I have a couple duck questions!

[ldrchickens]

Hey guys. Hows everyone been? Been absent for a while but i am back! As some of yall know I Now have 4 ducks that somehow jumped in my cart at TSC a while back. My first question is I have read about them needing constant supply of water. Duh they are ducks i know lol but it is so their membranes do not dry out. I am wanting to combine my ducks and chickens to make space in the yard and was wondering if ducks can go all night long with out water like the chickens. I will have a pool they can access I just dont want the whole coop getting soaked. My second question is If it turns out that i have more then one male out of the four are they still able to co-ihabit the same spaces during breeding season? Thanks!

 

[Jpat]

Ducklings are hard to pass up!

They definitly dont need water overnight, Everything will be dryer!

Never heard of a membrane drying out in ducks, Except for while hatching

They should have water all day and especialy with food


Male ducks can hurt chickens because ducks have penises and roosters dont. So it can cause internal damage

 

[ldrchickens]

Ducklings are hard to pass up!

They definitly dont need water overnight, Everything will be dryer!

Never heard of a membrane drying out in ducks, Except for while hatching

They should have water all day and especialy with food


Male ducks can hurt chickens because ducks have penises and roosters dont. So it can cause internal damage

Ya idk I read somewhere about needing water to keep their nasil membranes moist or something. I always keep their food close to water for sure! Wow I never even new that they would try to mate with chickens! I guess I will keep them separate!

 

[aesch]

Welcome back. I have a mixed duck and chicken flock and don't have any problems at all. If they're full grown there shouldn't be a problem. If not, well ducklings scurry faster than hens can run. Lol. I fill two medium size pools and they all drink from that. No water at night, they'll be just fine.

 

[ldrchickens]

Welcome back. I have a mixed duck and chicken flock and don't have any problems at all. If they're full grown there shouldn't be a problem. If not, well ducklings scurry faster than hens can run. Lol. I fill two medium size pools and they all drink from that. No water at night, they'll be just fine.

Thank you! Thats what i was thinking but just was not sure. I mean they gotta sleep and dont go sleep drinking lol

 

[Jpat]

I have mixed without problems so far too but ide never recomend it to anyone

 

[Marieaa70]

Ya idk I read somewhere about needing water to keep their nasil membranes moist or something. I always keep their food close to water for sure! Wow I never even new that they would try to mate with chickens! I guess I will keep them separate!

Yes they do jump the hens , Its a male thing,
I keep both duck and hens in same building Hens go up on roost and duck stay on the floor at night, Open door and they free range all day, I keep water and feed at night in the building for both,

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have only ducks, no chickens but have read about the male duck on chicken problem countless times, not only here on BYC. It might be worse, when the duck to drake ratio is off.
My ducks have access to water 24 hours, their duck-platform has two separate bedrooms with thick straw/hay bedding to sleep, build nests and lay eggs and a large dining/living room where food, water and crushed oyster shells are available 24 hours.
If i have a bad day and forget to check the waterer before i herd the duckies inside and they run out of water during the night they are really crappy the next morning! They won't say »Quack morning«, just run out to their water bowls and the pool and drink like drainage pipes. And then they will complain at me half of the morning! Deafening!!
Don't know if my ducks are used to have access to water all the time, but i don't think so. Ducks are called waterfowl for a reason, in nature they do have access to drinking water 24x7…
Yes they can survive a night without water, but i don't think they like it and i doubt it is healthy if performed in the long run.

 

[Gerty0630]

If you don’t want to give the ducks water at night then just make sure you eliminate food as well. Food and water go hand in hand for ducks.

 

[Muscovy-palooza]

In the coop I use these poultry watering cups. Our ducks took to it just fine. In my case I put 3 evenly spaced on one side leaving the other side to push up against the wall. These cups cut down on a wet mess.
Re: multiple males, we started with three muscovy. Two turned out to be Male. There have been some pretty nasty fights for sure. When we had some others hatch here it really got crazy when so many turned out to be males. They were literally going to kill each other. We had to move all of the males out except our two special guys. We now have 7 girls to the two fellas. There is still a pecking order but it's a manageable. Now we get to do it all over with new hatchlings. Hope to be able to sex them earlier to sell the boys before they get too big and agressive.