[egbert]

Hi

As I am thinking about building a larger run, I was going to increase the number of chickens we have, however I have always wanted ducks . . .

Can ducks live in a pen or do they need more room? Can they share a pen with chickens? Before I got any I would obviously find out all about keeping them, but thought I would just start with you knowledgeable people anyway. 


Ta 

[jameslindsay]

They can all live in harmony but remember ducks are VERY messy and if you keep them together at night hens go higher at night so unless you have a seperate area for them chickens would pooh on top of your ducks. They will live in harmony however and ducks make brilliant pets.

[piggy]

Ours live together in the day but at night they go into seperate houses.

[doganjo]

I had mine together but the hens NEVER had clean drinking water, nor clean beds(not all of my hens roost) so I made a separate pen and house for the ducks.  Now they can dibble to their hearts content.  They also get out to roam the front half acre paddock with a stream running through it and shrubs on a slope so the hens can scratch and scrape muck onto the grass so it's difficult to mow

[whitby_sam]

Ours are together (along with the geese too) free ranging all day and then go to their separate houses at night. Ducks and geese share, chooks have their own. They all seem to get on OK with only the occasional raised voices and one of our chooks even lays in the duck/goose house.

[northfifeduckling]

same here, 2 houses, one easy maintenance, one messy! All freeranging during the day. the chickens go to bed at 8 , the ducks at half 11, that's the only time the ducks can be sure to get any food