The CUTE and the UGLY About Keeping Ducks

In this video, I give you my opinion about the good and bad or cute and ugly about keeping ducks, especially with chickens.
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Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :) #duck #chicken #homesteading
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[@GoldShawFarm]

Get more female ducks. I keep ducks and chickens together and the only time that I have ever had drake issues is when your male/female ratio for the ducks is off-kilter. You want a ratio of 6:1. They will be busy tending to the ladies and leave the chickens alone.

[@animalscars3799]

yo I watch your vids! can I get a hi!

[@jenniferpower981]

Great advice..🐓🦆

[@Isaac-ho8gh]

They gang-rape female ducks though.

[@id6673]

Or maybe get a rooster. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@RedInTheWild]

Thank you! Im interested to learn you can keep them together but don’t want this to be an issue

[@vincei4252]

Sounds like a roast drake dinner is on the menu.

[@Cautionary_Tale_Harris]

Some red cabbage and potato dumplings...

[@arescue]

I completely agree, if they are gonna be mean it’s the dinner table for them.

[@pj23nl]

I was thinking the same.

[@Annie1962]

looks like duck's back on the menu boys!

[@acornhomestead3575]

the motto on my homestead is boys are good for breeding and eating. dont like mean roosters. i have two, both hand raised but one has decided to come at me a few times. freezer camp isnt far off.

[@NORIaquaCh]

Your thumbs up is as humble as your soul.

[@imzanawlto3070]

I suspect that the hens that died had been harassed by the drake and were just unable to get away from the hawk due to the injuries (often unseen) caused by the drake. Only you would be able to confirm if that was the case and we viewers don't really need to know that. Animals are like people, some are nasty and some are nice. As the "farmer" you have to manage them. I keep broody chickens and a rooster. They are my responsibility to manage. I have an endless supply of chicken for the pot and a varying number of eggs for breakfast. I have had a rooster that attacked me. He didn't last longer than the 1 month of trying different methods (which didn't work) to stop it. He was very tasty too. Another rooster damaged the hens (I think he got too heavy/fat). Once I realised what was happening, into the pot he went.

[@bjorn0helander]

This is what KZbin should be for - not only is the video great, but the comments are helpful and informative too!

[@drowningmonday4374]

I got ducks thinking they’d be cute and like my chickens. BOY was I wrong

[@hollyjones1186]

They're cute in the ducklings with mother phase, but a big commitment for cuteness afterward.

[@josie3221]

bro all birds creep me out i could never keep any

[@hollyjones1186]

Sometimes, I think I see the raptor in my chicken's eyes. But, it always turns out to be curiosity, about what treats I may be carrying.

[@georgepursley2832]

Eat the offending drake and see how things go before going to the expense of changing housing plans. I hate to give up ducks because they do so well at slug control, and they bring a real sense of happiness to the spread. Like you, we keep a nice sized garden for soft fruit, veg, and cutting flowers, We give a lot away, but do not sell produce. In addition to 4 or 5 hives, we keep 3 or 4 each of ducks and hens for bug control and a few eggs, no roosters or drakes. Replacement chicks and ducklings are cheap from neighbors or the farm stores. Our's sleep separately in repurposed dog kennels and free range together during the day. We have eagles and several types of hawks, also racoons, fox, coyote, and badger, but have not really lost much with dogs on the property keeping four legged predators away. This could all change next year when the dairy next door starts free ranging flocks of 50 or 60 birds as a regular part of tbeir pasture rotation. Love your channel. Keep up the good work. I recently reccomended you to a young man who can no longer play music or sports due to MS. He gardens now, and loves your channel.

[@Mel-Bee301]

I keep all my poutry together. Some drakes are just nasty. If you want to keep drakes with other poultry you have to be prepared to cull the mean drakes. It also helps to keep the duck/drake ratio at at least 5 hens per drake. I currently have 14 hens and 1 drake. He is so occupied with his ladies that he pays no mind to the chickens. Ducks are messy and gross! I set mine to free range at 8 weeks old. After that point you couldn't pay me to keep them in a coop. For predators I would recommend a livestock gardian dog.

[@mangomaniac4194]

Wood chips work wonders with ducks.

[@Mel-Bee301]

@@mangomaniac4194 I agree. I use wood chips and sand when I'm raising them up until free range time. I personally prefer sand over wood chips but both work

[@markharris4421]

@@mangomaniac4194 oh dear! I read that as wood chipper.

[@corbeau-_-]

@@markharris4421 they too work well ;)

[@annburge291]

It's rare that drakes get on with chooks especially if ducklings are around. I'd separate them because of chooks needing drier conditions and ducks liking swamps. Any vicious animal needs to go to the other world because they will teach others to attack and their offspring will also have vicious tendencies.

[@seanhenry7062]

I like the rooster idea. Rooster should be happy with the number of hens you have and will probably deter the ducks and hawks. Reflective tape was smart too

[@id6673]

Who doesn't like roosters? 🤨

[@mrpoohbearlvr]

Made my day!! A big fuzzy Australian bear holding little baby Australian duckies! It's as cute as a baby duck wearing a hat! 👍 😋

[@schadenfreude191]

My rooster is a jerk, however he does a darn good job protecting and nurturing his girls. He's very beautiful to look at too

[@hollyjones1186]

One of mine was a jerk, if I was working in "his" yard, and stopped watching him for a second, he'd fly at me with his spurs. He did that, until I worked for days to catch him(without stressing him w/chasing), and remove the spurs. But, I'd still see him thinking about it. Best darn rooster I ever had. I had one where I live now, that was screaming bloody murder at 2am. From the house, I could see he had all the chickens behind him in the yard. I threw on some boots w/my nightgown grabbed my walking stick, and tore down to the yard. I chased a juvenile skunk, and a juvenile raccoon out of their yard, picked up a few hens to put in through the nesting box, lifted the lid, and was eye to eye with a juvenile posom. Even as I chased them (3 amigos were there for the eggs), they were adorable. I finished their, protected, but unfinished yard the next day.

[@Katkohberg]

I wouldn't tolerate that behavior. The roosters we have had (except one) were well behaved maybe because they watched a rogue rooster the beheaded.

[@jojoadeyemi8239]

A skunk, a raccoon and a possum? Sounds like the start of a Disney movie or a joke 😂

[@TargaWheels]

If you're going to leave the gate open so the chickens/ducks can roam, split the gate 80%/20% and close the upper 80% when they're roaming. That way they can still get in and out, but the attacking birds look down on an "enclosed" pen and think its sealed. But if they figure out how to get in, in a panic to escape, they're trapped. In a panic, birds always fly up. Not sure on the legality of killing birds like hawks, but you could do that or let them go. They usually won't come back once you physically catch them.👍

[@J4Julz]

I've watched hawks enter my chicken pen from the ground. They are cagey hunters and can devastate a flock so quickly.

[@MageSkeleton]

i would recommend checking out Gold Shaw Farm, he's been dealing with birds for a long time. Ducks are very messy and without a "self sufficient pond" of some form you do have to keep making sure they have clean water about twice a day. In my opinion, if that duck/drake is a mallard kill it asap. From what i've noticed, you do want to keep the ducks and chickens separated because of the water problem the ducks cause. Ducks are "water foul" so if you plan to retain ducks consider setting up a pond. ALSO for growing ducklings you'll want to make sure to feed them fresh grass(es). i hate mallards.

[@tanquray2493]

Love this change! Daily life, facing issues, solving them then learning. That's truly self sufficient me!

[@carolblackler9386]

My husband said they had Cambell ducks on the farm when he was young and the older the drake's got, they got more territorial and aggressive. They then used to cull them off at three years. He said they got more aggressive toward the lady ducks and hurt them during mating season. I hope this helps mark.

[@BloosSelfReliance]

When i had birds i kept them all together. I had ducks, chickens, a pair of turkeys and a couple of geese and the second I saw any bullying that bird ended up dinner whether it was another bird or if it was aa rooster that decided it was going to have a go at me or the kids. I never tolerated it as I did once and it just got worse and the other birds learned from the bad one which meant they all had to go from that group instead of just the one. Its a hard decision to make but when it comes to the needs of the many it becomes an easier one to make xox Good Luck xox

[@marieindia8116]

usually more space reduces the stress and the picking. if they are bullying and murdering each other, there isn't enough room.

[@BloosSelfReliance]

@@marieindia8116 yes if they are in a tractor or have no access to outside the coop to roam around in. Some birds are just nasty.

[@hollyjones1186]

A female goose makes a better rooster. My favorite local permaculture farm, uses 1 goose per flock, that they raise w/chick's. Unfortunately, like ducks, they bring they're own level of "dirty" deeds. They don't need a pond, but they need an open water source to dunk their whole heads in, to keep nostrils clear. Gaggles of geese forget to protect hens, as they gather together. I love roosters, and they have done a great job with my hens. I handle them young, so they know I'm the leader of the flock, and I keep their spurs cut, to avoid injury to my hens. They do need at least 7-10 hens to choose from. Unfortunately, my neighbors didn't like my roosters (all of which were supposed to be hens, other than one chick surprise hatchling, that also turned out to be a rooster). I don't know if you harvest your birds, but young "extra" roosters, or troublesome roosters...Coq Au Vin. I also have harvested spent hens, but more often they become elderly pets. I have a flock of Golden Comets that are 7 years old, I get a few eggs from them still, but mostly they're my yard companions.

[@MageSkeleton]

i would think he'd want to get a rooster to recoop the chicken losses at the very least. Chickens are amazing birds everyone should have and know how to keep. From what i know, the only reason you'd want ducks is because they love slugs.

[@hollyjones1186]

@@MageSkeleton I loved finding slugs for my ducks and watching them with sticky beaks. Like peanut butter on the roof of the dog's mouth. In Oregon the slugs were 3" long and as big around as my finger. They made some serious slug slime. Duck eggs are good eggs for baking, I always had people waiting for more. I kept my ducks in with the goats, fun to watch goats kicking up their feet, they were hysterical with my huge ducks, and would take turns teasing each other.

[@hollyjones1186]

@Wil SainMale geese tend to injure hens with sexual organs that are not meant for chickens, and have a huge libido. 🙄 the set up on the permaculture farm does not include areas for geese to nest, so removing the goose egg laid in the open, avoids conflicts. The chickens nesting boxes where not within reach of the geese, so they weren't brooding with chicken eggs.

[@goddessmother]

I have a coop just for geriatric hens. I can't believe they will live 9 or 10 years and still lay eggs for a few weeks in the Spring.

[@hollyjones1186]

@@goddessmother yep, especially if you don't use artificial daylight during winter to encourage egg laying during the shorter days.

[@gwydryn2]

My suggestion is to make a separate night pen for the ducks and a baby goose to raise with the hens. The goose will eventually protect his flock from hawks. The drake will only get worse. So, since you need to replenish your chicken flock, go ahead and get you some young pullets and the gosling, meantime put the ducks in the kennel you had before. That will make a good pen for them. Best of luck!

[@teenagardner3623]

Reading from the other comments and listening to your thought I feel your ready to be done with ducks for the good of all your hard work and other poultry. The drake is just too risky to keep around any of the rest. 😔

[@rowenaclarke1460]

I keep my ducks and chickens seperate, due to them messing up water. I got rid of my drakes as they chased my chickens. If u want to keep your drake i would house ducks in a seperate pen. Love your videos Mark. Cheers from Monto Central Qld.

[@Sabrinalives]

I’m so sorry about your loss with your chickens. I’ve never been a bird person but I’ve grown so attached to my chickens and I couldn’t imagine picking up their dead little bodies 😭🙏❤️

[@trevormerivale6882]

I'm sorry to hear about your poultry losses. I have recently lost all 5 of my breeder rabbits within the last week, so I understand what you are going through. Yes our lives will go on, but it still bloody sucks to lose any of our animals. You could see you weren't your normal self in this video and it's understandable. Keep on keeping on and as you said a decade of no dramas, it definitely wasn't to be expected but now you just work out a plan to not let it happen again, no reasonable person could expect any more from anyone. Your a top bloke Mark 👍

[@marieindia8116]

yes, each loss is a learning experience.

[@gemfyre855]

You've got yourself a Brown Goshawk (possibly a Collared Sparrowhawk - but they are a bit smaller). They're super good at maneuvering through trees and love a birdie for dinner.

[@drugreen123]

We got 3 ducks for "fun" last year. This spring, my husband allegedly "missed" a nest. One day I walked out to give the chickens some vegetables scraps and saw 8 duck babies. So small they squeezed through the chicken mesh and into the yard. I had a panic attack. We don't need 11 ducks! Who wants some ducks?!?!

[@catnip1487]

Try to keep your ducks in a row please

[@HGCUPCAKES]

🤣 love this.

[@marieindia8116]

more ducks are a blessing!!!! I had a duck hatch out 3 successive broods totalling 40 new birds! I didn't know what to do either, but the decision became easier when I found out that most were drakes! I slaughtered them out at the correct age and popped them in my chest freezer. I made a good bit of money selling duck meat!

[@duckmama]

Oo pick me! Love ducks! 🤣

[@luisa_4120]

omg I needed this laugh 😂. “stop it! stop that!” 🤣

[@GardeningwithDucks]

Thank you for sharing the mother duck story! This is our second year with ducks and although we don't have a drake we might someday and try for ducklings. Really appreciate watching this unfold!

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

Thank you Mark 🙂 I'm sorry about your lost chickens. I know I'd be upset too. I think I'd get rid of the Mallard. As aggressive as he his, he may even take out a rooster if you had one. On a lighter note, I got my first eggs this week! 👍 Blessings always! 💜

[@diYarm07]

For some reason I haven't seen any of your postings. Then I started worrying because I was hearing bad things about Australia so I came in search of you. Yay, you're hear safe and sound.

[@TheKg38]

Love your videos Mark. We've just begun keeping ducks, starting with two drakes and two ducks. One of the drakes was very aggressive and would beat on and pull feathers from the other three. We tried giving the drakes their own pen, but the aggressive one just beat up on the smaller one. We fixed it by removing (roasting) that drake, and now all three are back together, healthy and well. We will be selecting for temperament in our drakes from now on. Good luck to you.

[@sharonmorton6734]

Duck soup!

[@stitch10925]

If you have multiple drakes you need to try and have a 1:4 drake to duck ratio, else the drakes will fight over mates, probably what happened in your case.

[@CandyLand8485]

I have a rooster that protects my hens from my drakes

[@mrb3135]

I hope you roasted him with stuffing.

[@kingexplosionmurderfuckoff9376]

Goodness, that's disturbing. Being aggressive doesn't equal deserving death. How would you feel if someone roasted you?

[@bobpeterson9624]

Are you sure the mallard isn’t in cahoots with the hawk?

[@julesgoh]

So privileged to be able to join you “live” as you found out to your surprise why she wasn’t sitting on the nest right at he started of your video. Thanks Mark!

[@lily_white]

Other than being noisey, which you can get used to, there are roosters that are super tame with humans but very protective otherwise. My sister had one when her kids were very little that let the kids manhandle him and he's just take it. I think if you get one from a breed that's known to be tame, it could be advantageous to your hens.

[@Lazydaisy646]

My son lives in the suburbs and there's a rooster that drives everyone mad. You cant have them in built up areas.

[@jomills6495]

@@Lazydaisy646 I can relate. I too had a rooster in the suburbs and after a few weeks of chasing him at 3am to shut him up, he ended up in the oven.

[@ElysetheEevee]

​@@Lazydaisy646 Oh man, hearing roosters and peafowl all the time is nostalgia for me. It reminds me of growing up in the city proper for Boise, ID back in the 90s, but where people still had small farm plots with fowl and some livestock. Haha. I don't mind roosters as long as they're not right next to me doing that. Dogs honestly get to me the most out of any rampant animal noises.

[@Misha1369]

We keep muscovy ducks in our little homestead. Maybe your drake needs more females? Our current ratio is 4 hens for the 1 drake and he gets along with our 8 chickens just fine. However, we have two separate runs for the ducks and chickens. But that's just for sleeping at night. During the day they all mingle together and get along really well.

[@christianerardt3705]

Wow, might be the ducks got more stressed because of having the ducklings, so he tries to protect them by attacking the hens. A rooster would look after his hens. That could mean more trouble between the rooster and the drake - another possible bad end. Maybe a relaxed rooster plus seperating them over night could work. There are several chicken breeds which are relaxed and even taller, makes them better for eggs and meat. Maybe that would matter, too. Having some bigger chickens plus their rooster. A friend has a mobile chicken gate with red and white tape crossing all over for protection from hawks, buzzards, and red kites. It works. The walking nest was really interesting. I've never seen that before. Unfortunately the little ducklings are so cute for a too short time. 😉

[@heroicicons]

Great content. We tried raising pekins with our australorps- we got tired of the mess and moisture and just processed them. They were super cute but definitely not our cup of tea. Your appleyards are beautiful.

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Robert and thanks for the super thanks mate! Yeah, I do love ducks but it's time for me to concentrate on our chickens with a few quail in the background - much easier! Cheers :)

[@yvonnevansickle53]

Get rid of that drake, you can't change his behavior now. If you want to replace him, watch the new drake close. Just know that a drake should ideally have 6 to 7 girls to keep himself occupied. We've had many roosters, a few bad - and they don't last long - but most have been good. We handle them often from birth onward. Our kids and grandkids could handle any of our roosters. The biggest, best Roo we have had was a Giant Jersey. He guarded his girls well, and was also the nicest roo with our kids. Big as he was, they could just pick him up and pack him around.

[@wendyfrench9599]

Totally agree. He doesnt have enough females to keep him busy.

[@claudiaoctavia6340]

why not just keep the ducks separate

[@hairyham2862]

You cant just "get rid" of the drake. Chances are they've bonded. Removing their bonded partner causes both ducks great distress and actually get depressed. Good ratio is 1 drake to 4 females. The ducks should be seperated into their own space though.

[@f__kyoudegenerates]

@@hairyham2862 He should eat it.

[@KingBjord]

red cord everywhere scares them from swooping down for fear of getting caught up, you could try stringing that all over the place above head level and it might keep the hawk away As for keeping the ducks clean, if you have a water source that you can keep filled and run multiple hoses from, you can basically make your water sources for the ducks "flushable" like a toilet, and just open a tap to flush them out and fill with fresh water, this cuts down on the daily deep clean of their troughs, also using larger water containers helps dilute the nastiness, smaller containers aren't ideal for multiple ducks

[@98284104]

In Scotland we kept ducks and chickens completely separate. And the ducks had a nice big pond with some geese and a family of swans.

[@baileydillion9331]

Living Traditions Homestead on YT? Keep ducks and chickens together. They have a great system to feed and water that is amazingly messless. I agree with you on roosters. 🐣🐥🐤

[@AlmostOrganicDorset]

Pretty sure you would get better results from cleaner, drier housing, ducks I kept years ago were always on nice clean straw, they nested well and produced lots of young.

[@dubcindub15]

@9:00 the mother duck is clearly shouting "MARK MARK MARK" then @9:22 "Thanks Mark" :D The reflective tape looks to be working, if it seems to stop working or tear then maybe aluminium foil as someone else suggested or shiny steel/mirrors to confuse the hawk. A wildlife cam inside the pen would help narrow down the drake attacks to completely random, or during feeding/certain times of day, so it could help figuring out what the best solution is without having to segregate/get rid of the drake. Oh we'll need a timelapse cam for the next time one of the hens are hatching/broody so we can see the nest moving! :)

[@robrob5081]

Mum bred both for many years had a similar problem but never actually killed them. But she did have 3 rosters (different breeds) and 2 drakes if she ever suspected a problem in the freezer they went. Even had one that use to go me every time I went to collect eggs but never went anything else. He was a brilliant breeder so he was safe we had him for years. But never seen a duck move nests like that, that’s interesting normally they just kick out the bad eggs.

[@dawntrombley7881]

I have always had chickens; Then I decided to get five ducks; they are the messiest little buggers on the earth; I understand your frustration; I kept them with my chickens until my drake tried to mount them; then I separated them. Then I let them freerange 24/7 and they pretty much left the chickens alone. I rehomed them, it started becoming too much work. I love ducks, but will never own them again.

[@elenidemos]

You mentioned before that you prefer chicken eggs. Do you keep them for meat? Do you keep them for "pets". You need to decide if your drake is worth keeping. You could purchase fertilized eggs, if you want meat. Incubate them, like you do the quail. Use the female as a "mother" to show them what's what, after the broader. Another option is separate the ducks to their own shelter, which you only allow him out of for short periods. Why are you NOT using the chicken door to let them in & out? Hawk is unlikely to enter through that. Gives the chickens, slightly, more shelter.

[@kingexplosionmurderfuckoff9376]

You shouldn't keep animals for meat. It's cruel for the animals and the meat Is unhealthy for your body. But to answer your question, I'm pretty sure he keeps them as pets.

[@theadventuresofbrockinthai4325]

I think back to when I was young and dad kept both chickens and ducks but I don't remember him putting them together. We lived 10 miles from town so it wasn't that we could go down to the corner store. We had chickens, ducks, a cow for milk and some to eat, sheep, pigs and horses. We had 10 acres so the chickens and ducks could free-range. It was a good life, most of the kids I knew were a little envious of us. We learned a lot about life in those days. Watching ducks and chickens hatch was one of my favorite things to do. New life being born. You just have to love that.

[@looopo]

Seems like a great time for peking duck. My roosters made a fantastic pasta sauce last week. old mate was a gentleman for sure nothing like the drake but him and his sons just dont belong in the suburbs

[@marydoherty9188]

mark, please i beg you, my heart is broken seeing the chickens being attacked like that, please seperate the ducks from the chucks so the chucks have a safe place to retreat to, please :( much love from the uk xxx

[@Moses_VII]

Eat the drake. Replace him with a better drake

[@tempgirl00711]

also fix the dam the cage with the huge hole in it, where the hawks keep nose diving the chickens, that he is supposed to be protecting. seriously. Not sure he knows what he's doing. He should research and read more books or something. He has a certain level of responsibility to care for the animals, his animals and he's flying around willy nilly, with camera's, and doing nothing. I can't watch this crap. he needs to get his shyt together.... almost as if he's allowing it to happen on purpose to increase his youtube viewers or something... can't figure out why he'd see it on film, but do nothing to fix the immediate problem? Odd? Makes zero sense to me, except almost deliberate. What other reason could it be? He doesn't seem like a complete moron? Can't be that stupid? Seems pretty smart to me, but something is off with this vid and his actions? is he drunk?

[@affordableliving2756]

@@tempgirl00711 Wooh. Slow down. He didn't immediately kill the drake without proof that the drake was the cause? I think not jumping the gun on these things makes sense when a life is involved.

[@asmallholdinginfrance6829]

We have two kune kune pigs, they are the best pigs for small farms! As for animal mixing, in my experience they have never mixed well in all the years of having chickens and ducks, if it's mating seasons drakes gate aggressive so are roosters and we have both, plus the dropping, water issue we were constantly having to warm the chickens. Separated they work a treat! Or not have a drake...girls always behave. Good luck in the future.

[@driftingsoulsisters]

Thankyou for another Vlog. All Your hard work is appreciated

[@juleeoliver3955]

Mallards are a wee bit more aggressive than other breeds. Muscovy quackless ducks are what I raised with my chickens. I cull those that are aggressive with the smaller birds and after a couple generations of breeding it became a rarity to have one that killed. With the duck water since they poop in the water they drink I put a water agitator and solar powered water filter to keep it clean. The daily cleaning was just a pain

[@blake4179]

Been watching your video for the last year Mark and just love your work. Always give great knowledge, advice and inspiration for gardening. And great balance of vid production quality, humour, and topics to discuss which makes it entertaining and engaging. Keep up the great stuff!!

[@morku5102]

Sweet vids man. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Omnaecyde]

Love yah Mark!! Keep it up. Been a subscriber for a bit. Hope you can always make videos. I always enjoy watching you.

[@carleenmiller6462]

Aloha from Hawaii, we have Muscovy ducks and they don’t quack they just sound like they are grunting or hissing. We love the eggs! The experience I have had was that the chickens were attacking the ducks instead of the other way around. Also my ducks are free range and I haven’t noticed a smell from them but when the garden gets going again we will have to confine the ducks. We also have mongoose that have killed one of my ducks and all my chickens but my rooster.

[@MaanOnnTheMoon]

great video man, I always love your videos

[@k.p.1139]

Mark your duck has fooled you. The hawk has been coming for a free meal from the fresh kill. Once it found a place for the dead hens, it's just coming back. We deal with that a lot here. The hawks wait for a fresh kill and then steal it.

[@TheCowEmporium]

Awe, such cute baby ducks. 💕 We used to have ducks, they can be real jerks for sure.

[@dg2152]

Gday Mark. Sometimes we're forced to make choices, what stays, what goes, what's beneficial to you, the overall idea of self sufficient farm, valuable time, and money...What produces food, eggs, what produces quality manure/compost. As cute as those ducking's are, the birds are a mess, a lot of extra work, territorial and domineering to other fowl. Geese are the same. Chickens are foragers, turn the soil for insects etc, fertilize the soil, and generally cohabitate well with most other chicken varieties. And they don't need a bloody puddle of dirty water everywhere to play in. And duck meat is too greasy, for me anyway. Trade em off with a mate down the road for some good layers. Simplify your days. Cheers!

[@kdavis4910]

Great video Mark and thank you for showing us such things.

[@MiracleZoo]

🌸🌻🎉My hubby and I absolutely love your videos! Your so very knowledgeable and such a kind and patient soul! 🌺🌻🤗 I have my chickens both regular size and silkies and banties, lots of Muscovy ducks, turkeys and bunnies, cats and dogs that just all hang out together.❣️ They all get along great! My biggest problem in my roosters fighting maybe once a month if that. I do keep my Serama chickens separate! 😉 Most of my animals are trained to some basic hand signals as well. Helps keep things in good communication between me and my animals.🥳😃

[@Wren9]

Ducks are best roasted, they’re absolutely no trouble in the oven. Make an orange sauce. Very tasty.

[@hardygardener3091]

The drake could be being protective of mum and soon to be ducklings. The chickens could be stressed by the hawke and then the attacks by the drake have become fatal. Maybe separate them for a while until the chickens are less stressed.

[@grimmity9240]

Fantastic video. Great to see the good and bad as a very near future chicken/duck keeper. Thanks!

[@allanbond3673]

Thanks for the content Mark

[@MsAnxiety]

For the water problem, maybe set up a miniature "pond" drinking fountain with a pump and a filter (or even better--with filtering plants) so that it cleans itself. Put some drainage rocks around it to keep from mud being as much of a problem.

[@chrispedersen6999]

Hi Mark, your video gives a great explanation for nesting syndrome for mum's getting close to birthing. The furniture is always getting moved 🤗

[@aussiescraphunter7808]

As a bird scarer cds hung around in the trees seems to work, thanks for this video mate, im in the process of turning my unused block into a food producing area including quail and chooks and l was wondering about ducks as well until this video and the comments below it made me change my mind

[@munzurharck368]

This one is one of your best videos I've seen. Watching your videos make me relax and plan my future homestead in Valencia/Spain. Greetings from Armenia 😊 Get a big nice rooster to protect your chicken!

[@craigsudman4556]

Hi Mark, take a look at a KZbin channel: Living Traditions Homestead with Kevin and Sara, they have both chickens and ducks and made some really effective watering devices for the ducks. Good luck with the ducks. Great video, thumbs up.

[@Timeflygirl]

This was helpful! Thank you!

[@mingkee27]

Try this project Project security goose If the gander (guy) can get along well with birds, he can watch over the birds, and loud honk can be an alarm

[@stefimandi186]

As I remember, when we had an aggressive goose, only a fine roast goose dinner helped the issue. It might be the same with ducks - unless you want to separate them. the ducklings are real cute :-)

[@mrb3135]

Roasted duck with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls/butter and a nice salad. Yum yum and yummmmmm.

[@cheyennerepp7291]

We didn't much like having ducks either for the same reasons. We had a hawk pick our two ducks off and then decided that we didn't want to deal with them again. Love our chickens though! They don't cause us any heartache except training some of the younger ones where to roost at night.

[@fibbs01]

Like in your vid, Listen for the noisy miners, they're great for telling you what's above or below them.

[@fox8340]

After watching your video last year, I still decided to order a dozen of Apple silver yards. I'm so glad I did. Best ducks ever. They eat from hands. I can pet them while they eat. They follow me around in my garden. Never bother my chickens. In fact, my chickens keep them in check.

[@dandelionfields6955]

I’ve had chickens and ducks together for ten years and I’ve never had a duck hurt, let alone kill a chicken. I’m afraid, if you are going to keep the drake, you will have to separate.

[@marieindia8116]

or get more female ducks.

[@loriwyoming835]

I've had ducks for over 25 years and never had this problem. But I've never had chickens without a rooster. My chickens are tiny bantams and my ducks are terrified of them. That hen seems to be bowing for that drake as in breeding stance. A rooster, even a tiny one will stop that nonsense in no time.

[@arjanvogel6444]

In Holland we use little fal door to let them out, with a string you can open it.and chickens need a rooster to protect them and you can make moor chickens.😇💟💟💟 love your film's.

[@beachboardfan9544]

Friend who keeps ducks and chickens does have separate pens for them, they all roam the yard during the day without issue, but at night they all go to their separate pens. They also have turkeys but they roost on the roof at night.

[@tecumsehlittlebear8271]

This channel has been really helpful in teaching me how to garden. Awesome channel. Sorry to hear about the ducks & chickens but I would separate them. There is a channel called Gold Shaw Farm that raises chickens, ducks and geese. He uses geese rather than roosters to protect the flock. Might be a helpful channel for you as well.

[@mrschristilockridge]

You’re right, ducks are just messy messy drinkers. But I found a great solution! I finally discovered the Large Blue drinker cups. 6 pack for $12. They’re similar to the chickens red cups but are much larger and don’t have the yellow thing to peck at; they’re gravity fed. They work great for my two ducks. They are aptly named Nassy and Messy lol

[@ironrose888]

Now I have 4 ducks and 6 chickens. Mine get along great but when things get crowded, they get violent. Right now my chickens are more aggressive than the ducks. My chickens get the zoomies and my ducks run for cover. They do keep to themselves in groups. The ducks just follow each other and my chickens chase each other. My chickens are like raptors and digging around. My young chickens might be mostly roosters. I keep lots of food around and they need more toys to be entertained.

[@singncarpenter6270]

Thanks for the great video. It's not all sunshine raising birds is it. Plants are a little more tolerant of neglect than animals. It's a big commitment.

[@barbll000]

I once had a guy rent a room while taking courses and he was trained as a chef. He made me Chocolat Duck. OMG it was sooo good. I think that's a great solution for you.

[@patriciafisher1170]

We live down the coast from you on only a quarter of an acre. We have two ducks drake and duck and lots of chickens. We definitely keep them separate. Our ducks have their own little yard but spend most of the day out in the garden. The chickens are ina big area with a green area to get into of a day. They don’t do well together mostly because of the water. Keep them separated.

[@cheriekalel9578]

When I was a teen, my Mom brought home some chickens, turkeys, and geese. After a few months the geese had to be relocated elsewhere because they attacked people and made a huge mess in the watering areas. But we also had an issue with the chickens and turkeys after we had them well over two years, where they ganged up on the one chicken who wasn't laying eggs often, and they killed it right before our eyes (my brother and I were at home alone after school, Mom was out running errands at the time), and it really shook us up!

[@hollyjones1186]

Nature is painful to watch sometimes. I had a chicken with PTSD. The rooster had left bare patches of skin on her shoulders before I could get around to trimming them, the entire flock went after her. I brought her out, and gave her a safe place to heal. She had a 1/2 dollar sized skin tear, which healed with minimal effort, and feathers grew back. She would follow me around everywhere, but she was trying to get back to her flock. I put her in, and 15 sec later, they swarmed, and she was screaming. We went back to her following me around, after putting her in after dark didn't work. She was lonely, it was very sad.

[@marieindia8116]

@@hollyjones1186 reintroducing a bird to a flock is a tricky and difficult thing to do.

[@jessiebetancourt48]

Great video! So interesting and informative. Sorry about your hens😢

[@michael7423]

We have a small pond and that’s where the ducks live in a small shelter next to the pond, separated from our chickens except during the day while all our chickens, ducks and turkeys do their free range foraging. My biggest problem in my area was something taking out our turkeys at night, a neighbor farmer told me it was weasels and he gave me a good method to stop the slaughter! He suggested I clean my local barber shop and scatter all the human hair around the Turkey pen and the human scent kept them away. It’s been several years of me sweeping up me local barber shop every couple months to refresh the deterrent and I haven’t lost any more turkeys to the weasels. My barber actually saves a garbage bag full of hair just for me and any other farmers wanting to try this method.

[@phendranaa]

Baby duckies made my day. Interesting how the mom just knows which eggs won't make it. Maybe more would make it if eggs are kept in an incubator?

[@benjaminmiller3620]

In my experience ducks are terrible sitters. We gave our duck eggs to broody hens to sit on, and got good hatches like that.

[@melanieallen3655]

Good video!!

[@MrBigVK]

1) Time for some duck meat. 2) Separate the ducks and chickens in two different coups. 3) Take a storage tub with a lid and put holes on the side the ducks can get their head thru but not their bodies. (won't work for ducklings) Fill with water to the bottom of the holes. Ducks can stick their heads into drink but they cannot get into the water, which is when they mess the water. 4) Drakes and roosters can be bullies and sometimes need to be eliminated. Breed only the more gentle stock and eliminate the bullies for meat first.

[@russellmoore1533]

An ex commercial poultry farmer here, towards the end of being a poultry farmer my then wife kept a flock of about 30 ducks. As you know they love water and will turn anything with water in it into a filthy mess in no time. What we found that helped was a good sized pond, (ours was about 10m in diameter and about 1.5m deep.That way they kept to the pond most of the time which limited their time to mess up their food and water bowls. We also kept the chickens and ducks separated when ever possible. Some drakes are just down right evil, I came across one in a lake in Victoria on a holiday and watched it drown another drake. At first I thought it was mating with a female duck, but eventually I realized what was happening and before I could do anything the dead drake bobbed to the surface. In your case I would get rid of the ducks and just keep some chickens, problem solved.

[@mickhvac3908]

Ducks are so tuff to keep. Im fortunate to have a one acre pond. I have 9 Rouen and 9 runner ducks. There is also a fenced in dry land a coop area. I have 1000’ of solar electric net around the pond. The ducks are out all the time. I put the chickens in the coop at night. Then they are locked out of the coop all day. The ducks will run them off if I put out scratch grain. Other than that the chickens are much faster and nimble. If you have to provide the water for the ducks on a daily basis it seems like a full time job.

[@karenreaves3650]

Sorry for the difficulties you are having Mark, I enjoyed reading all the suggestions from those with experience handling this issue. I would gift the ducks without a pond, my only experience is enjoying the view.

[@michaelfrazer1807]

Thank You for sharing

[@lindsayburrows9272]

Mark. My wife is a bit of an amateur small scale back yard chicken breeder. Going off previous info I would say we live relatively close to one another as well. We would love to donate some chicks to the channel to help replenish your stocks if you want them? Love the content, big fan.

[@angelawat98]

I hope all will be well 🙏

[@wanking9040]

great content

[@SegalsCareer]

Hey Mark! Love your videos

[@McDowallManor]

Thanks mate.