In small farms there is an urgent need to save space. There are few poultry houses, or even only one, but at the same time for greater profit it is necessary to breed different birds. The question arises: is it possible to create an ecosystem in which birds can get along with different families with different needs. Let's figure it out.
Content difficulties
The main difficulty in keeping chickens and ducks in one barn is the difference in their lifestyle.
Joint walking
For walking, you need a spacious room to avoid clashes between birds due to limited space. In the warm season it is just a fenced yard, in which birds walk in small groups. In general, both species are not conflicting, but if the skirmish has occurred, then the birds need to be isolated from each other for a while. In order to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, it is necessary to carefully select the bird before purchase, paying attention to its nature.
Did you know? A bad example is contagious. If one bird behaves aggressively towards others, then over time, a good half of the herd will begin to imitate it. Even if before the appearance of "hooligan" everyone behaved approximately.
Domestic waterfowl certainly need a pond on the territory of their walking area. Regular water treatments have a positive effect on their health and egg production.
If there is no natural reservoir near your house where ducks can swim freely, we recommend building a small poultry pond with your own hands.
Joint poultry house
Of course, ducks love water, and chickens, on the contrary, it is preferable to have dry bedding. In addition, many breeders note that common drinking bowls are becoming a problem place: ducks not only drink, but also splash, splashing chickens and spreading damp around. Then the mallards calmly bathe in the same drinking bowls, becoming clean and contented, but the chickens after the “shower” become dirty and walk like that until the owner has them washed. And at the same time and removes the water splashed around.
Some owners are trying to divide the places for swimming and drinking different birds, organizing ducks with water troughs, and drinking water and ash baths for chickens. But the meaning of the latter is that chickens clean feathers with dry ash. And as soon as the wet mallards are there, the ash becomes wet and only soils the birds.
As for the livability of the characters, then most likely the birds will not be at enmity between themselves. They get used to each other and sometimes even sleep alternately, not distinguishing where whose nest is.
It is interesting to find out how useful and how tasty it is to cook duck meat.
Content sharing
If we consider the practical side of the issue, the positive and negative sides will be 50/50. Therefore, in any case, the final decision remains with the owner of the farm. If you believe the specialized forums on the Internet, then not all the owners, faced with the need to share the content of chickens and ducks, consider this experience to be negative.
Important! Despite the fact that ducks are waterfowl, they do not tolerate moisture and may cause aspergillosis due to it.
Benefits
- There is no need to equip several poultry houses.
- Reduced heating costs.
- It is easier to keep an eye on one house than two.
- The ventilation device will be needed only once (although it must be powerful).
Check out the best practices for breeding ducks at home.
disadvantages
- It is necessary to change litter more often (ducks like to splash in water and will create additional moisture).
- It is necessary to control the feeding of birds, even separately, because ducks can eat someone else's food.
- If suddenly the birds do not get along together, their indicators will fall: egg production will decrease, they will not gain weight.
- Chickens love bright lighting and are carried in the light, while ducks prefer more secluded conditions for laying eggs. This moment will have to be considered when setting up the lighting in the joint house.
Shared Content Rules
Many experienced poultry farmers advise to leave, if necessary, chickens and ducks for wintering together. And in the spring - to resettle waterfowl in an open-air cage in the open air.
Did you know? Ducks - not so sissies at all. Sometimes the bird lives quietly in the winter in an unheated barn, where even the water is covered with ice, and at the same time bears eggs.
Fencing zone
It is best to divide the house into two independent pens using a metal grid, or place two enclosures in the same room. The ideal option would be to create separate cages for each bird, but, alas, financially it is very expensive. 
Zoning will help create the most comfortable conditions for each species. Chickens can add light, and ducks put the bath for swimming. In addition, separation means separate feeding, and this is important - the birds have a different diet, and voracious ducks are not averse to profit from someone else's feeder.
Arrangement of the house
First of all, taking into account the expected dampness of the room, high-quality ventilation is necessary in the house. The influx of fresh air will not allow pathogens to multiply and there will be no stagnation in the house. In addition: the fact that ducks live constantly in wet conditions is a common misconception. They also need cleanliness and dry bedding, like other birds.
To equip the most comfortable home for your birds, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the stages of building a house.
It is also necessary to ensure that there are no drafts in the room. Birds, especially waterfowl, quickly catch cold.
The next item is the roost. For the organization of chicken perches, it is best to raise the floor: so the litter will be kept dry and clean longer. In addition, chickens love hills, and there is a chance that they will not confuse their duck nests, creating additional difficulties for the owner. 
For ducks, it is preferable to arrange a mesh floor with a mesh size of 24 cm in length and width and a rod thickness of 2 mm (minimum value). The grid is located along the wall and occupies about two-thirds of the total allotment of the paddock. The distance from the floor to the net is 30 cm. Under the netting you can lay needles collected by yourself. Bird's nests will be located on the grid, below, because ducks love secluded shaded places for laying eggs.
Important! Make one grid edge moveable for easy cleaning.
Keep in mind that if you have indiotki, they will need additional seating. They do not like to spend a lot of time on the ground, so roosting is also necessary for them. For example, spread out around the perimeter of small logs.
Domestic waterfowl, put the bath for bathing, and chickens - ash bath, with which birds clean feathers and get rid of parasites.
Prevention
- Frequently inspect the premises for parasites.
- Perform periodic acaricidal disinfection of the house.
- Change litter as often as possible.
- Do not forget about the level of humidity and temperature.
Feeding features
In any mixed herd there are leaders. In our case, it is a duck. If it is not possible to organize completely separate feeding of the species, the ducks are fed first.
We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the features of the rationing for chickens and ducks.
Feeders should be equipped with wooden grids with a cell of at least 10 cm - birds should be able to get food, but not scatter it. This design is due to the difference in diet between chickens and ducks. 
To keep the drinkers separate, just set them at different heights: taller for chickens and on the floor for ducks.
It is useful to know how to build a drinking bowl and a feeder for chickens from scrap materials.
Do not be afraid to experiment. Cohabitation of chickens and ducks will not cause you disastrous inconvenience and will not ruin you - of course, subject to compliance with all the above simple recommendations. The most important thing - do not allow dampness and drafts, so that the bird does not hurt. And the rest of the nuances will be resolved in the process.
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