I just finished watching Mark's latest video, . I figured that here was the best place to discuss this matter.
I'm not an expert on poultry by any means but there's a few things I do know about which are relevant to Mark's situation.
1. Drakes, especially younger ones, can be extremely randy to keep it polite. If there's not enough female ducks around for them they will attempt to mate with anything else that seems suitable, and if kept with chickens, they may see the chickens as fair game. The problem with this is that drakes are not anatomically suitable for chickens, to a terrible degree, in fact it's a bit of a horror story if you're not a female duck. When attempting to mate with chickens, sometimes the drake can inadvertently kill the chicken in the process. Even when the chickens survive the trauma, it can sometimes leave the chickens unable to breed and can cause complications for the chicken with laying eggs or even pooping in the future. This isn't always the case, and some drakes won't even take an interest in chickens, they all have their own personalities and different breeds have different traits, but as a general rule, if you're going to keep a drake, keep plenty of girls for him and don't lock him up with the chickens. Some duck breeds are smaller than some chicken breeds, and when small ducks are with large chickens, it's much less likely to cause a problem, but a large drake without a lot of ducks to choose from and a smaller available chicken that can't get away from him, is most likely going to result in a very bad outcome for the chicken.
2. Ducks will move their nests from one place to another if they feel that their nest isn't completely safe where it is. Chickens can sometimes be a little bit territorial and they have a strong inclination to insist upon pecking order, and ducks don't care much for pecking orders, so if a duck is trying to nest near chickens, the chickens may harass the duck in their attempt to put the duck into their pecking order, making the duck feel that it's nesting place is not safe. The more a duck moves it's nest around, the more likely the hatching rate for the eggs will fail. When breeding ducks, they really need to be given a quiet isolated spot so they can feel safe from any interference.
A lot of people have been able to successfully house chickens and ducks together. However, it's not always as clear cut as many people make it out to be.
Some questions I have about keeping ducks and chickens together...
1. How many ducks and chickens do you have and what breeds are they?
2. Do you have a drake among them?
3. What size are the drakes compared to the chickens?
4. How is your housing set up? Do the ducks and chickens have their own areas for breeding season with a shared roaming area? Do they have separate sleeping areas?
5. How old were the ducks and chickens when they were introduced to each other and how did you do it?
6. Do you have a rooster that protects the chickens from the drakes?
7. What time in the morning do you open the poultry house to let them free range and better get away from each other?
I know all these things can dramatically change the experience of keeping mixed poultry, and sometimes just altering or neglecting to mention one detail, can turn a positive thing into a horror story. So I'd love to see anyone that knows more chime in on this topic, especially anyone that has successfully housed ducks and chickens together, exactly how, in detail please, did you do it?
I'm not an expert on poultry by any means but there's a few things I do know about which are relevant to Mark's situation.
1. Drakes, especially younger ones, can be extremely randy to keep it polite. If there's not enough female ducks around for them they will attempt to mate with anything else that seems suitable, and if kept with chickens, they may see the chickens as fair game. The problem with this is that drakes are not anatomically suitable for chickens, to a terrible degree, in fact it's a bit of a horror story if you're not a female duck. When attempting to mate with chickens, sometimes the drake can inadvertently kill the chicken in the process. Even when the chickens survive the trauma, it can sometimes leave the chickens unable to breed and can cause complications for the chicken with laying eggs or even pooping in the future. This isn't always the case, and some drakes won't even take an interest in chickens, they all have their own personalities and different breeds have different traits, but as a general rule, if you're going to keep a drake, keep plenty of girls for him and don't lock him up with the chickens. Some duck breeds are smaller than some chicken breeds, and when small ducks are with large chickens, it's much less likely to cause a problem, but a large drake without a lot of ducks to choose from and a smaller available chicken that can't get away from him, is most likely going to result in a very bad outcome for the chicken.
2. Ducks will move their nests from one place to another if they feel that their nest isn't completely safe where it is. Chickens can sometimes be a little bit territorial and they have a strong inclination to insist upon pecking order, and ducks don't care much for pecking orders, so if a duck is trying to nest near chickens, the chickens may harass the duck in their attempt to put the duck into their pecking order, making the duck feel that it's nesting place is not safe. The more a duck moves it's nest around, the more likely the hatching rate for the eggs will fail. When breeding ducks, they really need to be given a quiet isolated spot so they can feel safe from any interference.
A lot of people have been able to successfully house chickens and ducks together. However, it's not always as clear cut as many people make it out to be.
Some questions I have about keeping ducks and chickens together...
1. How many ducks and chickens do you have and what breeds are they?
2. Do you have a drake among them?
3. What size are the drakes compared to the chickens?
4. How is your housing set up? Do the ducks and chickens have their own areas for breeding season with a shared roaming area? Do they have separate sleeping areas?
5. How old were the ducks and chickens when they were introduced to each other and how did you do it?
6. Do you have a rooster that protects the chickens from the drakes?
7. What time in the morning do you open the poultry house to let them free range and better get away from each other?
I know all these things can dramatically change the experience of keeping mixed poultry, and sometimes just altering or neglecting to mention one detail, can turn a positive thing into a horror story. So I'd love to see anyone that knows more chime in on this topic, especially anyone that has successfully housed ducks and chickens together, exactly how, in detail please, did you do it?
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