JennieLamb
Chirping
- Aug 28, 2023
- 36
- 67
- 69
We have 50 chickens including our new hatch, our red bourbon turkeys are separate.... However we have two ducks that are in with all of our chickens and they've done really well we learned not to put open water containers inside the coop and just have a big 5 gallon waterer and it stopped them from making a mess in our Coop. The ducks also have a kiddie pool outside that they like to splash around in and then there's a second open water basin for the rest of the chickens. They go back and forth and drink from the kiddie pool sometimes, and we haven't really had any issues with it as we clean it regularly and use a scrub brush on it but no cleaning agents. There was one sad little black sex link left at Tractor Supply and we went and picked up our first three chickens which were silkies.... It has been being picked on by the other chickens so they had actually put it in with the ducks... So I let my daughter pick out one of the ducks that was nearest the chick and of course we took the check and a duck home and they all grew up together.... The sex Link (peanut), the silkie roo (fluffy) female silkie (A-ko)and the duck (Jemima puddle duck) are all their own small separate flock/clique and keep themselves in the corner of the coop. They don't roost, they just all nestle together. My daughter talked me into getting another duck (Banana) which turned out to be a male and they're now like a mated pair! Similar to the two silkies! Is this bad???? Or just weird? We also raised our Blue Australorps with Guinea Keets and they all stick together as well since they were raised together.... Oh, and then...theres our single bronze broad breasted turkey (Turducken) there was originally 10 of them but unfortunately once they were outside and around the age of 8 weeks one of the turkeys became lethargic with labored breathing, of course I took it inside put it in the turkey hospital and the next day it seemed more lethargic so I went to go syringe feed probiotics and when I cried open his beak I noticed there was a piece of blue plastic stuck in his throat I had to pry his beak open and pull the plastic out. Unfortunately after keeping him for observation the following day when I went to reintegrate him the other nine turkeys had broken a piece of their enclosure and escaped and they never came back I'm sure at this point they have either become wild or unfortunately were eaten by a predator. So of course Turducken is now a pet, but I didn't want him by himself and he exists peacefully with our 31 chickens, 2 ducks, and 4 guineas. Turducken is AFRAID of our easter egger roo and if I walk up to the outdoor enclosure he runs to greet me! He always likes to follow me out of the coop and wanders around with our two dogs. Is this odd that we have a turkey two ducks and four guineas living together with 31 chickens and they all get along fine? Should I be concerned about turducken eventually trying to mate with the hens and this causing problems? When the rest of our turkeys are bigger should I try to move him to the turkey enclosure? (I should note that we essentially have three roosters, a male duck and a male turkey in the flock of 38 birds all in one coop with no issues, the coop is an old single door garage gardening shed that can fit a full size vehicle, that we converted)
