Can hens and ducks share the same house?

[Salle de Bain]

Hi everyone,

Some older, and experienced fowl keepers have told me yes I can lock them up together, but I can't help thinking that the chickens would be directly above the ducks when sleeping. Therefore, wouldn't their droppings land on the ducks?

Is there also a consideration re: transferrable diseases or infestations?

Will they not get on in a confined space together anyway?

I notice that duck houses are a different design to hen houses....not sure why though.

Can anyone help:confused:......thank you.....

[Oola]

I think the main problem with ducks is that they are very messy in their houses, and the hygiene for the hens can be an issue. My chickens love drinking water from puddles, so I imagine if we had a pond they'd drink from that too. My gut instinct is that on a smallish pond, the ducks would foul up the water, and the hens would drink from it and could get ill.

Also there's the issue of shutting them in at night. Hens want to perch up high and ducks don't, I'm not sure how you could find a house that would have the space for both. I've not kept ducks, only a friend had an Aylesbury that had a shed as it's sleeping quarters! And yes, I would imagine that the chickens would foul up the duck's nests, if my chicken's night time monster poos are anything to go by.

One other consideration is avian flu. How would they cope being shut in a run together? It's a small possibility but still one that could happen.

I imagine they could run together in the garden but as far as housing goes, I think they have slightly different needs so should be housed separately if you're not able to build your own bespoke coop.

[littlemiss]

i found that its not so much the problem of going together in housing but if they are let out into a run together, in my old henhouse i had a piece of wood run along over the nesting area under the perches with newspaper on to make cleaning easy, the ducks had a roof over their little heads and it kept the nests clean, problem is that ducks will paddle down an area to complete grassless soggy sludge if they are confined though a moveable ark will stop this, i also found that they didnt cause as much havoc in the garden/veg patch as chickens (they graze grass instead of scratching everything up like chooks), also with ducks they do really need water they can climb into and submerge their little heads, not a necessity for chickens who prefer a dust bath, in my experience its geese who are far to grumpy and superior to share with other birds (or pigs, sheep, horses and people for that matter) especially if there are eggs involved! as long as any poultry area is kept clean and free from mites and lice etc there is no reason why they cant co exist, its more their daytime needs that differ x

[lily]

My neighbour has several breeds of duck plus chickens all sharing the same house. I have noticed some poultry keeping books advise separate quarters , OH (medical) is in agreement to minimise cross infection.

[SummerSkye]

I kept ducks and hens in a house together. I had large Sussex hens & a rooster which shouldn't roost anyway because of their weight and kept hay on the floor which was raked through daily to remove waste. The ducks kept to one side and the hens the other. Not having to lock them in at night, the ducks were free to come and go as they pleased. We had their run in about half acre of orchard with a large separate swim area for the ducks.