Brooding 5 chicks and 5 ducklings together with great success!

[helenbk1966]

I posted this on the Duck forum but I'd like more feedback so here I am!

We are in year two of our lives as crazy chicken people and we decided our family and friends do not think we are weird enough. We needed ducks too!

Chicken math further complicated by duck arithmetic took us from 6 birds to 10 through a series of conversations, compromises, rationalizations and one mysterious chick who just appeared in the box.

So there we were 3 weeks ago with 5 ducklings and 5 chicks and limited space so we chucked them all in a single brooder with 2 heat lamps and crossed our fingers.

Well, the chicks get lot wetter than they prefer and ducks occasionally get their big gallumphing galoshes they call feet pecked at, but everyone seems pretty darned attached to each other. The ducks are happy enough to leave their non swimmer siblings for a daily foray to the baby pool for a swim but they are equally overjoyed to be reunited.

Complicating matters is one little peeper who we suspect is a roo who peeps incessantly and insistently like a mama calling for her lost children every minute that those ten birds are not all in one place.

Everyone is growing- no one looks to be getting less than a fair share of food or water. Other than the swimming excursions none of the girls seems to be aware that they are notall the same kind of bird. Has anyone else had an experience like is?

All are now 3 1/2 weeks old and will be moving to the outside coop in the next day or so. We are thinking we will keep them all together until the chicks are big enough to mingle safely with our 4 adult hens in their coop, but plan to have a connecting door so everyone can move back and forh at will in the future.

On another interesting note, we have given our top hen and our bottom hen in our flock of 4 adults the chance o interact wit the 10 babies. Zero hostility! Some curiousity, a little anxiety and even flusteration from sweet Clementine the dorky Dorking. My EE Cordelia, the undisputed but ever calm matriarch was unflappable even when one chick hopped on her back for a ride. She was anxious to vacate their enclosure after that, but didn't even try to give the ballsy little puffer a peck on the head!

So, any mixed race flocks out there? LOL Don't they know it's unnatural?

And what's up with my "who cares if you bring new chickens into our territory "
Hens? Should I still be wary of a bloodbath?

Feedback appreciated!

Helen

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have found that if you introduce chicks to your existing flock when still young, 6-8 weeks, the flock accepts them as if someone hatched them, wait too long they become intruders, I have some muscovy ducks with my chickens, there is some interspecies hostilities at times but they mostly get along. Congratulations on your new flock additions.

 

[PowellAnimals]

We have three ducks (ranging from 11 weeks to 7 weeks) along with our 45 chicks (ranging in age from 11 weeks to 1 week) and the ducks are the dominant over the chicks. The only three downsides - ducks are much, much dirtier than chickens and get everything wet and dirty, they are much louder than the chickens, and the ducks don't naturally go into the coop at night so I have to chase them in and then wait for any other chicks to come in after them. Otherwise, they all get along perfectly fine thus far!

 

[helenbk1966]

That's interesting. I always thought there would be hostilities from any adult hens that were not the mom. My baby Orpington actually jumped high to pechpk the adult austrolorp in the head today and the adult just looked at her like ***? Lol

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The hens will assume the chicks belong to someone in the flock, in feral chickens the hens disappear for a bit, hatch some chicks than return to the flock with them, so it's natural for young chicks to show up. When people say to wait until the chickens are the same size to integrate them they are bringing in intruders who might take over their territory, so they attack and try to drive them out. Chicken psychology.