What should I feed ducks and chickens?
Image by knitting iris
e spreading scatch grains to the chickens, a couple of evenings before we butchered 23 of them.
Question by Austin M: What should I feed ducks and chickens?
I am going to have chickens and ducks in the same pen. will the ducks be alright to eat the chicken feed.
What do you think? Answer below!
11 Responses to What should I feed ducks and chickens?
Leave a Reply
I would get some duck feed along with the chicken scatch from the feed store. I had chickens and then put a duck in with them in a large area. The duck was a male and killed my chickens trying to mate with them, so be careful, ducks can be ‘not so nice’ at mating time!
Suzyq
October 12, 2011 at 10:51 am
Get them chicken feed. They will also eat worms. Dig some up in the backyard.
BigBug
October 12, 2011 at 11:34 am
Yes ducks can eat chicken food. Though there are a couple of issues you should consider when keeping both in the same pen. Most domestic breeds of ducks are prolific breeders, they are not monogamous. Many of the males of domestic breeds are also not picky about what they will breed or try to breed. Ducks and chickens will not cross breed. This doesn’t mean that a male duck would still not try to breed with a chicken. The problem that occurs is a male duck can injure and even kill a chicken if he copulates with her. Water fowl breed in a more traditional sense being the males have a penis, poultry like most all birds breed by vent rubbing. Domesticated mallards and pekin are 2 breeds I would not recommend putting in the same pen as chickens. Another thing to address would be how much pen space you have. With a large enough water source as well as ground space, typically chickens and ducks will segrigate them self, ducks primarily staying around the water and chickens staying mostly in scratching areas. To have a pen such as this would make it fairly large,,,, about a 1,000 square feet.
ddstantlerstill
October 12, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Duck and chicken feed is almost identical (I asked at my feed store one time). So they can eat the same thing. But ducks are primarily vegetarians so be sure to give them grasses and even weeds. Our ducks eat very little duck food since they are grown. They mostly roam around the yard eating greens and bugs. Be sure they all have plenty of water, 24/7. You may have some problems with the ducks being in with the chickens. Ducks can be very aggressive with other animals, including chickens. Ours even chase the squirrels….and they mean business. The only duck we have that is not aggressive is our Cayuga, and we raised him as a pet, and he is very docile. ….
MamaSmurf
October 12, 2011 at 1:11 pm
As long as its not medicated chick starter than they should be fine. But I do recommend getting Flock feed. Its food for Chicken, Ducks, Geese and Turkeys. It is prob the best food for your chickens/ducks to have seeing as you are keeping them in the same pen.
I hope this helped.
PERFECT POMS!
October 12, 2011 at 1:34 pm
ducks will be fine with the chicken feed.
and chickens will be fine with duck feed.
they will be fine together.
i keep all my poultry together.
ducks, geese, chickens. turkeys, pheasants, peacocks, swans.
i even keep rabbits with them.
ps: dont worry about the ducks with chickens.they get along fine.
just worry about a rosster with a duck.
cowboy
October 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Ducks and Chickens CAN eat the same feed as adults. Ducks need more water so you will have to fill up there water pans up frequently. Both can also have treats of ONLY fruits and veggies. NO peppers, garlic, oil/greasy foods, and onions though.
I warn you that keeping males in the same pen with the chickens is a bad idea, males will attack the chickens and try to mate with them and ends up hurting them. So I would only keep females in wit the chickens or make a separate breweding pen for the ducks.
There are also different needs for ducks. Ducks need a doghouse or something to that effect to lay eggs in or make a square barrier and put it in a corner with straw in an area somthing like this
http://www.greatnorthern.net/~dye/muscov-nest2(Perkins).jpg
SO easy access for the ducks. While chickens need nest boxes up high like so:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/2055776545_69241e404e.jpg
or
http://www.milkandhoneyfarm.com/sheep/chickens/nesting_box.jpg
Chickens need a roost to rooost on as well because they feel safe up high. like this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/252/443880209_fc5df4b34a.jpg
or simply a wooden rod going across the pen.
I own both chickens and ducks and I feed them treats in a plate that has thawed peas, diced romane lettuce, diced tomatoes, and watermelon peices
If you have any Qs you need to know ask me
bethbethani@yahoo.com
beth
October 12, 2011 at 2:55 pm
I raised my chickens with my ducks and they get a long very well. They even huddle to one another when it gets cold out. They eat the same food. I gave them meat bird starter then put them all on a laying mix. They do just fine. They also love any breads, grains and veggies you might have laying around or going bad in the frig. The males of any species can become agressive. Keep an eye out, but you will know if there is a problem. No worries, and enjoy them!
Good luck.
-
October 12, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Well, they could eat chicken feed, but their natural food are grains like rice and types of soybeans. It depens on where you live though. I would recomend this if you are keeping it as a pet. If you are going to eat it though, chicken feed will be ok.
david k
October 12, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Yes ducks can eat chicken food. I have two
Adora and Yakira they eat chicken food mixed with wheat and sunflower seeds.
They live in a chicken coop and love it! They also bath in a inflatable kiddies pool.
They are aloud to swim every second day. Ducks are great for pets just like Adora and Yakira,
I hope you have a wonderful time with your ducks.
Eboni
June 8, 2012 at 4:41 pm
We have 7 chicken hens and 4 roosters in the same pen with 2 cayuga ducks … all are different breeds , and 3 of the roosters are going to the freezer soon … The ducks get along fine with them ,, but we cannot tell what sex the ducks are ,,, and they have always acted like a pair … so what are they ???
Buck
December 6, 2012 at 3:08 pm