Can Chicks & Ducklings be separated and then reintroduced?

[heasley1015]

Hello!

We're new this year to chicks and ducklings. I've got 6 chicks and 2 pekin ducklings in my brooder. They were purchased 2 days apart from one another and everyone gets along perfectly. They'll all be 3 weeks old this weekend. (We keep everything super dry and change the litter in the box daily as well as spot-cleaning. I know ducks can be a pain, but apart from a little extra work and their swimming time every day, they're all doing great).

The problem is, the ducks are growing SO FAST. We were not prepared for how quickly that would happen for them. The brooder is 2' x 4' which for today is big enough. Who knows within the next week or two. So we're debating moving the ducks to the still-to-be-built coop first, so long as they're feathered out. At the rate they're growing, they'll be too big for this box in no time.

What I want to know is, will my birds accept each other when we finally move the chickens to the coop in a few more weeks, or are they going to try to kill each other. Can we separate and make sure they spend time together every day to keep them familiarized?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

H

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Having little playdates sounds like a pretty good option, as does just integrating them smartly (give them both areas out there to reintroduce and examine further behavior) and yeah, pekins are some of the larger ducks out there, they can and will get much bigger than most chickens

 

[flwrldy]

Did you ever separate them? I've been trying to separate my two khaki Campbell ducklings from my chickens.. All of them are the same age, all are in their third week. I tried separating the ducks from the chicks yesterday, and all of them would not stop calling for each other. Both ducklings and chicks. I finally ended up putting the ducklings back in with the chicks.

 

[heasley1015]

I never did. We kept them together because I was worried there would be tons of territorial bullying if I kept them apart and let the ducks have the coop first. Mine would call for each other when they were separated, too especially when they were really little. Sadly, we rehomed our ducks a month ago. I miss them, but they were more than we thought they'd be. Super messy, very loud (one was anyway), and specifically prohibited in our town. It was irresponsible of us to get them. They're on a farm now with dozens of other birds. Best of luck to you with yours!!