The Ducks verses the Chickens

[JessLV]

I have two Pekin ducks, one Khaki Campbell duck, & 6 ISA brown hens. Everyone got along well until recently. The hens are laying eggs regular though the ducks have yet to lay any eggs. The entire flock is under a year old. Recently, as in 2-3 weeks, the Pekin ducks have been targeting one of the hens. Everyone will play nice when we are in their pen to feed and water them. As soon as we step out the ducks start making a beeline for the one hen. She is terrified. I separated the hen for a couple of days and gave her extra food. Then I separated the duck that seemed to be most responsible for the attacks and reintroduced the hen. I didn’t want her to be separated from the flock for too long. The next day she had feathers removed and damaged in somewhat of a ring near her tail. So, I separated her again and reintroduced the duck. During this process, I started noticing black, tarry stool where the chicken had been perching to escape the ducks. It began to smell pretty bad and my search showed that this could be a sign of internal bleeding. I have checked on the hen today and her feathers are making a substantial regrowth. This has me thinking she is on the mend, even if the ducks hurt her. Soooo…. Now I could use help trying to navigate this social upset with my flock. Any tips for reintroducing the hen so she won’t be attacked? Do you think I need to keep her separated permanently? Does this happen when ducks get ready to lay? I saw the Pekins look up at the hen while she nervously perched on the coop and they patrol it waiting for her to jump down to eat or feed. The ducks seem to be doing fine with the rest of the flock. Also, the separated hen is having normal feces in her confined personal quarters. The separated hen is also laying. TIA!

 

[Isadora]

Do you know the gender of your ducks?
How much space is there for everyone?

 

[Isadora]

They are supposed to be all female. We did have a rooster even though we were supposed to have all female hens. He was rehomed because we are not allowed roosters where we live. He’s been gone awhile. How would I know if my duck was male? They look the same.

The quack is different. The males are much quieter and have more of a raspy tone and the females have a loud quack, just like Donald Duck.
I'm asking because males can try to mate with chickens and harm them because their anatomy is not compatible.

That's also why I asked about how much space they have. Ducks and chickens could possibly work together if the environment is right but I think it requires more space than if you only had one species in the pen.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

You probably want to keep a close eye on this hen because if your ducks are males (aka drakes) and they have tried to mate your hen and succeeded, she may be suffering from internal damage. Drakes have a penis that penetrates during mating. Roosters do not have a penis that penetrates while mating, so hens aren't made for duck mating. I hope this makes sense as I've tried to explain this as delicately as possible. I am worried about your hen and hope she's OK. I wish you the best with your flock

 

[Yardmom]

If you are having trouble separating which duck is making a rasping instead of quacking, look at the base of the tail. See if one has a curly feather there. If one does that is your drake

 

[JessLV]

If you are having trouble separating which duck is making a rasping instead of quacking, look at the base of the tail. See if one has a curly feather there. If one does that is your drake

One has that!!! Thank you!!!!

 

[JessLV]

If you are having trouble separating which duck is making a rasping instead of quacking, look at the base of the tail. See if one has a curly feather there. If one does that is your drake

Thanks for your help! I did a bit more research today in combination with everyone’s insight. The ducks and the chickens are separated! We were supposed to have all females. Turns out we have all males. What a nightmare for my hens!

 

[Isadora]

Thanks for your help! I did a bit more research today in combination with everyone’s insight. The ducks and the chickens are separated! We were supposed to have all females. Turns out we have all males. What a nightmare for my hens!

Wow, what rotten luck.
But I am so glad you got it handled and separated them.

 

[Isadora]

Me too! The chicks seem a little unsettled with the change, but I think they will settle soon. The one that was in bad shape has stopped hiding and gave herself a good dirt bath today. As I write this I hear them announcing an egg was laid. I hope we will start seeing better consistency with their laying. We have been charting their egg laying behaviors all month as part of a project to teach graphing and graph types. Looks like it has turned into a research project now! How does safety impact egg laying?

Super interesting! Stress definitely has an impact on egg production so I would anticipate an increase for sure. Glad the shy one has stopped hiding too. Already some progress!

 

[JessLV]

Super interesting! Stress definitely has an impact on egg production so I would anticipate an increase for sure. Glad the shy one has stopped hiding too. Already some progress!

The chickens have begun laying an egg every other day and 4 of the 6 are laying daily. The hen that was not doing great is making a good recovery. She has some PTSD though. They are all much calmer though. The ducks are upset, but they will just have to live with it!