duckling questions

[Chick_in_Indiana]

when do the ducklings get their feathers?
right now i have my babies all together 2 mallards 1 runner (2 more coming in 3 days) and 10 bantam chicks all hatched on the 27th of Feb. they all play nice right now but i heard the ducks will grow faster and start smooshing the chicks. is this true? what if they have plenty of space? how long before i would have to seperate them? will the new runners be okay in the same brooder? they will be 1 week apart in age.
thanks a bunch for any help, Krista

 

[greyfields]

Waterfowl grow a lot faster and will accidentally crush the hens. This is also true of broilers. I'd say once the larger ones are twice the size of the smaller, then you need to separate.

 

[Dodgegal79]

They take forever to get their feathers, I think something like 6 weeks or more. Seperate the chicks from the ducks and the new guys should be ok with the other ducks. Runners grow very fast.

 

[deeszoo]

I had Langshan chicks in with some ducks last year and they smooshed them. Langshans are giant chickens. Ducklings just grow very fast!!! And yes, it takes forever for them to grow feathers - unlike chicks who start getting them almost right away.