Can ducklings and chicks living together

[AmeraucanaHank]

Help! I have 4 ducklings at 5 weeks old they have been living in the garage with out a heat lamp, I also have 10 baby chicks they have a mama hen they are 3 weeks old. The ducklings need to move out of the garage (it smells in there,I am wondering if i can put the ducklings with the mama hen and chicks at night in a cage together? thank you!

 

[sourland]

The mother hen will very likely kill the ducklings.

 

[LottieLou]

When I was a kid my parents did this and I don't remember there being a problem.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I would not do this. The hen could seriously injure or kill the ducklings. The age gap is too big and the mama hen will probably not accept them. Though in some cases the hen may care for them right away with no issues, most of the time this doesn't happen (especially with the age gap) so it's really not worth the risk.

 

[sourland]

When I was a kid my parents did this and I don't remember there being a problem.

They introduced ducklings into a pen with a hen and her bonded chicks? Hens will foster ducklings, but generally once hens have imprinted on their chicks they will even attack other chicks.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

In addition to the info above, 5 week ducklings are huge compared to 3 week chicks. They will continue to make a mess which could get the chicks wet and end up with issues.
What are the plans for their outdoor pen and housing? If that's already set up, they could move to that area and be by themselves.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

The mother hen will very likely kill the ducklings.

Okay, thank you i will have to think of something else.