Brooding 2 ages of Ducks/Geese/Chickens

[dragonflydreamsfarm]

I've got 6 week and a half old Pekins in one brooder. I just put 10 Welsummers in another this morning. Tomorrow or Friday I should get 5 more runner ducks and a pair of geese.

I use 2.5'x3' rabbit cages for brooders.

Am I going to need to pick up a couple more brooder cages and lights? Or can I combine anything? I'm wondering if the new ducks and geese can go in with the older ones, but the older ones are pretty big. And then there are the geese, do they need to be kept separated from the ducks because of their size?

 

[Emmalion]

at 6 weeks they can be out on their own in their house/coop

That would free up a lot of space for your new babies

 

[dragonflydreamsfarm]

Quote:
Oooops bad wording on my part.
Sorry I meant to say that I have six ducks that are a week and a half old.

 

[Emmalion]

Ohhhh

I don't see why you can't add the new duckies with the older duckies. It shouldn't be a problem unless space is a problem. Don't want over crowding.

BTW all threads are useless without pics of babies...

 

[FenDruadin]

Any ducklings within 2 weeks of each other can be combined. Just watch them for the first few days to make sure no one is getting trampled. Of course, newly hatched birds (first 24 hours) should always be kept separate from older birds while they gain strength. Enjoy!!

 

[dragonflydreamsfarm]

Thanks for your help and the reminders about pictures.

I need to get some with the good camera. Right now all our pictures are from phones. We've got this bad habit of forgetting to take the pictures and then we can't upload them to the farm site. After we did our freedom ranger run last year I realized I only had like 3 pictures total and they weren't even any good.

I didn't plan on getting them all at once. I lucked into the Welsummers, I'd been wanting some to go with our Blue Andelusians (separate pens of course) for the egg color variety, but they were out of stock everywhere for a couple of months and then Meyer had a last minute cancellation and I just had to have them NOW.

11 ducks ought to be fine in a 7.5 square foot cage right?

What about the geese? Put the two of them with the ducks or on their own?

 

[FenDruadin]

I'd definitely put the geese in with the ducks. Ducks and geese do very well together, and if raised together, the geese will be good defenders for the flock when they're grown. Since the geese are in the younger batch, you shouldn't have any trouble with the size difference.

 

[dragonflydreamsfarm]

Quote:
Pics are up now

From Meyer
10 (2 roosters / 8 hens) Welsummers with baby pictures here

From Ideal
A pair of Brown African Geese with baby pictures here
5 Crested Fawn and White Runner Ducks with baby pictures here
6 Unknown packing peanuts with baby pictures here

And we already had:
6 Pekins from TSC with 2 week old pictures here

 

[Sasa]

I have a little dilemma and I need some feedback.

I raised three buff/white Runner ducks with an Embden goose. Now they are 5 months old and are very bonded. (I did speak with a waterfowl expert when I got them and she did not mention that this could happen). I have an Embden gander and 2 E. hens and though they welcome the new goose, they want to kill the ducks, especially the gander. They actually grab them and drag them toward their stock tank presumably to drown them as if they were chickens. So they are never allowed near the Runners. I have separated the Runners from their goose a couple of times but it results in the goose sitting at the fence waiting for them and the Runners quacking loudly all day wanting her. I have 8 more baby ducks, 5 Runners(1 male lavender, 3 females 1 lavender 2 black), 1 Saxony(female) and 3 Calls(don't know yet). All of them have some feathers and the 2 older, lavender Runners are totally feathered. My 3 "goose" Runners attack these new ducklings whenever I test them with them, they behave as the geese do. They are not accepting of new ducks as normal ducks would be. These buff/white Runners are 2 males and a female, the female feels the goose she grew up with is her BFF and one of the males stands up on her back and "mates" with her, she submits to him.... She flees the gander every time he approaches her thay way.

My question is, will the young goose eventually choose to be solely with the other geese? She does enjoy hanging out and grazing with them. The "Goose" ducks sit next to the baby duck pen when I put them away at night in the back yard, do you think they'll eventually bond with them and choose to leave their goose? I am juggling their relationship right now because the goose cannot be in the backyard with them, she'll terrorize the cats and dogs as geese do and lead the ducks into the living room when the back door is left open to catch the breeze. I have fenced off my front yard so I can separate the older geese from the odd 'flock' when the ducks come out in the morning. My dream is that the ducks live with the ducks and the goose lives with the geese. It would be SO much easier.