DUCKS-CHICKENS CO-HABITAT?

[deb4o]

O.k. here is my situation, I have a nice coop and 9 layers(getting more in the spring) the coop has a nice fenced area and in the fencing is a little gate that when opened allows the girls to get to a 1/4 acre pasture so weather premitting they are free range. So last year I got 3 ducklings, long story short I now have one hen( quack-quack)she lives with the girls and seem very happy. We made her nest on the floor under the girls nests.

So now we want more ducks, quack is a mallard so we want to get her a friend and a drake and I would love another bred.

My question is this-can they all live in one coop or do I need to separate them? If I separate, I still would love for them to all be able to be in the small pasture during the day so at night how would I get them to go to thier perspective coops?

Is there any reason they can't all live together?

Thanks for any and all thoughts on this.

 

[Wildsky]

I have chickens and ducks together (muscovies) and they do fine, the ducks DO make a mess, and DO waste all the water, but it does work.
For a while my ducks insisted on sleeping UNDER the roost, and in the morning they'd have poop on their backs, but they don't do that anymore - and one of my female scovies actually gets up on the roost with the chickens (the roost is a fat flat plank of wood)

 

[big brown horse]

Mine did. (My ducks are now moved, but when they all lived together they got along fine.) A litte messy, but fine.

Though they are seperated now they still share the backyard during the day to roam freely.

 

[deb4o]

Thanks BBH and Wild, since my coop is large enough I think I will just for go building another one and let them all live together, why mess something that is working.,

 

[Cinebar]

I have chickens and ducks (also Muscovies) together and they do fine.

I keep a kiddie pool in the pen for the ducks and a regular poultry waterer available as well. Having the pool to splash in and make a mess around in makes them less inclined to mess with the waterer. They can't get in it (the waterer) anyway.

I also have a pond that some of my Muscovy hens fly out of the pen to visit (the drakes are too big and heavy to get their fat butts over the six-foot fence).

My ducks really don't spend much time in the coop at all, even in pouring rain, freezing temperatures, and snow. A few do roost with the chickens but, for the most part, only go in the coop to eat and lay eggs/make nests when it's time.

 

[deb4o]

Like you Cinebar I have a kiddy pool for quack, she loves it and it does keep her out of the drinking water, but I don't use it during the winter as it would freeze. So I have a kind of large pan for her to splash around in and I keep it in the coop.

So heres another question for all you duck people:do duck eggs look like chicken eggs? I mean other than size will the be alike? Sometimes my girls will lay an egg on the floor how will I know if its from one of them or from quack?

 

[Cinebar]

It's been awhile since I've had any ducks other than Muscovies and I can't really remember what the other eggs were like but.....

Muscovy eggs are larger, kind of an off-white color, with kind of a waxy look to them. Although most of my chickens lay either brown or blue eggs, I do have some mixed breed chickens whose egg color resembles that of the ducks.' Sometimes I have to look really closely to tell if it is a chicken egg or a small duck egg from a first-time layer.

I find the duck eggs much harder to crack (another indication). They are excellent in baking.

 

[deb4o]

from your discription Cinebar I haven't gotten any eggs from quack, oh well maybe some day.

I was thinking about Muscovy duck, do you like them? From what I have read they would be a great addition to our little farm.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i'll be the devils advocate.. move them ducks right on out! i let my 'scovy momma, Miss Dash, set her nest with the hens but i always let her out before the hens to have a quick bath and a monster broody poop OUTSIDE. and then she'd just toddle right back in and sit down.

she lived there with the babies until they didnt have to sleep under her then out she and the babies went. they are really really wet which isnt great for the hens (or my hen house wood floor!).

but they can share the pasture. my chickens dont love the ducks and chase them around.. so they dont mingle too much. and the ducks would rather be down on the pond.

one hard lesson we had: DONT let turkeys and ducks share a coop, building, or a pasture! the ducks are so wet they encourage cocci... we lost several poults and it was hard to get rid of. the ducks arent a susceptible as the turks.
:-(

and yep you can tell by picking up the duck eggs - they feel different...very smooth and silky. plus they are slightly larger and a different cream color than any of my hens.

good luck!

 

[Cinebar]

from your discription Cinebar I haven't gotten any eggs from quack, oh well maybe some day.

I was thinking about Muscovy duck, do you like them? From what I have read they would be a great addition to our little farm.

I love my Muscovies. They are much more personable and interactive than any other type of duck I've ever had.

I have one particular pet ("Little Ducky") who sleeps on my front porch not far from the door. She eats out my hand, comes when I call her, and will sneak into the house if she thinks no one is watching.

I have some babies that were hatched in the fall that momma didn't take care of and who I had to hand raise. When they were big enough, I moved them out to a big cage inside the chicken pen. When they were big enough to turn out with the other birds, I did so but every evening they come back to the cage when they see me out there feeding. They jump back into the cage all by themselves, little tails wagging, so I can lock them up for the night.

They're supposed to be excellent eating but I don't eat mine.

You're in Central Washington? If you ever get over this way, I'd be happy to set you up with some.