Keeping ducks and chickens?

[currythecockerel]

Hi all! I need some advice about keeping muscovy ducks with chickens - we have rescued this (female?) muscovy who was stuck on the side of a foresty bank and are temporarily keeping her in our pen with two silkies - they seem to be getting along very well as the silkies have not minded at all.

My dad lives on a lifestyle block with 13 acres of land and 13 chickens (pictures #3 and 4), we were thinking about moving her there since theres so much space to free range on grass and bugs. However my concern lies with the cockerels as we have two grown roosters and 6 younger ones who I an pretty confident are males. Does anyone have experience with keeping female ducks with chickens/roosters? Will she get bullied or are they unlikely to show any interest?

Thanks so much for reading!

 

[igorsMistress]

While the roosters would likely leave her alone once everyone got to know each other, she would need her own friends. And she will leave if there are no friends like her. Muscovy can fly and will want others like them to mingle with. If you don’t plan on getting her some friends and providing a separate area for her and friends until they can all get used to each other, find her a home with someone who can and will provide the right conditions for her.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Honestly, female muscovies (as well as other female ducks) can be brutes if they choose to be. It sounds like your ratio is off for the chickens, but that you keep them all together?
Muscovy have claws, strong wings, a strong bill, and will attack a threat. I had a chicken jump over to the duck pen and she got feathers pulled by a muscovy hen. My ducks are kept separate from the chickens because we have a drake. Drakes can't always be trusted with chickens. We also have roosters. Males fight no matter what the species.
If your plans are to keep her, she would be more comfortable with another muscovy hen.
Observance is key. It might work since she's a lone hen. My muscovy hens like to venture into the chicken coop and will use the nest box given the chance.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Came back to add that muscovy hens are also very broody - as broody as silkies. So, just keep that in mind.

 

[currythecockerel]

While the roosters would likely leave her alone once everyone got to know each other, she would need her own friends. And she will leave if there are no friends like her. Muscovy can fly and will want others like them to mingle with. If you don’t plan on getting her some friends and providing a separate area for her and friends until they can all get used to each other, find her a home with someone who can and will provide the right conditions for her.

Thanks for the advice! Yeah that is a very true point, I do feel sorry that she is alone with no other ducks so currently we are deciding between purchasing more muscovys or rehoming her.

 

[currythecockerel]

Honestly, female muscovies (as well as other female ducks) can be brutes if they choose to be. It sounds like your ratio is off for the chickens, but that you keep them all together?
Muscovy have claws, strong wings, a strong bill, and will attack a threat. I had a chicken jump over to the duck pen and she got feathers pulled by a muscovy hen. My ducks are kept separate from the chickens because we have a drake. Drakes can't always be trusted with chickens. We also have roosters. Males fight no matter what the species.
If your plans are to keep her, she would be more comfortable with another muscovy hen.
Observance is key. It might work since she's a lone hen. My muscovy hens like to venture into the chicken coop and will use the nest box given the chance.

Yeah we currently have a few too many roos haha we are planning to give them away at some point soon, though they do all get along fine at the moment - thanks for the advice, we will likely get another muscovy hen and either move them to the lifestyle block together or rehome them together, so either way she has a companion

 

[currythecockerel]

Came back to add that muscovy hens are also very broody - as broody as silkies. So, just keep that in mind.

Oh that's interesting! I did notice that she seems to have a similar temperament to the silkies in general, so far they get on surprisingly well and the duck has been following the two hens around the coop

 

[Yardmom]

If a duck (including a Muscovy) doesn't have any of its own species to hang with, she will be content to hang with chickens. Over the years we have had a few ducks that preferred chickens to their own kind. One was from a breeder, (not sure why she had one duck) she was glad we were willing to brood the duckling with the chicks. Brooding her with chicks made her attached to the chickens. She would climb the steps into the chicken coop instead of staying with the other ducks at night.
Another was an older Muscovy drake. Unfortunately his Muscovy hens were taken by predators . Instead of joining the Mallard derived ducks at night he would go into Silkie coop at roosting time.