You made the right decision. As this is my first season for chickens and ducks, I now understand how us "feathered flock" owners fall in love with our critters!
Your story brought me to tears but good ones because your story is so wonderful and loving. Sorry you have health issues but you know your chickens still have a good life and you can concentrate on taking care of yourself. Blessings!
This article has some good facts about chicken behavior. Learned that some chickens will guard the nesting box so other chickens will have to lay their eggs somewhere else.
Good information especially about how fast ducklings grow and how messy they are. As with your experience, 16 ducks were too many for me. Lots of good tips about beginning to raise ducks. Thank you for your information!