species of outdoor farm bird to tend to.
Ducks are messy with their food. They like to drag their food to the water to swirl it in the water and leave trails of food along that path. The good thing is that chickens can clean that up if given access.
Male ducks have an actual penis whereas roosters mate vent to vent with a chicken hen. A duck penis can harm a chicken if they attempt to mate.
My drake and rooster do not get along so are separated. I thought they would be ok in the open yard - nope. My ducks and chickens are separated. Ducks poo is very watery since they love the water. Oh, and chickens will drink the dirty duck water even if they have their own.
Ducklings from feed stores usually are not sexed and if they are, you still have a good chance of getting a drake. You can only vent sex ducklings and should be experienced in doing so.
Once they get old enough to quack or are feathered out, you will be able to distinguish the two apart (except maybe those new to muscovies).
You should get at least 2 ducks so that they have some other species that they can actually communicate with.
As well, if your chickens are older there are integration issues to consider as they will likely not enjoy a strange bird's presence to their flock.
I would say in order to have the two species coexist effectively, you need lots of space.
Ducklings are cute, but I see lots of older ducks listed on Craigslist because they are no longer those cute ducklings they once were. Oh and a duckling brooder tends to get messy quickly no matter how you try to contain the mess.
Good luck with your decision. I love both my chickens and my ducks for different reasons, but most days wish I only had one species of outdoor farm bird to tend to.
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Silkies are best kept with other silkies.
