I wanted to tell you I didn't mean how do you tell grown chickens apart from the girls and boysI meant baby ones.

Hi Genny,
here's a link about sexing chicks. From my limited experience the boy's combs are bigger and redder as they grow and the behavior (more sparring, tough guy stuff). As they get older the cockerels have longer legs and the feathers on their necks (hackle feathers) get longer and pointy tips.

I currently have 30 chickens, my 4 ducks presently share the coop at night with them and range in the yard during the day together. The ducks do just fine with the chickens, haven't had one problem. The ducks for sure will slightly dominate but overall there is perfect harmony between the two. Oddly enough my collie is terrorized by one of my drakes "Archie" he literally will chase the dog right out of the poultry yard with her tail between her legs!

-Sheila

Here is a link that might be useful: sexing baby chicks

OK, thanks sullicorbett. We thought about getting some oneday. But, where do you get your at? The last ducks we got from tradeday and they almost died, but thank goodness were were able to save them all but one :( I don't wantr to get a few baby chicks at tradeday and bring them home and they be sick too!

The first batch we ordered from ideal, this past spring I ordered hatching eggs and bought an incubator etc. so I hatched my own. You can ask your feed store too, they usually can order whatever is available at the hatcheries and you don't have to worry about minimum of 25 chicks etc.

You also could find a breeder in your area?

-Sheila

OK cool! How much does it cost to just ask your local feed store? I might rather try that. I don't know anyone at all that breeds them where I live......

My male duck is mean to EVERYONE, and my chicken is no exception. He chases her just like he chases the rest of us. He's a mean duckie!!

really? Well, I really would rather have some chickens--I don't really want roosters, because I don't want any babies--I just want to have them as pets.

We had a problem with keeping the ducks and chickens together in the same coop. We had Rhode Island Reds and Moscovie Ducks. The ducks ended up on the loosing end of the stick. The hens wouldn't let the female ducks set in the nests. It could be that the two breeds were an exception, I've heard that both breeds are concidered aggressive for their species.

Also the hens harrassed the ducks and ducklings. If the ducks fought back the rooster got involved in the fight. I had one duck who took the rooster on. Ducks wrestle while chickens fight with claws. The rooster always won with his spurs, he used them freely. But that female duck really gave it her best shot.

I don't think that I will keep the two flocks together next summer. The chickens will go into a chicken tractor, as soon as I get one built. That's more for the protection of my garden than anything else. Chickens were murder on my garden again this year.

Goodness! I didn't know chickens and ducks fought like that! I might just not get any. It was just something I wanted to do for fun. I love chickens, because my grandpa use to have some when he was small and he loved them so much! But, since I've got ducks and all I may just wait--

thanks everybody!

I have 2 male ducks and 4 hens...all living in the same fenced in space. there's 2 ponds and they each have their own house for night safety. (one duck house and 1 henhouse) they live great together..there is enough space for everyone to get along I guess,or maybe it's that the ducks are male,and they think they control their hens!! :) either way,they all get along fine. Only thing is at treat time,i have to give the ducks theirs on one side,and the hens on the other side to avoid spats. other than that, all is peaceful and we really enjoy watching them..awsome to have!

Does anyone know what to do with a stranded domestic male duck? a friend of mine lives next door to a family that moved away and left the duck...alone with no shelter or anything. I can't take him cause I have 2 ducks and don't want to aggrivate the peaceful situation. Is there a duck rescue or anything? Or is anyone interrested in rescuing him? I am in quebec...Rigaud...

I bought 50 lb bag of crushed oyster shell for my hens..on the bag is warning that the dust can cause respiratory diseases and lung cancer,and not to let the product touch your skin,eyes ect...it scares me to think this is such a dangerous product. does anyone else know of this or use oyster shells?? Please let me know....

Keep in mind that warning lables are useually trumped up, the only reason all of those warnings are on the product is to cover the manufactures ass, don't take in a lung full of the dust, breathing any dust of any sort can cause lung cancer and will certainly give you a cought for a few weeks, I was digging in very dry clay right beside the house to install some new window wells and I had a nasty cought for three years, just cleared up a few months ago.

Back to Ducks and chickens - we have 4 Indian Runners (2 M's, 2 F's as it happened) and 2 buff orpington pullets. They're all about the same age - (5 mos.) and were raised near each other since chicks/ducklings. We always used to think of those fuzzy little ducklings as passive and happy. No more. They're okay togethr in the caged pen, though the buffies have learned to give the ducks a wide berth, and while there's ample space in the coop at night, from the beginning the ducks would peck at the hens trying to roost (they're perches were only a few feet high since we clipped the pullet's wings at first). We finally had to build a 3 foot high partition to separate the space and discourage the ducks from bothering the buffies. Eventually the buffies wings grew in enough so that they could roost higher. In response, the ducks felt threatened and in collaborative mutiny, refused to go into the coop at night. We had a heck of a time herding them in. Finally, we resorted to clipping the buffies again just enough to keep them roosting lower. Like second graders, sheesh!

We have our own version of "Archi", too! No sooner than Rudy developed his drake feathers, then he became quite 'sure of himself' as well. We keep our 4 African geese in the pen during the day. They have GOT to be 2 -3 times the size of Rudy, but that didn't stop him. He got his dander up toward one of the geese one day, latched on to her posterior in a death grip, and off she spun, waddling and wailing to the top of her lungs with Rudy half waving-half dragging behind her like a loose diaper. We watched in amazement until Lincoln (the gander) intervened. Was quite the scene!

The farm gal we got our ducks from had both chickens and ducks living harmoniously. When we wrote to her about the predicament, she was quite puzzled. Perhaps if you had only ducks and hens (all females) things would be better.

This is only our experience of course. ItÂs manageable, but doubtful we'll underestimate the nerve of a duck again. Sure makes us think twice about adding a rooster.

on the oyster shells, they are not required for chickens or ducks to digest food, all they need is grit! just plain ole dirt, you can get that by digging the dirt, we use it for ours, i suggest, if you dirt have dirt bottom on chickens cage, to get cat litter pan, and fill it with dirt daily, chickens will get the little pebbles out, to digest food,