Wife and kids begging for ducks. I have questions.

[5 Points Wingfeather]

We have had chickens for a few years but now they are begging for ducks and I’m close to giving in but don’t know anything about it. Here are my questions.

1. I have a 6x8 A-Frame coop that was made for chickens (it’s a 2-story). Would it be acceptable for maybe 3 ducks? I could put a dog house in there for them to sleep and lay in. And then a very small pool? Would that setup work?

2. Would it work to have two females and a male? Is that ratio ok? Or should I just get 2-3 girls?

3. How well do they do when let out of the coop? Do they range kind of like chickens or further away or closer? Do they return at dusk like chickens?

4. If we do this we are thinking about the following breeds: Blue Swedish, Rouen, Saxony, Appleyard, or Harlequin. We would probably do 3 of 3 different breeds. Are these breeds friendly/docile/pets? Do they get along with others?

 

[ruthhope]

We have had chickens for a few years but now they are begging for ducks and I’m close to giving in but don’t know anything about it. Here are my questions.

1. I have a 6x8 A-Frame coop that was made for chickens (it’s a 2-story). Would it be acceptable for maybe 3 ducks? I could put a dog house in there for them to sleep and lay in. And then a very small pool? Would that setup work?

2. Would it work to have two females and a male? Is that ratio ok? Or should I just get 2-3 girls?

3. How well do they do when let out of the coop? Do they range kind of like chickens or further away or closer? Do they return at dusk like chickens?

4. If we do this we are thinking about the following breeds: Blue Swedish, Rouen, Saxony, Appleyard, or Harlequin. We would probably do 3 of 3 different breeds. Are these breeds friendly/docile/pets? Do they get along with others?

​

Hi @5 Points Wingfeather

6 x 8 is large enough for 3 or 4 ducks to sleep in. They don't need a kiddie pool in there. Depending on the flooring and underlying ground, the coop could get very wet and muddy if you put drinking water inside.

The ducks need a larger run during the day where they can have a kiddie pool, food bowls and water. Mine free range in my back garden. They do not go inside their coop at night like chickens. Sometimes they gather round the coop door; other times they gather at my back door waiting for me to put them to bed. Ducks can generally be relied upon to go to bed with a little shooing in the right direction, but not always: they are more independent in their thinking and behavior than chickens. But if one is reluctant to go in at night, I always suspect bullying. Making a separate compartment or add a dog crate for the reluctant duck, generally alleviates the problem

I would stick to 3 females if you do not want to breed ducks. My son has 1 drake and 2 females and they are just fine. That cannot be guaranteed though as some drakes are more demanding. It's generally recommended 1 drake needs 4 or more females.

All ducks are great pets! Mine are muscovy and 1 pekin; my son has pekins and previously he also had one muscovy. So I am not able to advise on which ducks you should get -- your preference

 

[BabyGotQuack]

We have had chickens for a few years but now they are begging for ducks and I’m close to giving in but don’t know anything about it. Here are my questions.

1. I have a 6x8 A-Frame coop that was made for chickens (it’s a 2-story). Would it be acceptable for maybe 3 ducks? I could put a dog house in there for them to sleep and lay in. And then a very small pool? Would that setup work?

Sounds like it would work. I use a chicken coop for my ducks, with a couple minor alterations. Their ramp needed to be much wider, they aren’t nimble like chickens. And then I removed the roosting bars. A dog house could also work great. I use a kiddie pool for mine and they love it!

2. Would it work to have two females and a male? Is that ratio ok? Or should I just get 2-3 girls?

It kind of just depends on the drake. Some will be just fine with that ratio, others will need more ladies. I at one time had 2 females and 1 male and it was just fine.

3. How well do they do when let out of the coop? Do they range kind of like chickens or further away or closer? Do they return at dusk like chickens?

Mine somehow know the boundaries of our yard and are usually really good to stay close. Every once in a while they roam to the neighbors. I used to have chickens and they were WAY more adventurous than my ducks. In my experience it’s 50/50 on wether or not they return to the coop at dusk. Sometimes they are great about it and others they would stay out all night if I let them. They definitely aren’t as hard core as chickens about bedtime. I’m sure there’s people who’s ducks are, again this is in my experience.

4. If we do this we are thinking about the following breeds: Blue Swedish, Rouen, Saxony, Appleyard, or Harlequin. We would probably do 3 of 3 different breeds. Are these breeds friendly/docile/pets? Do they get along with others?

I love a mixed breed flock! I have/had pekin, khaki, blue swedish, welsh harlequin, Cayuga, saxony & incubated barnyard mixes. They’ve all been really friendly and gotten along well, aside from the occasional drake battle at the beginning of spring. Everyone has different opinions on which breed is friendliest and you’re gonna get answers all across the board. I personally think my pekins, khakis, saxonies & mixes are the friendliest. My swedish & Cayugas are the most skittish and my welshies are somewhere in the middle. By friendly I mean they’ll come up to me, eat treats out of my hand and let me pick them up. Here is the metzer 2023 catalog, there’s LOTS of good info in there and has a duck comparison chart, check it out

https://www.metzerfarms.com/images/catalog/2023Catalog1.pdf

Regardless, any duck I’ve ever had has been great! I don’t think there’s a “wrong choice” when it comes to breed.

 

[HeritageFan]

We raise ducks for eggs - our youngest kiddo is allergic to chicken eggs and we got tired of the “high end” grocery stores running out of duck eggs during the holidays .... every year.
Khaki Campbells are excellent layers, but also escape artists in my experience, because they fly so much better than the Welsh Harlequin ducks.
Our Welshies lay close to an egg a day. I do prefer to keep a drake, because he is very protective of his ladies and they are a good “watchdog”. But, the hens will lay without a drake involved, and some people prefer to have no drake / don’t want to have fertile eggs (although unwashed duck eggs that are laid in a clean area, stored pointy end down in a coolish spot, keep extremely well...)
I prefer the WH, because they can fly well enough to escape some predators, not well enough to be a pain to keep in their yard on days that I’m not home / they need to stay in, lay lots of eggs, and are big enough to use for meat if desired.
Muscovy is the next breed I’d like to try, as they are helpful w flies/ bugs/ mice- but aren’t the strongest layers.
I may be in the minority on the mixed flock part of your question; I’ve found that my ducks (and turkeys) tend to group up by breed. Yes, it can work, but my most “harmonious” flocks have been those similar in color and size. I know that sounds funny, but, I’ve seen it many times in my flocks. I’ve never had chickens, and I know that doesn’t seem to be an issue w chickens based on what I’ve read and what my chicken keeping friends have told me.... but my turkey and duck experience has led me to sticking w one variety per coop as much as possible.
If you are able to provide a larger yard attached to the 6x8 “coop”, you could absolutely go with more ducks.
If you are planning to use the a frame as a “tractor” and that will be their main space... I don’t think that would be sufficient, personally.
Because.
Ducks are very messy w their water. And. My understanding is that they need a pool to maintain their feathers (esp the oils on their feathers, which helps them manage temperature fluctuations and be more resistant to pests) properly (and for breeding, should you decide to get a drake)
I keep a couple of 3’ kiddie pools in my run, they are big enough for several ducks (probably about 1, 3’ pool for 6-7 ducks at the most), and not a huge pain to dump, clean, and re fill every other day or two.
I also have a 5gal bucket that I took a 2” hole saw to, made 2 holes (aligned vertically), and cut out in between the holes to make about 5 ovals that are about 4” tall x 2” wide. The lower side of the opening is about 5” above the bottom of the bucket. I clean that out and add water twice a day; it allows them to have fresh water if I haven’t had time to clean their pools out, is deep enough that they can dunk their face to clean their nares (nostrils), they can’t really poop in it lol- and it stays in the coop.
They have constant access to oyster shells and grit. I feed always in the coop. Twice a day. Crumbles, a bit of rolled oats (dry oatmeal), and a few ground up brewers yeast tablets (labeled for dogs, from my feed store, to add niacin to promote circulation and foot health)
Red cabbage and collard greens finely chopped and added to a dish w water are my ducks’ favorite treats.
We let them out to free range whenever we are home, and they don’t tend to stray far from their run (unlike the turkeys )
And my ducks always are happy to come in for bedtime knowing that dinner is served in there.
Sorry for the long post. Just my 2c