If you have kept ducks and chickens, you must have seen a rooster trying to mate with a female duck. A drake will also try matting with a female chicken. It is a challenge to many poultry farmers. But we’ve come through to help you answer common questions on ducks and chickens matting.
Although they can exist in peace when put together, ducks and chickens will always mate among themselves. It is not good to let ducks and chickens mate because drakes are aggressive and can hurt or even kill the chickens.
It is certainly possible for a rooster to mate with a female duck. However, the chances of getting offspring are very low due to their biological differences. When we look at their genetics, they are way too far apart for that to happen. It will never produce fertile eggs.
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What happens when ducks and chickens mate?
When a duck and a chicken mate and the egg is fertilized, they will hatch into a chicken-duck hybrid. This is also known as a freak or a chuck. The head looks like that of a chicken while it walks and feeds like a duck. A chicken duck walks with its head raised, and its wings are also short and folded back like a duck’s.
Most chicken ducks have been observed to swim like ducks; if they lay eggs, they can never hatch. That is because sterile hybrids cannot successfully reproduce like normal breeds. Drakes or roosters cannot fertilize those eggs even if they try to because the genetics are not aligned to reproduce.
The study has never been well supported, making it a myth or rumor. However, some chickens and ducks with similar characteristics have been spotted over the years. The chicken hybrid is called a fowl, which refers to a crossbreed between a chicken and a duck. It will always have the body resembling a duck but a chicken’s head.
Characteristics of a chicken-duck
The duck-chicken hybrid sometimes resembles a chicken; though the bill is a bit longer than chickens, the head is exact. If you observe keenly, the hybrid neck is long, but unfortunately, the base ceases the resemblance to a chicken.
You will find that it has one chicken foot while the other foot resembles that of a duck with web toes. Strangely it will last for a year without laying eggs, unlike regular ducks or chickens.
As a poultry farmer, you shouldn’t worry if you see such features; at first, it may seem sick for some time, but it will grow big over time. The hybrid then secures its living among other chickens and ducks in the yard.
Can a rooster fertilize a duck egg?
The fact that the two are different species confirms that a rooster cannot fertilize a duck egg. Ducks and roosters have different reproductive organs, making them impossible to mate.
You must understand that a rooster’s testicles are internal. They have no external organs to insert into the chicken. So simply put, the rooster will place its cloaca on the chicken and, during the interaction, transfer its eggs.
Can a duck fertilize a chicken egg?
A male duck can’t fertilize a chicken egg. Some claim that a chicken can lay an egg fertilized by a duck, although it will not hatch. As a poultry farmer, I would not encourage you to allow that if it causes serious harm to the chicken.
When raising ducks and chickens together, they will try to mate. And if they try, the male duck can kill the female chicken in the process. However, the bond between ducks and chickens will always be strong. You will observe that a duck will always be aggressive when mating. That is why they should only be allowed to mate with their female ducks.
Their breed will last for as long as regular chickens and ducks. They are healthy to the point of gaining lots of weight. Their projected survival rate is also high unless they are attacked by diseases that would interfere with their health conditions.
Are ducks and chickens the same species?
Ducks belong to the species of waterfowl called Anas platyrhynchos. Chickens belong to the subspecies of the red jungle fowl and the species of G. gallus. That clearly shows that they belong to different species.
Chickens and ducks belong to the same poultry. All those domestic birds are kept for eggs and meat production but do not belong to the same species. You may observe that they both lay eggs, but that doesn’t mean that they belong to the same species family.
Ducks are in the bird family. Most of them live in water and can be found in fresh and salty water bodies. They are omnivorous, laying eggs once a year. They feed on plants found underwater and animals.
Conclusion
As stated earlier, a male duck can’t fertilize a chicken egg. Both have different reproductive organs, making them impossible and even dangerous to mate. However, ducks are built in a way that you may even think the drakes can lay eggs.
It happens that ducks are serious matters, and sometimes they become overly aggressive. They would result in hurting or killing the chicken. You should not allow a male duck to mate with a chicken. Because there are high chances that it will get injured or even die in the process. It will get its neck broken or bleed internally.
Subsequently, chickens are domestic species classified as birds. You can differentiate it from other birds because of its features that differ from the rest. When living together in a coop, they are likely to try matting. This can result in a half duck-half chicken. However, it happens rarely and when you see them try it, separate them because it is not a reproductive species.
