Hi! New member from SoCal

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The House on Ranch Creek

In the Brooder
Apr 22, 2025
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Hi! I have 4 (3 mo. old) call ducks and will be getting 7 baby chicks soon (as well as some more baby ducklings)! I fell hard into love with my call ducks and now I am going all in! Our coop will be done getting built this week and can't wait to get my ducks settled in. The chickens I ordered will be a Splash Laced Red Wyandotte, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, French Wheaten Maran, Green Queen Bantam, Olive Egger, and 2 Bantam Frizzle Eaters Eggers. Besides my new love for feathered animals, I have a Dachshund and 2 cats. I enjoy fostering animals any time I am able to. I am a stay at home mom of two school aged daughters living on 2 acres in southern Ca. I also enjoy crafting and anything DIY. I have enjoyed all the amazing and insightful information I have been reading and would love to become more engaged in this amazing community. Thanks for stopping by to read my "Hello!" ; )
 
Like to welcome you here to BYC. :frow
You may learn that keeping chickens and ducks together is not always easy. Often problems arise when drakes try to harm chickens.
You may have to provide separate housing to keep peace in your flocks.
Additionally, Ducks do enjoy water pools. That gets challenging to keep clean,, unless small, and emptied often.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and :welcome
 
cavemanrich said:
Like to welcome you here to BYC. :frow
You may learn that keeping chickens and ducks together is not always easy. Often problems arise when drakes try to harm chickens.
You may have to provide separate housing to keep peace in your flocks.
Additionally, Ducks do enjoy water pools. That gets challenging to keep clean,, unless small, and emptied often.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and :welcome
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info! My coop is 10 x 10 with a 10 x 20 enclosed run and during most days all the chickens/ ducks will be in a quarter acre sized fenced area with a pond. Basically they will only be in close quarters at night. With a camera I might add : ) Do you think that will help alleviate problems? Will a small drake go after a larger chicken even with female duck options? Sorry for all the questions, still learning and really appreciate any/all input! ; )
 
I have zero experience with call ducks, and I know many people have had trouble with drakes attacking chicken hens. But, I have never had any incidents with my runner duck drakes trying to breed chickens (although the rowdy boys over-mate the duck hens every spring!)

My ducks, chickens and geese all "free range" together during the day but are housed separately at night. Because they love water, ducks are So Much Messier than chickens, so it's a kindness to the chickens not to share sleeping quarters with their sloppy "friends."

Ducks have far fewer housing requirements than chickens, so while I have actual coops for the chickens, my ducks live in what used to be a chicken tractor -- it's essentially a rectangular "box," framed with lumber and wrapped with hardware cloth to allow ventilation and prevent predation. One half has metal roofing, although neither rain nor snow seems to bother the runners.

I am a huge fan of Bantams, and especially frizzles, but all of your flock choices sound great!

Welcome to BYC, and please keep us posted on how things are going!
 
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