Abandon duckling and broody hen

[baileybiddi]

Hello everyone!

So yesterday my sister-in-law found two baby ducklings, probably only a few days old, that had been chased by a cat. She could not find the mom anywhere so she decided to take them in. (She already has some adult domestic ducks). One of the ducklings had some injuries and died earlier today. Now she has one duckling that's all alone I have a broody hen and we were thinking of maybe trying to give the duckling to her and possibly buying a couple chicks to give her as well so the duckling isn't lonely. (None of my local feed stores are selling ducks right now.) What I'm wondering is if a hen would raise a duckling? And would it be best to buy more babies or if the hen were to accept the duckling would it be okay by itself?

 

[AidKD]

It is definitely possible, but there will also be some complications with that, too. Ducks need more than just drinking water to survive, so that could pose a problem when your duckling is all wet and dirty and then trying to snuggle up with the mama and other chicks. Keeping ducks and chickens in together really isn't a great idea because they bring alot of moisture into the coop that could potentially make your chickens sick. It would also need a special kind of waterer so that it will be able to submerge its whole bill into the water. There also may be some separation issues as the duckling gets older if you plan on taking it away at some point. They will have bonded and want to be around each other, and, as mentioned earlier, ducks bring in alot of moisture and potential respitory problems for the chickens. That being said, hens have been known to take in ducklings and treat them as their own. People also have kept ducks and chickens in together very succesfully. Just make sure that you have sepaeate warering containers for them as the duck gets older so he can submerge his whole beak. And it would also be a good idea to keep the duck's water separate from the chickens area, since chickens don't love splashing around in the water as much.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hello everyone!

So yesterday my sister-in-law found two baby ducklings, probably only a few days old, that had been chased by a cat. She could not find the mom anywhere so she decided to take them in. (She already has some adult domestic ducks). One of the ducklings had some injuries and died earlier today. Now she has one duckling that's all alone I have a broody hen and we were thinking of maybe trying to give the duckling to her and possibly buying a couple chicks to give her as well so the duckling isn't lonely. (None of my local feed stores are selling ducks right now.) What I'm wondering is if a hen would raise a duckling? And would it be best to buy more babies or if the hen were to accept the duckling would it be okay by itself?

What breed of duck is this? I'm assuming wild. Is it a mallard or muscovy or?
I ask because depending on the breed and your location, it may be illegal to have the duckling in your possession. I get though that you're trying to do the right thing- but the right thing might be to contact a wildlife rehabber. That would be it's best chance.

Now, if everything checks out and you aren't breaking any rules, you could in theory try getting your broody to take the duckling. The moisture thing isn't a concern, since ducklings should not have access to swimming water anyway, not unsupervised. It shouldn't be able to get into the waterer, as just like with chicks, it could become water logged, chilled or even drowned. So it should be staying dry.
The issue may be that the duckling will imprint on the chickens and not its own kind. It could also potentially end up with a niacin deficiency since chickens and ducks requre different levels of niacin. I would, personally, keep the duckling I a brooder, and look around for ducklings of a similar age. Perhaps from hatcheries, or a local breeder, it doesn't have to be the feedstore.
If you can't find any, again the best thing may be to contact a wildlife resscue/rehabber.