Who wants to tell me the difference between raising chickens and ducks

[pixie74943]

I kinda promised the BF that I'd get him a duck if he put up with my chicken love (and I want a duck too

)

So what have a gotten myself in for. Apart from their need for water, and supposedly they're messier, what are their differences? Including feeding, space requirements, sleeping arrangements, coop/run construction, laying habits, etc.

 

[1lpoock]

There are some great laying breeds: Khaki Campbell, Runners, Swedish....with some breeds they will probably lay more than a chicken in a year.
When ducks lay they usually lay an egg every day for about a week then they skip a day.
I'm sure you know already that ducks love water. The bedding will be wet if you leave the water in with them. I find it best to leave their water and food outside, so there pen stays much dryer.
Duck eggs are a lot richer than chicken eggs...great for baking! I reccomend that you get two ducks, not one...ducks are social and they are meant to grow up in groups. I have khaki campbells, cayugas, and black east indies...and I love some of the cayuga girls the best...they are really friendly. They sleep in a 10'x10' area at night and free range all day long, they usually just go to swim down in the creek. They come back to their pen at about 7, but you have to train them to do that...other than that, i think thats it...i like my ducks more than my chickens....let us know what breed you choose!

 

[faykokoWV]

not to hijack, but if you buy ducks, do you have to follow the same quarantine procedures as you do with chickens. What diseases are transferable from duck to chicken or vice versa?

 

[1lpoock]

You know, not to sure about that...you might as well though

 

[tonini3059]

I would definitely get at least two. You can house them in with the chickens, mine do just fine together the chickens all roost and the ducks huddle in the corner. We built a tub to keep the water on to keep the bedding from getting wet, it works pretty well. I always quarantine all birds that I get.ducks, turkey, pheasants, chickens, peafowl, and quail. Diseases can be spread among them all.
Here is a pic of the tub there is a drain pipe leading out the back:

 

[pixie74943]

i heard you shouldnt put ducks with chickens cause they have different food requirements. And cause ducks like to go between food and water, and get the food messy and wet, so you cant have things like a PVC pipe feeder/something that'll last a couple of days because theres a chance of the food getting mouldy.


And where do ducks sleep?? I doubt they roost.. do they just huddle on the ground??

 

[SunAngel]

My first pair of ducks were raised with my chickens and did just fine.

When they were around 6 months old we built them a duck house and fenced in a run of their own with a pond in it. A few months later we bought them 2 friends...and have since added 4 of their babies to the group (the juvies are 4-6 months old now). My duck house is 4x8, which should give them approx. 4ft each, with 2 nesting boxes. The floor is covered thickly with straw. I used to close them in every night, but they would really rather be outside sleeping. I might go back to locking them up in the colder parts of winter, not sure though. Their doorway is small and off to one side, so if they go in, they should be warm enough huddled together. I keep the food and water outside to keep the house cleaner. They get the same food as my chickens....but I add some scratch grains to theirs. Plus they get grass and other treats. My ducks don't have roosts in their house, but I have some crates turned upside down out in their run and they like to stand on them. This could just be a Swedish duck thing though.

They have been doing great for over a year now and have given me lots of ducklings to sell.