MrsDaisy Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Hi Couple of questions if that is okay we want to get 3 indian runner ducks and some pekin bantams. would they be okay to live together in harmony? would they all be able to get into the cube? are indian runner ducks terribly noisy? (girlies only) thank you trying to decide whether to get 2 eglus or one cube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Hi My ducks and chickens laregly ignore each other but I doubt whether ducks and chickens would all live in one cube. Even if the ducks would use the steps up the Chickens would want roosting bars in a cube and ducks wouldn't (though they would probably choose to sleep in the run not the cube itself...) I have 2 seperate eglu's for mine (mind you - the chickens have taken to laying their eggs in the ducks nesting box!) I would get 2 seperate eglus they should get on but will want their own space. Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsDaisy Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 thank you for your reply x was thinking of one big happy family and poss cost implications too. what kind of ducks do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsDaisy Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 oh and if we just got ducks, could they get into a cube? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Mine are call ducks - 2 little ones. Haven't had them long but they are lovely - they have to be rounded into eglu each night unlike my chickens who take themselves to bed. They are very cute and not much work at all - the one big job is keeping the pond clean, other then that they are easy to look after. Girl ducks tend to be noisier then boys but I don't know how loud runner ducks in particular are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 oh and if we just got ducks, could they get into a cube? No idea! Probably (depending on how big they are and whether they work out how to get in! But a cube would probably be a waste of money unless you got loads of ducks Mine don't use their sleeping quarters much at all in the eglu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsDaisy Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 do they just sleep outside? we're fencing off a large section of the garden then we're getting "something" for the pekins to sleep in during the day/ with a run for when we're at work. so it was either a cube for both, or a eglu each or -insert more viable alternative!- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooner.girl Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Mine sleep mostly in the run - have seen them in eglu during day sleeping though but is hard to tell as they don't go to bed til very late so are always in run when i go to bed - hubby lets them out in morning and says they are in run then, but perhaps they have heard him coming and are keen to get out?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Hello Mrs.Daisy - our two ducks have an Eglu without the roosting bars, but they don't sleep in it. Our duck is sitting on eggs in it at the moment. Girl ducks are a bit noisier than boy ducks but not really noisy if you only have 1 or 2. We had to move our ducks in with the hens for a while and they weren't at all happy. The hens kept them away from their food and they chased each other all day. You could consider a wooden duck coop and a lovely Eglu for hens. Or a Cube for more hens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsDaisy Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 we originally thought about getting 2 eglus, one for ducks and one for the bantams, then thought about getting a cube so that if we did decide to get more bantams/ chickens we'd have room. i'd be happy if the bantams slept inside and we made the ducks a spot below the cube but in the run. but if they'd fight each other for food? the breeder we're getting them from has them all living together, plus buff orpingtons, so they'd be used to each other. eeeep! don't want to buy the wrong thing then upgrade/ change in a few months. Mr Daisy would NOT be happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I've seen ducks and chickens living together but it was in an old shed - ducks on the floor, chickens on roosting bars. Our duck is WAY noisier than the chooks - we have an Indian Runner duck. It's a good noisy tho - QUACK QUACK QUACK - sounds like she's laughing. As for neighbours, lots of people round here have chickens and ducks so it's not really a problem but the house next door sold BECAUSE of the ducks!! Our duck puts herself to bed at night when the chickens do or just after. She hangs out with the chickens during the day (they're free range so have the whole garden) but then she hangs out with the dogs too so maybe she's just a freak!!?! not sure about the eglucube thinger for both tho - the chickens would need bars and the ducks would need flat. Whether the ducks would get in or not would depend what the ladder bit is like. If it's solid there would be no problem but I'm not sure they'd manage rungs. (our chickens go in the duck house to lay too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisHapp Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I have kept ducks and chickens in one eglu before by removing the front set of roosting bars to provide a flat area for the ducks. I now have 2 eglus - one with roosting bars in and one without for the ducks. I would say that you could make your own ladder for the ducks for a cube to sit on top of the existing omlet one - it would need to be solid with smaller slats going across IYKWIM. I think then inside, you would need to fashion a solid piece of wood somehow to sit over the roosting bars to provide a flat area for the ducks, whilst leaving some roosting space for the chickens. I think overall 2 eglus would be a better choice. I do hope to get a cube in the nest year or so, but that will be for just hens - I'll keep an eglu for the ducks. HTH MH x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
