Which duck breed is more compatible with chickens?

[sierra azul gal]

Hi All,

My BF daughter has a dozen hens in a huge coop, more than enough room for a few ducks. She has 4 Muscovy ducks, 1 drake and 3 hens. The ducks are bossing the chickens around to the point that the chickens don't want to come down from the roosts and don't lay very well.
Is there a duck breed that will coexist better with the chickens. We have heard that Runner ducks are consistent layers.

TIA,
Di

 

[erijn5]

I have had pekins and mallards in with mine. I have muscovys in there now, I have no males though.. Everyone is mingling well.

 

[Pele]

Ducks and chickens can cohabitate if their environment is large enough that they can ignore one another. I wouldn't generally recommend penning them together, as ducks also make an extreme mess of whatever enclosure they are in (resulting in mud-covered eggs).

Please also keep in mind that keeping a drake in with chickens can lead to injury of said chickens. He may attempt to mate them, and they are highly incompatable, anatomically speaking.

So, letting them each have their own night-time enclosures, and free-range together during the day works out beautifully. Then both your groups of birds can blissfully ignore one another.

 

[donrae]

I keep Rouens in with my chickens. Everyone's good. The ducks are definately the boss, but someone's gotta be.

 

[PtldChick]

I have three Runners in with my chickens and they do fine. The ducks are kind of dominant, but don't boss them around, and neither did my one drake before he died (other than occasionally chasing the top cockeral around...quite funny to see a 4 lb duck chasing an 8 lb brahma).

My three girls were giving me 2 eggs a day consistently until late december - I would highly recommend them as layers! They haven't started up yet this spring, but they don't sleep in the coop so they don't get the light the chickens do.

And at 3.5-4 lbs, they don't eat as much as larger duck breeds.

 

[Kaitie09]

I had a Mallard pair in with mine. They picked at the grown birds if they got too close to their pool, but that was it. However, the hens and rooster were bigger then them. I made the mistake of putting 2 smaller hens in the group and the ducks sought out, and killed them. They now live on my uncle's duck only farm and are much happier.