Are you Peking kidding me?

[shawluvsbirds]

Looking for more advice & feedback.... Here are some of my observations -

1. The new recruits seem to be bullying my two existing ducks. Is this normal? They gang up - 5 vs 2. The females bow their heads and bob while "charging" my ducks to make them leave the vicinity. I figured it was just a temporary thing to establish pecking order, but after a week it doesn't seem to be changing. How do I address this?

2. No one is laying... I have no idea how old the 4 new females are. I'm assuming that ducks, like chickens, stop laying at a certain age? Could they also have stopped laying from the stress of being in a new place? My existing female isn't laying either, but we've already established that she is only just over 7 months old so it could be a while still.

It's funny...even in the new pen...if one of the 2 "hated chickens" comes near their pen, my Pekin duck will STILL charge at them. You would think she would have focused on bigger issues like integrating with the new flock.....

You might try penning up your original ducks for a few days and let your new ducks establish dominance over the territory.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Also, ducks are seasonal layers. It's getting about that time of year they take a break.
Plus like someone else said...they like to hide their eggs. They could be laying all over the place and you just don't know. They don't always lay early in the morning like chickens do either.

 

[TJAnonymous]

You might try penning up your original ducks for a few days and let your new ducks establish dominance over the territory.

Not sure if you misunderstood my post. The new ducks have established dominance over the pen and are bullying my existing ducks. They aren't bullying them to the point of death but they do keep my ducks from being able to integrate into the pack. If the new ducks are in the pool or at the feed bowls, my ducks are not allowed to join. They are forced to wait until the others leave and go to a different part of the pen. Since I posted this, it has gotten a little better but still not what I expected... Maybe just need to give it more time?

 

[TJAnonymous]

Also, ducks are seasonal layers. It's getting about that time of year they take a break.
Plus like someone else said...they like to hide their eggs. They could be laying all over the place and you just don't know. They don't always lay early in the morning like chickens do either.

Their pen is approximately 30 ft x 30 ft in size. There is a raised coop where they sleep at night after we. catch them and put them in manually. There is also a child's cottage playhouse in the pen that is filled with straw. It was left there to give them a 2nd sheltered area to get out of the wind. Lastly there is an 8 ft x 8 ft area in the pen that has knee-high weeds. I check thoroughly for eggs every 2-3 days. Still none....

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Not sure if you misunderstood my post. The new ducks have established dominance over the pen and are bullying my existing ducks. They aren't bullying them to the point of death but they do keep my ducks from being able to integrate into the pack. If the new ducks are in the pool or at the feed bowls, my ducks are not allowed to join. They are forced to wait until the others leave and go to a different part of the pen. Since I posted this, it has gotten a little better but still not what I expected... Maybe just need to give it more time?

Oh!
Yes I had that backwards.
Either way you can reverse the advice lol. as long as no one is getting seriously injured I would just let them work it out themselves though. Sometimes pecking order takes a while for them to sort out.
It can shift and change back and forth due to all kinds of circumstances. Ducks are somewhat like rotten teenagers.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm beginning to get aggravated with these ducks... I will have had them 3 weeks tomorrow.

Still no eggs. Is this normal? At this point, I probably need to ask the guy I got them from how old they are. They came from P. Allen Smith's show barn. They had too many ducks and wanted to rehome some who weren't "show-worthy." I don't give a hoot what they look like because I'm not showing. I just want eggs...

Also they still don't know how to go IN the coop at bedtime. They walk out and down the ramp every morning with no problem. The ramp is not steep or slippery. How do you teach them to go IN at night? Right now we are catching them every night which is stressful for everyone because we have to corner them to catch them and carry them to the coop.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Ok....got one of my questions answered. I reached out to the guy I got my new ducks from. They were hatched last spring, just like my original 2 so it is not likely that I will get eggs from them until the spring (according to him) so I will quit looking and ending up worried.

Now if I could just get them to go INSIDE the dang coop at night on their own....

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I'm beginning to get aggravated with these ducks... I will have had them 3 weeks tomorrow.

Still no eggs. Is this normal? At this point, I probably need to ask the guy I got them from how old they are. They came from P. Allen Smith's show barn. They had too many ducks and wanted to rehome some who weren't "show-worthy." I don't give a hoot what they look like because I'm not showing. I just want eggs...

Also they still don't know how to go IN the coop at bedtime. They walk out and down the ramp every morning with no problem. The ramp is not steep or slippery. How do you teach them to go IN at night? Right now we are catching them every night which is stressful for everyone because we have to corner them to catch them and carry them to the coop.

Treats and herding. That's the only way I know to train them to go in.
It takes time and persistence.
And it's pretty hard to herd them up a ramp.
What I done was set up some makeshift panels in an L shape in front of their house so that it would be easier to herd them into that space and then from there to get them to go on in their house, and get rewarded with mealworms once they got in there.
It took about half the summer, but now all I have to do is go out and grab the mealworm bag out of the feed can at dusk and they go right in.

But now if I'm not there to lock them up they will stay outside they will not go in on their own.
So I don't know how well an automatic door would ever work for ducks.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Treats and herding. That's the only way I know to train them to go in.
It takes time and persistence.
And it's pretty hard to herd them up a ramp.
What I done was set up some makeshift panels in an L shape in front of their house so that it would be easier to herd them into that space and then from there to get them to go on in their house, and get rewarded with mealworms once they got in there.
It took about half the summer, but now all I have to do is go out and grab the mealworm bag out of the feed can at dusk and they go right in.

But now if I'm not there to lock them up they will stay outside they will not go in on their own.
So I don't know how well an automatic door would ever work for ducks.

I was lying in bed about 6 AM this morning and thinking about this dilemma. Here's my thought process:

• Lower the coop to the ground and take away the ramp which could be complicating the situation in their mind.
• Set the automatic door timer to open at 7 AM. They seem to be able to go OUT the door just fine.
• When I go out to feed them around 9 AM, I can open the big side door to the coop and leave it open.
• Set the automatic door timer to close around 4 PM.
• Start working to "herd them" in through the side door instead of through the automatic door.

Maybe I can add the enticement of treats once they are herded inside appropriately, but they've never taken any treats from me. Still too freaked out at the prospect...ha ha.

 

[akdunn]

They'll settle down, let them live!

I agree!