Chickens and ducks????

ive seen chickens and ducks housed together on another forum! I only have chickens but would love one of those black runner ducks at sonme point!

Hi Ping Ding,

I have just seen your post below and will try and help if and where I can.

It´s very difficult to say exactly what is wrong with your little Bantie and a trip to your local vet would be a good idea - and YES, they will charge you as he will be registered as a pet under your name, BUT it´s best that he get´s thoroughly examined so that they can rule out any nasty diseases such as Marek´s Disease, Rickets (Calcium & Vit D3 deficiency) etc.

Meanwhile, it´s still in the air whether or not poultry are susceptible to strokes and many a poultry keeper often ask this question without finding the answer one way or another.

Firstly, have you held him and given him a good check over for any sign´s of external parasite´s such as mites or lice ?????.

It would be good if you check around his vent area and look out for tell tale signs of any whitish crusty looking egg clusters (which would indicate mites) or anything tiny generally crawling over him as these parasites can be very draining on any chook!.

If you find any sign´s of bugs, then I recommend that you get some Louse/Mite powder (Barrier Heathcare do a very good one) and treat according to the instructions - make sure you dust any other birds too and treat the hen house as well.

A sick bird often benefits from a change of diet and many a poultry keeper will always recommend a well tried and trusted convalescence diet known as the ´Rickets Diet´.

Feed the birds once a day for three days or until you feel the bird is looking and acting better – usually 3 weeks and the amount given below feeds one bird.

Each serving consists of:

½ to 1 x cooked egg yolk… crumbled into mixture.
1 teaspoon of cod liver oil.
1 very small drizzle of honey.
2 x tablespoons natural yoghurt – no sugar.
2 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats or Baby rice.
1 dessertspoon of beef tin cat food…… Not dog food.
A few grains of Multivitamin powder such as SA37 or another reputable Multivitamin powder.
2 tablespoons of grated apple.

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny, if you have to roll into small pellets and force feed, gently massaging the neck in a downward motion to get it down into the crop - use this method only if the bird may be too weak to eat or has lost the desire to eat.

Always have fresh clean water available at all times for the bird and good quality food, that´s dust free and not been gotten into by wild rodents or birds.

Feed the ´Rickets diet´ in the morning and alongside his ordinary feed and if it has not been fully eaten with in 12 hours throw it out… make another one the next morning.. don’t add to it.. clean out the dish it was in also before adding the new mixture.

This should help him immensely but please do make a veterinary appointment for him as it´s better to be safe than sorry.

I hope that helps..good luck and please let us know how you get on here!.

Hi,can anyone help,my cockeral bantum has been poorly,he is losing balance for the last 5 days,his tail is over to the left side,he cant walk properly and everything is to the left.He is well in himself,eating etc,but is spending alot of time sitting in the day.Its like he has had a stroke and lost balance.I have tried asking the vet here but does anyone know how to use this or do i have to pay.I need some advice ,i feel he is suffering.hE IS A YEAR OLD AND WHEN I HAD HIM I NOTICED HIS TAIL WAS OFF TO THE LEFT SLIGHTLY BUT CORRECTED ITSELF BUT LAST 5 DAYS RETURNED WORSE THAN EVER.i FEEL he has a disease perhaps.

No worries Le....glad to be of help and good luck with everything!.

Barrier Healthcare do an excellent Red Mite powder for the house.......*wink*.

Good choice of ducks by the way, and just one thing with hybrid chickens...they can have shortish lifespans as they are bred specifically for laying commercial purposes, you may wish to consider a purebreed such as Rhode Island, Welsummer´s, Marans, Plymouth Rock´s, etc...these are great egg layers AND have a good lifespan too.

Thanx Mary!!! great advice as always :) not worried about the state of my garden with a dog and the kids, its a losing battle anyway! lol, will be planting a few shrubs though as I have read (thanx for the book ed!) that they like to hide and potter around under them. Read your blog, felt itchy just reading it! poor you (scratching as I type) So thanks, will be purchacing some straight away. my coop is coming tomorrow, but am getting a higher fence before I go chicky shopping, as I don´t trust the neghbours cats or kids! its bad enough with the dog, but I want to leave them to have a wonder when i´m in and confine them to the run when i´m out an at night. I also have many Hedgehogs at night, I´m assuming they will not be a problem with chickens.
I have chosen Aylesbury or Cherry valley ducks and am going to go for Hybrid Chickys :)
Thanks again Mary!

Also...I´m not too sure what breed of duck you have in mind BUT be wary of Call Ducks.......they are gorgeous little creature´s and make good pets BUT....boy are they noisy (as their name rightly suggests) and if you live in a residential area, they will NOT be so popular with fellow neighbours.

Meant to say......BEWARNED, IF you are an avid gardener with a beautiful landscaped setting and with lovely plant´s, veg plots, etc and you wish to allow your birds to wander freely about, unkempt, than be prepared to either protect your precious bedding, shrub´s etc or lose the lot.....hens and ducks will happily eat alot of plants and grass and dig up border´s for you......what was once a garden of Eden, will very quickly be turned into a demolition site equivalent if left unchecked (LOL)!.

Welcome to becoming a first time poultry owner...you´ll love it!.

Once you get your coop, please treat it with a Red Mite deterrent (or preferably original creosote) BEFORE you rush out to buy your birds.......this is an evil, evil parasite and once it take´s a hold, it´s every poultry keeper´s nightmare and is a real pain to eradicate....you can read about my awful scenario with this pest that I had for the for the first time ever last year on a BLOG under my Hens own profile page.....believe me, prevention is better than cure!.

Make sure that you obtain hens that are healthy, free of scaly leg, preferable POL (point of lay) and who are suited for the size of your chosen chicken coop......overfilling or overcrowding, doesn´t bode well for a hen´s health or laying ability and can lead to parasitic infections, etc.

YES, hens and ducks will most happily co-habit together, so long as they are more or less bought together and added to the house at the same time and have space to co-habit.

Ducks are messy creature´s and constant grazers, even one duck will still require a largish area to bathe and perform natural duck-ish behaviour......I´m not sure whether or not your birds will be free-ranging totally or whether they will be (like mine) confined to a large run, but you will need to provide some sort of sunk in the ground vessel such as an old bath or trough for the duck and if you can, cover the run with some form of roofing to prevent the run becoming saturated and a boggy mess over the winter months.

You´ve no doubt done plenty of homework beforehand before getting your birds which is excellent....so I won´t go into the in´s and out´s of other requirements that you many need and what to look out for......if you live in a residential area avoid getting a cockerel (obviously) and it may be good to get a female duck rather than a Drake,as you will benefit from duck eggs as well as chickens.

Good luck with your venture and I shall look forward to seeing your new pets on your profile page before long.....any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask!.